Feminist Standpoint Theory

Feminist standpoint theory is a specific formulation of the broader standpoint theory. All formulations of standpoint theory contend that a standpoint arises when an individual recognizes and challenges cultural values and power relations that contribute to subordination or oppression of particular groups. For instance, a person could understand and reject racist values and power discrepancies between races, knowing that those undergird the subordination of minorities. The specific foci of feminist standpoint theory are (a) identifying cultural values and power dynamics that account for the subordination of girls and women and (b) highlighting the distinct knowledge cultivated by activities that are typically assigned to females.

Feminist standpoint theory calls attention to the knowledge that arises from conditions and experiences that are common to girls and women. This focus on experiences draws on Marxist theory's claim that the work we do—the concrete activity in which we engage—shapes what we know and how we behave. Thus, feminist standpoint theory is interested in skills and knowledge that are cultivated by typically female activities such as domestic work and caregiving. For example, feminist standpoint theorists claim that caring for others [Page 397]allows girls and women to develop knowledge of what others need and how to meet those needs.

Feminist standpoint theory rejects the notion that knowledge is a straightforward outcome of essential characteristics of group members (for instance, an XX chromosomal structure or having ovaries). Instead, feminist standpoint theory emphasizes social ideologies (e.g., sexism and the gender roles it authorizes) that explain why girls and women are assigned to certain activities and why those activities are less valued than activities typically assigned to boys and men. Feminist standpoint hinges on realizing that the conditions and experiences common to girls and women are not natural, but are a result from social and political forces.

For this reason, although girls' and women's circumstances and activities may shape their perspectives, they do not automatically confer a feminist standpoint. To develop a feminist standpoint, individuals must engage in an intellectual struggle to recognize, analyze, and contest broad power relations that account for the subordinate status of girls and women and the activities they are expected to pursue. For instance, many girls and women understand that assertive females are sometimes labeled bitches. That understanding is shaped by seeing girls and women who act assertively called bitches, but this understanding itself is not a feminist standpoint. A person who holds a feminist standpoint realizes that social expectations for females to be nice, defer to others, and not be pushy underlie derogatory treatment of assertive girls and women, including calling them bitches, whereas assertive men are admired for their confidence and leadership.

A feminist standpoint disputes privileging of men and men's interests while devaluing, marginalizing, and otherwise harming girls and women and their interests. In short, a standpoint is an intellectual achievement that reflects—and necessarily entails—political consciousness. This means, as Donna Haraway has noted, that standpoints are never innocent.