"Let's Heal Intersectionally. And 2026, We Are Ready." with Zhou Fang, Host and Producer of The Intersection

zhou-fang: Hello everyone. Welcome to the intersection. Uh, today we have a, kind of like a special episode, uh, 'cause it's New Year's Eve and I would like to share, um, a couple thoughts, um, before the end of the year. And, um, first of all, I. I am excited to share that I finally have a real microphone and we'll see how it works.

And for the first time, really, I'm recording both, uh, audio and, uh, video and we'll see how it turns out, I guess. Um. So today, December 31st, 2025, the final episode of the intersection of the year. And also I would like to answer a couple questions folks, um, shared with me earlier, and I also want to use today as an opportunity to maybe share my response as [00:01:00] well.

So, yeah, it has been a pretty wild year for almost everyone, um, including folks who are also practitioners, um, folks who either entered new industries or people who left their industries or people who are switching jobs, et cetera. Um, it definitely has been a very interesting. And, um, dynamic one year for me.

And I've also witnessed a lot of people going through, um, the ups and downs in life this year. So, um, before the end of the year, I just wanna say congratulations to us. Um, we have made it. And, um, sometimes making it doesn't sound like much, but it's actually a lot. Um, I feel very fortunate to have made it this far.

Um, especially standing at the end of 2025. That [00:02:00] really does feel like a. Achievement. Um, perhaps not money-wise, not in a conventional way. Um, but I feel to everyone who's listening and perhaps watching to give yourself a congratulations. We've all gone this far, and that's something. Um, I'm also very, uh, grateful, um, to share that, uh, I think this is the third year of the intersection podcast.

Um, and I never even imagined I would have something like these, um, to offer. Uh, so I feel very fortunate and very grateful to have the opportunity to continue to make these podcasts and sharing these stories and the conversations with my guests, um, with everyone out there. Um, so just [00:03:00] extremely. Grateful and I don't take that for, for granted.

And hopefully we get to keep doing it. And I want to thank you to all the guests spending their time here with me. And, um, to all the listeners who spend their time, you know, when they walk their dogs or when they are doing chores, um, when they are driving, perhaps listening to the podcast, um, it's a gift truly.

And, um, so yeah, so I want to respond to a couple questions folks share with me earlier. Um, basically focusing on the work I do and the daily practice I have. Um, so yeah, like our work is intersectional group, right? That's the name of my practice. And the framework we use here is intersectionality. And since last year I've been.

Noticing, [00:04:00] observing and practicing more. Uh, in addition to the intersectionality framework is abundance mindset, and I think those two go hand in hand. Um, I cannot practice the abundance mindset very well without the guidance of intersectionality, uh, vice versa. So I would like to just share a couple of my thoughts.

Um. So folks asked, um, what is intersectionality and what is, um, abundance to me? Um, I think before I talk about my own interpretation, I really want to call out. You know, I didn't come up with intersectionality. It was created. Um, and practiced have been practiced by Professor Kimberly Crenshaw. She created the framework intersectionality to address the racial and gender [00:05:00] issues that black women have been facing for a very, very long time.

So for folks who are interested in the history of intersectionality, I highly recommend folks to look up. Professor Kingley Crenshaw's work. Um, she also has a podcast called, um, intersectionality Matters. Um, it's wonderful and it's very educational. It's very timely, so I recommend folks to check it out.

There are a lot of, um, audio and video materials online, uh, that highlight Professor Kingley Crenshaw's work. So I suggest folks to check that out as well. Um, so for me, intersectionality, of course, it starts from gender and race. Um, and I also have my own interpretation and I was able to make a little. Um, kind of like a picture earlier, only if I can see here and I will talk about it.

You [00:06:00] know, like intersectionality for me, it's very dynamic. Um, at this point in my life, for example, uh, I am in my late thirties, um, but in a couple decades I will be. Senior, right. I will not be a young person anymore. So that's age. That's a part of the intersectionalities. We all age and our body change, our health change.

So intersectionality to me, it's very fluid, it's very dynamic. It doesn't stay the same. So that's one thing I really would like folks to understand is that. Our life, uh, it just keeps going and nothing always forever stays the same. So we have to always make like adjustment and arrangement and changes accordingly.

