Intersectionality in the activity of lesbian and feminist movements in Ukraine

The article defines manifestations of the concept of intersectionality between Ukrainian feminist and lesbian movements. The research is based on the results of theoretical analysis and results of 13 semistructured in-depth interviews with 13 Ukrainian activists of feminist and lesbian movement from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Uzhhorod, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr and Kherson, who were involved in feminist and lesbian movements in different periods – from the end of the 1990s to the beginning of the 2000s, in the mid-2000s and after 2014. As a result, the patterns of intersectionality between these two movements were defined.The concept of intersectional was defined in the mid-20th century by the American researcher Kimberle Crenshaw. It involved the rethinking of the concept of identity and social inequality under the influence of diverse individual experiences and socially significant characteristics. This concept became fundamental for the activity of new social movements at the end of the 20th century, in particular lesbian and feminist ones that are interrelated due to common resistance practices, ideological aspects, and people’s potential as well as the topic of the fight for women’s rights.Ukrainian feminist and lesbian movements are not exceptions, as they have manifested this intersectionality since their establishment as public social movements in Ukraine after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. This feature makes them different from the movements in countries of Western Europe and the USA, where lesbians used to be excluded from the mainstream feminist movement.After the analysis of in-depth interviews with activists of feminist and lesbian movements, it was defined that intersectionality between feminist and lesbian movements in Ukraine can be defined in ideological, thematical and practical aspects – common ideological basis, resistance practices represented in demonstrations, common actions, significant dates and topics, that prove that these 2 movements are interrelated and interconnected.