Explain how the idea of prototypically is related to intersectional invisibility. How are the ideologies of androcentrism, ethnoscentrism, and hetercentrism related? Provide examples of social groups that are more or less visible than the other, and explain why this is the case.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The intersectional invisibility hypothesis posits that the experiences of people with multiple subordinate identities tend to be ignored or disregarded, leading them to feel socially invisible. This is because ideologies of androcentrism, ethnocentrism, and heterocentrism reinforce the idea that members of dominant groups are the cultural default, or prototype. For instance, men are the prototypical sex while women are non-prototypical; White people are the prototypical race (in the U.s. and many modern Western contexts) while people of color are non-prototypical; heterosexual people are the prototypical sexual orientation while sexual minority individuals are non-prototypical; and so on. Members of prototypical groups tend to be more visible and come to mind more easily than non-prototypical groups.