And I think that's a beauty of intersectionality. It, it kind of keeps me on my [00:07:00] toes. 'cause I have to make adjustments all the time, right? So like after a surgery, for example, the things you use to be able to do and you aren't able to do anymore. So you have to have that kind of realization and sometimes reckoning like, oh, I'm just not the same person anymore.

Um, and you know, on this little picture I have, for example, of course gender is part of our intersectionality, race and ethnicity generation, right? Like. Boomer generation or Gen X, I'm a millennial and Gen Z, et cetera, et cetera. So the generation you are in also sometimes, um, indicates the kind of life you might go down as well.

And I also have, I you a caretaker or not, especially in modern society. And your sex orientation and, um, your nationality. And a lot of people in the US don't think about nationality. Um, but [00:08:00] it's actually really important to recognize that, um, whether or not you are a citizen, it has a lot to do with your daily experiences in a certain society.

I also have partnered, or not specifically in romantic relationships, whether or not you have one or more than one partner, that also kind of effects and impact, uh, the life you have as well. Um, I also have socioeconomic status slash class stats. Uh, you have, that's also another important part of intersectionality and of course our sexual orientations.

Um, our neurodiversity, a lot of us are neurotypical. A lot of us are also neurodivergent, so that will also kind of like change our experience daily and at workplace as well. And of course, our education level education is very connected to socioeconomic status. Like a lot of people I interact with, they will [00:09:00] say, oh, I'm the first generation college graduate in my family.

Or, you know, I'm the first person to finish high school. Or I'm the first person who didn't have a student loan. So I think education is also really important, um, when it comes to our intersectionality. Uh, veteran were not, you know, if you have served before and whether or not, um, you know, you have, uh, returned to a civilian life or you continue to serve, that also will likely have an impact in your life as well.

And of course our spirituality. And spirituality doesn't have to be religion. You could be religious, you could also be spiritual, even if you just have some kind of a ritual or some kind of routine. You can call that, you may call that your spiritual practice. So it's a pretty wide or general kind of, um.

Idea of what spirituality is. And I encourage people [00:10:00] to be open about that. Um, and of course our ability levels, um, everyone is likely to be at least short-term, disabled at some point in our lives. So our relationship to our ability, levels or status also has a really important kind of, um, indication to the way we go through life as well.

So this is like a high level kind of explanation of intersectionality. Um, and we also offer that, um, kind of interpretation on the website as well if people are interested. And here we say, you know, there are many aspects and layers of intersectionality. This is just a guide and a reference for our own practice.

Intersectionality. It changes and evolves as we grow. So I hope that answers the question about intersectionality. And, um, another question is about [00:11:00] abundance. Like my understanding of abundance, and I think in like western world or in modern society, abundance can be interpreted as wealth. Um, or how much money you have.

Um, how much more do you have? Like. Your desire. Right? Um, and that's fine. And for a lot of people that's what you aspire to do. And perhaps for some folks, yes, you need more money to be able to sustain a certain lifestyle. Um, and abundance to me, um, is also about do we have enough for everyone? And. And I think the answer is yes.

I think there is enough for everyone in this world. And everyone includes people, right? People in our neighborhood, people in our [00:12:00] family, people in our communities, people in other communities, people in different societies, people in different countries, people in different continent. And also including the creators, right?

Do the birds have enough? Can the bees survive? Um, like how about our pets? Um, I think everyone really is about everyone. What about that tree in the park? Can the tree thrive in our society? So that really encourages people, you know, think widely and openly about abundance Encourages us. To see the interconnectedness of everything in our life and in this world.

We are never alone. We're not alone. And abundance is about ourselves and about those in our lives. And even for those we feel like we will [00:13:00] never be in touch with or connected with. We are in a way connected. And I think abundance means. Be open and, uh, believe that there is enough for everyone, and we are able to not only coexist in this world, but also thrive in this world.

