Intersectional Analysis of Food Insecurity for 2S/LGBTQIA+ Communities in Canada and Implications for Dietetic Practice

Abstract

The right to food is a fundamental human right, as established in international conventions and declarations. However, Canada has not explicitly protected the right to food in its Charter or National Food Policy. Food insecurity is a multifaceted issue requiring collaboration across different policy arenas and jurisdictions such as healthcare, housing, social assistance, and agriculture. For Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and other sexually and gender diverse (2S/LGBTQIA+) populations, intersecting forms of discrimination and barriers to health, including ingrained cisheteronormativity, must also be considered. We approach the topic of food insecurity among 2S/LGBTQIA+ populations and the associated policy implications through the lens of Kimberle Crenshaw’s critical theory of intersectionality. Intersectionality theory recognizes that marginalized and polymarginalized groups experience discrimination along multiple axes. Policies which fail to recognize this serve to distort polymarginalized people’s lived experiences with issues such as food insecurity and may result in their legal and structural erasure. We aim to peel back the layers of policies affecting 2S/LGBTQIA+ Canadians experiencing food insecurity to reveal points of intersection that may have been rendered functionally invisible.  First, we will describe the current national policy context related to food security and 2S/LGBTQIA+ communities. Then, we will undertake a multi-axes analysis to attempt to illuminate the complex and multi-dimensional experiences of 2S/LGBTQIA+ populations living with food insecurity, using Nova Scotia as a regional case study example. We conclude by exploring the implications for dietetic practice across health and food systems in improving the health of 2S/LGBTQIA+ populations.