ASA RISE and the Matrix of Domination

Editor’s Note: The John A. Hartford Foundation is collaborating with ASA RISE to advance equity through a series of blog posts in support of the development and dissemination of equity-related, partnership-based thought leadership through ASA's Generation platform. This blog post is part of that series.

ASA RISE is a 20-week social justice and leadership program for rising leaders of color in aging. The John A. Hartford Foundation, the Archstone Foundation and RRF Foundation for Aging co-fund the program.

As program director of ASA RISE through its first three cohorts—The Accomplices & The Co-Conspirators, The Disruptors and The Catalysts—I’ve learned a thing or two about the need for social justice warriors to understand and navigate power in terms of power structures and power relations, and the resulting differentials within organizations to pursue social change and social justice work. ASA RISE and our fellows have further clarified my understanding of the Matrix of Domination (MOD) and how it is a useful framework to understand the diversity of aging experiences.

The MOD is a key concept in intersectional feminist theory, developed by sociologist and intellectual activist Patricia Hill Collins, and introduced in 1990 in her seminal book—Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. It describes the way multiple forms of oppression—race, gender, class and sexuality—intersect and create different levels of domination and subordination. In this matrix, power is distributed across social institutions, relationships and individual identities, influencing how people experience privilege and oppression.

The MOD offers a framework for understanding how power operates across four interconnected domains—structural, disciplinary, hegemonic and interpersonal—to shape experiences of oppression and privilege. As such, the MOD demystifies the complexity of power dynamics. The four domains of power help to dissect complex systems of inequality and oppression, providing a more nuanced understanding of how individuals experience domination and privilege.

By distinguishing these domains, the MOD allows for a more layered and multidimensional approach when analyzing inequality. Instead of flattening experiences into one-dimensional categories (e.g., race or gender), it reveals the various ways power operates at different levels, making it easier to pinpoint specific sites of domination or privilege. It offers a sophisticated lens through which to view oppression, especially when combined with intersectionality.

Applying the MOD’s Domains of Power to Aging

In ASA RISE, I discovered that the MOD offers valuable insights into the workings of power that help us understand how diversity—across lines of race, gender, class and other social identities—shapes experiences of aging by highlighting how multiple systems of power operate simultaneously to create varied outcomes for different groups of older adults. By considering the four domains of power (structural, disciplinary, hegemonic and interpersonal), the framework shows how these intersecting power dynamics influence aging in diverse populations.

Structural Power: The structural domain focuses on large-scale social structures (e.g., economic, legal, healthcare, and educational systems) that shape the material conditions of life, including the experience of aging.

• Economic disparities: Older adults from marginalized groups (e.g., Black, Indigenous, women or people with low-income) are more likely to experience economic hardship as they age due to systemic inequalities in employment, education and wealth accumulation. For instance, women may face lower retirement savings due to the gender wage gap and time spent out of the workforce for caregiving, while racial minorities may have faced lifelong economic discrimination, leading to greater financial insecurity as older adults.
• Access to healthcare: Structural inequalities in healthcare systems can result in different aging experiences. Marginalized groups may have less access to quality medical care, contributing to poorer health outcomes for older adults. For example, racial minorities in many countries tend to experience higher rates of chronic illness and shorter life expectancies due to unequal access to healthcare throughout their lives.

Disciplinary Power: Disciplinary power refers to the ways institutions regulate behavior and enforce norms, often through mechanisms like policies and procedures that reinforce inequalities.

• Healthcare and long-term care policies: Older adults may experience differential treatment based on their race, class, gender or disability in healthcare settings. Policies in these institutions can prioritize certain groups over others. For example, older adults with low-income may have fewer options for quality long-term care, while LGBTQ+ elders might face discrimination or neglect in such facilities.
• Surveillance and marginalization: Disciplinary power also manifests in how certain groups are more closely monitored or regulated by the state. For instance, older adults from historically marginalized communities may be more likely to be subjected to paternalistic policies or face restrictions on their autonomy, such as in the case of older immigrants or people with disabilities.