Um, and we don't need to fight each other. You know, like abundance is not, it's not a zero sum game. And I think that's like very scarcity mindset oriented, right? Like if you have cake, that means I don't have cake. What if we all have cake? Right? If you are able to, for example, for um, say student loan. And some people will say, oh, I had to pay for my [00:14:00] student loans.

Why don't they have to? Sure. Yes. You did have to go through that. At the same time, it doesn't have to be like that. There is a possibility for a different outcome. And I think that's the spiritual of abundance, is the openness is allowing others to have the opportunity to experience life differently. And that openness, you know, is kind of like.

If we are fighters, we have our, you know, what's this punch? Like a, a feast, right? It's like our hands are closed, our fingers are clutched, but abundance means what if I open my hands? I'm not gonna hold anything. Right, like I'm gonna let it go, but at the same time, you open [00:15:00] up the space and now you have space to hold even more because it's open.

Now anything and everything can come into your hands. And I think that's a cool vision of abundance. Um, and I invite folks to perhaps consider that. And, um, so that's my interpretation of abundance, um, at least part of it. Um, of course it evolves over time as we grow and learn. Um. And another question that I received is how do intersectionality and the abundance mindset lead me to shape my business and my podcast?

Um, I think, I think I don't intentionally, I mean, I think it's [00:16:00] intentional practice of intersectionality and abundance. But I think that intention is embedded in my life. I don't, you know, I don't go about my business and say, that's my business, that's not my life. The thing is, my life and my business and this podcast, they are not separate.

Um, I mean, the podcast is a standalone product. You can view it that way. At the same time, there are real people behind it. A podcast or a service or a business is there because of the people behind it. So if I am to conduct a business and the podcast and all these conversations we have, um, successfully or, um, effectively, right.

Then I have to [00:17:00] practice that in my day-to-day life. So I think one way to answer this question is instead of how intersectionality and abundance influence my business and my podcast really is how intersectionality and abundance, um, influenced my life just in general, and I need to practice them. Every day.

Um, in order to have a, a good practice at my business and to have genuine and sincere conversations with my guests on the podcast and. That really requires a lot of curiosity and, uh, generosity from everyone. Um, and I think it's really important for us to [00:18:00] do the things we say we are gonna do, um, and actually show up the way we say we are gonna show up, not when.

Not only when there are people around, right? Like you go have coffee with someone, you go to an event, you show up and you say, I'm a practitioner of this. Yes, you can say that. At the same time, you really need to practice that in your day-to-day life, even when there is no one watching. Um, because. If you do have some kind of spiritual practice, you know, there is never, no one is watching, you know, someone is watching.

It doesn't have to be a person. It doesn't have to be a thing, but you know, the things that you are doing is being witnessed as well. It is being witnessed by time, it's being witnessed by space. I mean, in [00:19:00] my case, I'm being watched by my dog all the time. So whatever I do, you know, my dog is like taking notes.

It's like, don't screw up. Um, so yeah, so I think that's my response about how intersectionality and abundance shape my business and my podcast. And again, I really want to express my thank you and my gratitude to folks who have come to my life this year and continue to be in my life, um, for the guests that I have had on the podcast.

Um. For my loved ones, and I mean, I mentioned I finally have a microphone and it's a Christmas gift from my boyfriend and I'm very grateful for that. Uh, and I'm very grateful for my dog. I'm grateful for my [00:20:00] home. I'm grateful for my plants. Um, I'm also grateful for my family. They're very far away. They're in China.

But it doesn't matter. You can feel that, right, that connection is, uh, is undeniably there. Um, so I've been speaking for 20 minutes and I need water. So I'm going to wrap up. And the final message I want to share, um, is 2025 wasn't easy. Um, 2026, we have no idea. Like we don't know what's in the bags. And one thing I've been learning and practicing this year is healing and restoration.

And my good friend Sarah gave me this little pin a few years ago, and I find this so relevant just. Every single day and he says, let's [00:21:00] heal intersectionally. Um, and I think that's a gift to you, to everyone out there is let's all heal intersectionally and, um. Be well be better, be healthy, be strong, and be soft, you know, be open and to carry that abundance mindset with us going into another year unknown.

Um, but I think we're ready. And with that, I am going to stop here having New Year.