Feminist Epistemology Research Articles

Thick Black women and misogynoir in the Caribbean

ABSTRACT It is well documented that thick Black female bodies are idealized in Afro-Caribbean communities. However, there is also a long and deep history of oppression of thick Black women in Caribbean spaces based on their race, gender, and body shape and size, which continues to inform the lives of thick Black women in postcolonial Caribbean societies. This paper is an exploratory, grounded analysis of thick Black women’s quotidian experiences in this dialectic, explicitly focusing on Jamaica. Using Caribbean research methodologies situated in decolonial feminist epistemologies, I explore the everyday realities of voluptuous Black women who have to negotiate white Eurocentric body discourses in contemporary Jamaican society. The study foregrounds the voices of thick Black women as they articulate their own lived realities with navigating ‘misogynoir’ in Jamaican public spaces.

Gender and social entrepreneurship in turbulent waters: developing a gender-aware conceptual framework

PurposeThis paper identifies and maps themes and critiques emerging from feminist-informed and gender-focused mainstream entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship (SE) literature. We aim to develop a robust, theoretically informed gender-aware framework for future SE research.Design/methodology/approachA five-stage literature review process was undertaken to identify the common themes, key knowledge gaps and areas of contention highlighted by feminist critiques of mainstream entrepreneurship and what we refer to here as the “critical SE literature”. We draw on a widely used framework of epistemological approaches to discuss the emergent themes, specifically utilising three dominant epistemologies previously found to map onto entrepreneurship policy, those being: “gender as variable”, feminist standpoint and feminist poststructuralist positions.FindingsWe find feminist perspectives on SE particularly distinctive for their high reliance on relational and embedded accounts of the economy, more attentive to collectivist themes like “belongingness” in the performance of gender and identity, and maintaining a challenge to neoliberal and postfeminist norms. Anchoring each perspective in their respective epistemologies, we demonstrate their lineage in critiques of mainstream entrepreneurship and critical (non-feminist) SE. However, divergences from these lineages lead us to identify diversely contextualised and value-adding feminist accounts of SE that add richness and nuance to mainstream entrepreneurship theorising.Research limitations/implicationsThe relative “youth” of the gender-focused and feminist-informed SE literature, alongside the theoretical relevance of the feminist critique of mainstream entrepreneurship and critical social entrepreneurship literature, lead us to draw on the strengths of a more interpretivist paradigm in our research. This amplifies our ability to support the revelation of conceptual connections and relationships between emergent themes, theories, epistemologies and approaches drawn from multidisciplinary sources and to thereby enhance the reach, and associated value, of our research findings.Originality/valueThis review responds to calls for a gender-aware framework for social entrepreneurship research by (1) developing a set of original emergent themes, (2) tracing their intellectual lineage in associated research fields and (3) using them to deepen the connection between feminist epistemologies and entrepreneurship concepts.

Establishing Mentoring Relationships as Early-Career Latina Student Support Services Professionals

ABSTRACT Latina student services administrators represent 7% of administrators on college campuses. The lack of Latina representation in administrator roles indicates the need to better recruit and retain this group of administrators. Mentoring is one tool which supports the retaining of administrators. Using a Chicana feminist epistemology and thematic analysis, this study examines the experiences of early-career Latina SSS administrators with mentoring and supportive communities. Our findings indicate that early-career Latina professionals struggle with establishing mentoring relationships; are intentional in seeking mentors; and often must resort to establishing their own peer communities of support. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Seven million tweets of violence: gendered analysis of Black women representation on social media platforms

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the gendered linguistic patterns of tweets discussing state-sanctioned and vigilante violence against African American women. The paper considers representations of Black women and Black death as engaged on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. We utilize the theoretical frameworks of Patricia Hill Collins’ (2022. Black Feminist Thought, 30th Anniversary Edition: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. London: Taylor & Francis) conceptualization of Black feminist epistemology and controlling images and Kimberle Crenshaw’s (2018. “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics [1989].” Feminist Legal Theory 1: 57–80) intersectionality to understand the ways that Black women are discussed, remembered and advocated for on social media platforms in relation to their Black men counterparts. The analysis of over seven million tweets utilizes both qualitative content analysis and computational tools. The paper’s findings concluded that there were differences related to passive and active language based on the gender of the victim of state-sanctioned or vigilante-race-based violence, as well as homophily, specifically name events most frequently used within the context of the state-sanctioned killing of Black women versus Black men.