Hegemonic Power: Hegemonic power refers to the ways cultural norms, ideologies and values shape society’s understanding of aging and older adults, particularly through media, language and societal expectations.

• Cultural narratives of aging: Different cultural groups may have different narratives about what it means to age. In many Western societies, aging is often framed in a negative light, with an emphasis on youthfulness, productivity and independence. This can marginalize older adults, particularly those who don’t fit into these ideals (e.g., older women, older LGBTQ+ individuals, or older disabled individuals). In contrast, in some non-Western societies, elders are more likely to be seen as wise and deserving of respect. However, even in those societies, there can be differences in how aging is experienced based upon one’s gender, class or caste.
• Internalization of norms: Hegemonic power also affects how older adults internalize societal expectations about aging. For example, older women might feel pressure to maintain a youthful appearance, while older men might struggle with the societal expectation to remain physically strong or economically productive. These pressures are compounded for those at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities.

Interpersonal Power: The interpersonal domain of power focuses on how power dynamics play out in everyday interactions, including in families, communities and caregiving relationships.

• Family dynamics: The way older individuals are treated within families can vary significantly depending upon their social identity. For example, in many cultures, women are often expected to become caregivers for aging relatives, but they may not receive reciprocal care from family members. Older LGBTQ+ individuals may be more likely to face social isolation as they age, as they might have strained family relationships or lack traditional family structures to support them.
• Social interactions: Marginalized older adults are more likely to experience ageism alongside other forms of discrimination, such as racism, sexism or ableism, in everyday interactions. This might manifest as microaggressions, exclusion from social spaces, or condescension from younger people. For instance, an older Black woman might face a unique combination of stereotypes about her age, race and gender in interpersonal relationships.

How the MOD Clarifies Aging Experiences

By using the MOD, we can see how aging is not a uniform experience but one that is deeply shaped by intersecting forms of power. First, it helps to illuminate intersecting forms of oppression. The MOD reveals that older adults who belong to multiple marginalized groups (e.g., older women of color, older adults with disabilities, or older individuals with low-income) often face compounded disadvantages. This intersectionality highlights why some groups as they age experience worse health, social or economic outcomes.

Second, it addresses multiple levels of inequality. The MOD also shows that to fully understand how diversity shapes aging, we need to look at multiple levels of power—from societal institutions (structural power) to everyday interactions (interpersonal power). Each of these domains influences how older adults navigate aging in ways that are unique to their social identities.

Third, it challenges dominant cultural narratives. The Matrix helps challenge hegemonic narratives that privilege certain experiences of aging, such as the ideal of “successful aging” characterized by independence and physical fitness. It reveals how such ideals can marginalize older adults who don’t fit into these molds due to race, disability or other social factors.

The MOD provides a comprehensive framework to understand how diverse identities—such as race, gender, class and sexuality—intersect to shape different aging experiences. It clarifies that aging is not just a physiological process but one that is deeply influenced by social structures, cultural norms, institutional practices, and everyday interactions, all of which operate through various forms of power.

By applying this framework, ASA RISE fellows and I have gained a clearer picture of why aging experiences are so diverse and how systems of power can either disadvantage or unjustly enrich different groups of older adults. We also learned that to challenge systemic inequities, we must empower ourselves and others to understand the larger forces at play in our lives and how to implement anti-oppressive practices and collaborative advocacy. In ASA RISE, the MOD framework is not just an abstract academic concept but a vital tool for understanding and navigating the complex interplay of power, privilege and oppression in our society.

On Tuesday, we announced the fourth cohort of ASA RISE Fellows—The Accelerators, set to begin the program in January. I hope this next cohort of 18 Fellows will find, as did previous cohorts, that integrating an understanding of the MOD into their leadership practice is not optional but essential for fostering meaningful change, advocating for social justice, and empowering the communities they serve.

By acknowledging the multifaceted nature of power and oppression and how various forms of discrimination intersect, ASA RISE Fellows are developing more effective strategies for supporting older adults, promoting equitable aging, and challenging the systemic barriers that perpetuate inequality.

Patrice L. Dickerson, PhD, is ASA’s Equity Strategy Director and Program Director of ASA RISE.