Intersectionality in Danai Gurira's Play Eclipsed (2016)

Abstract

Women are not merely defined biologically but are also shaped by social strctures that dictate what it means to be women. Components of identity increase their vulnerability to oppression and exploitation due to the intersection of identities and affect to layered forms of oppression. This study is an analysis of the play Eclipsed (2016) by Danai Gurira that explores the intersectional identities of the characters and how they show resilience in facing oppressions caused by the intersecting identities. The analysis uses the concept of Feminism by Bell Hooks, Intersectionality by Patricia Hill Collins and Sirma Bilge, and uses descriptive-qualitative method. The analysis found that there are four key aspects of identity—gender, class, age, and race, that contribute to layered forms of oppressions, and there are three types of resilience the characters make, namely conscious resistance, action resistance, and sisterhood.