Why does this matter? The value of intersectionality

In this commentary, I explore and elaborate on themes in Maggie Renken, Jessica Scott, Patrick Enderle, and Scott Cohen's (this issue) manuscript ""It's not a deaf thing, it's not a black thing; it's a deaf black thing": A study of the intersection of adolescents' deaf, race, and STEM identities." Using my own research and experiences, I present a case on the importance of working with students with low-incidence disabilities and how scholarship focused on related student groups can inform and illuminate problems of practice in an underexplored research area. Additionally, I posit that using a lens of intersectionality can help address issues of educational inequality experienced by multiple communities. I conclude with a consideration of how Maslow's hierarchy of needs (Maslow, Psychol Rev 50:370-396, 1943) must be considered before addressing students' STEM identities.