Transnational Feminism in Psychology: Moving Beyond Difference to Investigate Processes of Power at the Intersection of the Global and Local

Abstract

Transnational feminism, in particular, arose during the 1980s out of the interplay between global and local practices influenced by neoliberalism that were denying women’s rights, permitting exploitation, and reproducing subjugation. Therefore, the mobilization and collective identity behind transnational feminism is rooted in a shared criticism of and resistance to how neoliberal economic policies and governments create structural conditions that limit women’s rights in their respective locations. To date, processes of resistance that have fueled individuals committed to collective action aimed at social justice for women have received only limited attention from the discipline of psychology. Because an aim of transnational feminism is to contribute to efforts toward social justice in a global context, a transnational feminist psychology needs to move beyond a focus on difference to examine the psychosocial processes behind oppression and resistance that are critical to creating the transformations necessary for gender justice. This chapter will discuss the role transnational feminism has begun to play in the discipline of psychology and conclude with a list of suggested “best practices” for feminist psychologists interested in conducting investigations from a transnational feminist perspective.