The philosophical foundations of participatory action research: pragmatism, critical theory, constructivism, feminist epistemology and participatory democracy

PurposeThis paper provides a needed viewpoint discussion on Participatory Action Research's (PAR) foundations. It allows for reflections on how PAR enables the investigation of social issues and takes action to bring about social change.Design/methodology/approachWhat are the conceptual foundations of Participatory Action Research (PAR)? This article aims to review some of PAR's cornerstones as a research approach. It will first briefly describe PAR and consider this approach's particular features. The paper will then explore some foundations of this approach to research.FindingsThe aim of PAR is to systematically collect and analyse data to take action and make a change by generating practical knowledge. However, PAR as an approach to research has philosophical roots. There is a need to reflect on its foundation, and it reflects on how practice.Originality/valueThis paper discusses the foundations of PAR, seeking to bring academics, researchers, community organisations and practitioners closer to this approach's way of thinking. As PAR becomes more used, reflecting on its origins and importance to research and knowledge production is key.

“There's a big difference between going through life with the wind at your back, and going through life leaning into the wind”: Feminism in Post‐World War II Information Science

ABSTRACTThis paper centers on feminism in post‐World War II information science, namely in the context of the American Documentation Institute (ADI) and the subsequent American Society for Information Science (ASIS). We focus on the years between 1962, when ADI elected its first woman president, and 1988, when it celebrated its 50th anniversary—a period that overlapped with that of second‐wave feminism in the United States. This research makes three scholarly interventions. First, we contribute to the history of information science, particularly to the history of women in the field. Second, we train a feminist epistemology lens on the field. This involves considering women's participation, representation, and marginalization in information science, on the one hand, and the ways in which information scientists approached women's lives, experiences, and bodies, on the other. Third, we situate information science in the broader history of science, juxtaposing ADI/ASIS with other scientific societies' engagement with feminism. In contrast to the national political, social, and cultural changes it wrought, feminism made little headway in information science during this period. The field largely denied women equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Constructing Sacred Containers for Participatory Action Research: An Embodied Mindfulness Arts-Based Practice.

College campuses are sites of institutional betrayal and interpersonal harm for too many survivors of gender-based violence. In pursuit of change aligned with empowerment frameworks and feminist epistemologies, many of us create spaces for impacted students to engage in participatory action research and learning. This article describes a mindfulness, arts-based embodied practice for transforming settings and positioning participants as visionaries and experts on safety, power, and well-being. Through intentional dyadic and collective discussion, the Sacred Containers form the foundation for a coconstructed community. This article describes the rationale, process, impact, and recommendations via student and faculty reflections across four cohorts.

Liminal Identities and Epistemic Injustice: Introduction to the Special Issue

ABSTRACT The concept of social identity is central to research on epistemic injustice, but what it means to belong or not to belong to a marginalized identity is often left undertheorized. After offering an overview of the state of the art in social and feminist epistemology, in this introduction we argue that liminal and interstitial identities challenge received notions and push the conversation further. We then provide a brief synopsis of the articles included in this special issue.

Deconstructing paradigms: the contribution of women to science

In recent times, academic research has focused on how the concept of the "social" permeates notions of science and knowledge, in the methodologies employed, the results discussed and the relationship between theory and practice. Against this backdrop, feminist epistemology has gained prominence, criticizing the traditional model of science and advocating an interdisciplinary methodology that incorporates individuals from different fields into dialogues, contextualizing knowledge in context and examining the influence of gender on the generation of knowledge. This theoretical article seeks to investigate the link between female representation and knowledge creation, shedding light on the persistent gender gap in academic institutions and research establishments. Furthermore, it aims to contemplate how a more feminist perspective can impact research efforts and social intervention strategies, recognizing the value of women's perspectives in the theoretical discourse on social and gender equality. By highlighting the importance of including different perspectives in science, the article emphasizes the need to promote an inclusive and equitable approach to human progress.

