Having identified intersecting systems of oppression, the Collective argued that overlapping solutions were needed. The 1980 statement is the first recorded use of ‘identity politics’ and they did indeed root their radical politics within an oppressed identity. However, they advocated cooperation with members of different identity groups in order to overcome oppressions. The statement asserts: ‘We feel solidarity with progressive Black men and do not advocate the fractionalization that white women who are separatists demand.’ Perhaps drawing from their own queer identities, the Collective rejected the essentialism of gender or race as a solution to oppression and advocated for cooperation. This allowed for the fact that Black men were one source of their oppression, as they felt that education and understanding was only possible through working together to overcome shared challenges. This is a political stance that centres the issues of a specific identity and roots its solutions in wider communities and movements. {read}