Intersectional Feminism and Behavior Analysis

DeFelice et al. (2019) wrote a think-piece. They asked, "What can intersectional feminism teach behavior analysts?"

The authors mapped feminist ideas onto ABA language. They showed how race, gender, class, and disability overlap to create unique client contingencies.

The paper finds that ABA often looks at behavior in a vacuum. Intersectional feminism says you must first ask, "What social forces are pushing on this person?"

For example, a Black girl in foster care faces different reinforcement history than a white boy with autism from a wealthy home. Both may need ABA, but the context changes everything.

Hugh-Pennie et al. (2022) extends the same lens into classrooms. They show how to use BST so students can advocate within school rules.

Deochand et al. (2022) also extends the idea. They give step-by-step ways to embed social justice into assessment, language choice, and family meetings.

Rajaraman et al. (2022) looks like a contradiction at first. They push trauma-informed care while DeFelice pushes feminism. In truth, both demand you ask, "What happened to this client before they met me?" The difference is focus: trauma history vs. social identity.

You can start tomorrow. Write a client’s social identities at the top of the behavior plan. Ask the family which cultural rules matter most. Then pick goals that fit their real world, not just the clinic. This small move honors intersectional feminism and improves social validity.