Present Bodies. Emancipated Voices

This video essay is the result of a co-creation process carried out for six months with vulnerable teenagers who participated in a film workshop informed by a communitarian feminist epistemology in Toro, Colombia. Our aim, as co-creators of this process, is to collectivize the potencies of an emancipatory thought through images, sounds, and words in the face of gender-based violence that continues to take place in Latin America, particularly in the small city of Toro (a marginalized town witness to the violence resulting from drug trafficking). We also aim to affirm academic filmmaking as a propitious space for the consolidation of a material thought that relocates the body to the center of its motivations and movements. Our ambition has been to affirm academic filmmaking as a gesture of social justice, as well as a way of revitalizing and decolonizing the university.

Creolization and Gender: Island Imaginings in Ananda Devi's Pagli and Its Sequel

Abstract: This essay opens the study of "Archipelagic Asias" to the southwest Indian Ocean archipelagos to explore representations of Indic cultures in the literature of the creolized islands of Mauritius. By combining archipelagic and feminist epistemologies, I examine one of the most successful novels of Ananda Devi, Pagli (2001), in which an Indo-Mauritian woman has an affair with a Creole fisherman, and its little-known short story sequel, "Agalega" (2021). Published in Maudrigosa!, a volume celebrating the Mauritian archipelago, the short story denounces the construction of an Indian military base on the Mauritius Outer Island of Agalega. I argue that literary representations of Mauritius's geographic space form different island imaginings that express Mauritius's affective relation to its creolized culture and the impact it has on women's corporeal and sexual freedom.

Social work and women's violence care in Morocco

This study explored the challenges and practices of social workers at Moroccan Integrated Care Units for Women and Children Victims of Violence (ICUWCVV) regarding violence as a major public health and social injustice issue. The study was guided by the Ubuntu philosophy, which emphasizes community solidarity, justice and human dignity. The theoretical framework is informed by African feminist epistemologies critiquing and extending African methods of empowerment within care practices. It applied indigenous research methodology through semi-structured interviews with 13 social workers across the Fès-Meknès region. In this paper, we will share the experiences in the field and challenges in operationalizing services. The perceived lack of training and resources in the programs impacts the quality of care provided and the ability to offer empathetic, victim-centered services. A need for training has been identified for all accountable health and social care workers who have access to case notes under the information-sharing protocol. Recommendations are made to contribute to policy development in areas related to continuous professional development support, as well as improved resourcing aimed at providing effective and culturally competent care for victims. These recommendations also emphasize the revaluation and incorporation of African philosophies and knowledge systems into social work practices. The recommendations draw upon national guidelines from governing bodies, outlining best practices and evidence-based methods for delivering healthcare, which service providers are expected to implement. HOW TO REFERENCE USING ASWDNET STYLE Mrabti L., Rhoulam I, Nejjar, F. and Belamfedel Alaoui Z. (2024). Social work and women's violence care in Morocco. African Journal of Social Work, 14(4), 225-232 https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ajsw.v14i4.6 Visit journal website: https://ajsw.africasocialwork.net

