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The complex interweaving of diverse social inequalities which shapes individual lives and complicates the earlier simplistic analysis.

An overly simplified view of a complex situation.

To only analyse class (or gender, or race...) is now understood as a political and analytical act of exclusion.

Experiencing multiple identities, for example being British and European at the same time. Many people have a complex sense of themselves because of intermarriage of nationality or religion or because of migration and assimilation into new identities.

Experiencing a number of different variables which may lead to social advantage or disadvantage in life chances. For example, the overlaying of gender discrimination on living as an ethnic minority in society.

The intersection, or matrix, of class, gender, and ethnicity is central to contemporary discussions of inequalities.

Inequalities are not just about the separation of class, gender, ethnicity or age, but the ways in which these are interwoven.

Terms such as fragmentation and hybridity are more accurate than intersectionality, as they reflect the flexible and dynamic social positions people occupy.

It is extremely hard to predict what areas of commonality and difference will exist between individuals.

It is important to remember that the complex layering of inequalities may also be observed in the researcher and their relationship to the subject they study.