Intersectionality and Syndemics: A Reply to Sangaramoorthy and Benton

Abstract

This commentary responds to Sangaramoorthy and Benton's commentary about the possibilities and pitfalls of putting intersectionality and syndemics into conversation. Echoing their emphasis on the significant stakes of intersectionality in advancing health equity and social justice, I assert the need for health and social scientists to advance scholarship and activism that works to dismantle white supremacy. Doing so requires using every theoretical and methodological tool possible, including an intersectionality-informed syndemics. Using ongoing fieldwork from Central Florida as an example, I provide a brief ethnographic account of what an intersectionality-informed syndemics might look like on-the-ground, and how such an effort might advance long-term, intersectional social justice goals.