Alberta Hunter, Musical Qualia of Blackness, and Black Women Working Together

Abstract In this article, I argue for a culturally specific and historically informed understanding of Black voice and musical identity through an examination of the musical practices of vocalist Alberta Hunter (1895–1984), whose long career can be broken into two distinct periods: first from the middle of the 1910s to 1956, and a second between 1977 and her death in 1984. Within, I reframe musical practices emergent from and developed within Black American communities as musical “qualia”—socio-culturally informed and chronotopically situated embodiments of something’s properties—of Blackness, to enable a more direct investigation of how and why certain sounds signal or index Blackness to both listeners and performers. To demonstrate the musico-semiotic function of Black vocality and musical performance, I employ a synthetic methodology combining theorizations of qualia from the field of linguistic anthropology with detailed transcription and analysis of four recordings of “Downhearted Blues,” a piece she co-composed with pianist Cora “Lovie” Austin and recorded several times throughout her long career. Close examination of three recordings made by Hunter (1922, 1939, and 1977) and one made by vocalist Bessie Smith (1923) allows for a more granular understanding of how Hunter’s musical practice transformed over time in dialogue with broader genealogies of Black musical history. I focus particularly on Hunter’s relationships with other Black women in the performance of this tune, arguing that “Downhearted Blues” ultimately becomes a site for the development of a Black feminist epistemology exemplary of what musicologist Tammy Kernodle has identified as “Black Women Working Together” (2014).

A social researcher researching social researchers – Lessons from feminist epistemologies

A social researcher researching social researchers – Lessons from feminist epistemologies

Women at the Crossroads of Worlds: Gender Dynamics and Strategies in the Novels of Jasmina Musabegović

Women at the crossroads of worlds: gender dynamics and strategies in Jasmina Musabegovic's novels The paper examines various aspects of women's lives “at the crossroads of worlds” exploring the complex dimensions of their experiences, identities, and role in different social, cultural, and geopolitical contexts. Analysis of gender implications often involves a combination of different theoretical approaches to gain a more complete understanding of how society shapes and reflects gender roles and identities. In the novels by Jasmina Musabegović Skretnice (1986), Most (1994), and Žene. Glasovi. (2005) From the disposition of contemporary feminist epistemology, we (re)interpret the position of a woman who is in a relationship (with someone), and not exclusively in the socially constructed role of an object. By reflecting, on the analyzed novels, women's experiences, gender dynamics, and gender-specific issues through the prism of different feminist perspectives and feminist theoretical practices, we realized that women in traditional societies also developed different strategies that enabled survival, adaptation, and partial coping with the limitations of patriarchal structures. These strategies varied depending on the culture, period, and social context.

Towards feminist geographies of livelihoods: introduction

In this introduction to the themed section, Towards Feminist Geographies of Livelihoods, we argue that feminist foundations have been sidelined in broader livelihoods frameworks and approaches. We contend that feminist geographies greatly enrich the field of livelihood studies, helping to better understand the role of social difference and intersectionality in pursuing livelihoods. Our discussion also introduces the four papers to the themed section from both established and early career scholars in geography and development studies. As a collection, this themed section pushes the interdisciplinary and applied field of livelihood studies to consider feminist epistemologies, methodologies, and social relational dimensions.

Memória, discurso e universo acadêmico

This article analyzes the situation, aiming to inaugurate reflections on the following questions: under what vital conditions is knowledge produced in the space-time of neoliberal universities; whether there is gender inequality in these conditions; how it is felt and experienced by bodies that accumulate multiple exclusions; what socio-epistemological consequences this entails; and how to resist and act to reverse this situation. The method used is to review bibliographic and information sources. As a result, the article makes the first movement of articulation and systematization of statements. They are precariousness, acceleration, suffering, gender blindness, substantive (in)equality, epistemic violence, feminist epistemology, social memory and French discourse analysis. In a detailed and sustained manner, the conclusion presents the guidelines for carrying out future empirical studies.

‘Yeah, embrace your anger. Fuck them.’: using feminist collaborative autoethnography and an ethics of care to (re)imagine our position as disabled women in academic spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

In this article, we argue that a Slow Feminism, which evolves through the slow but consistent support of other women that is embedded in care, compassion and constructive challenge against patriarchal expectations, is essential for the future of feminist praxis within higher education. This work emerged from our coming together to reflect-on-action on our experiences as disabled, women, postgraduate researchers in different disciplines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeling ‘othered’ by and invisible to hierarchal structures, we sought to understand our individual challenges through a collective lens. Relational ethics and a praxis of care in line with feminist epistemology underpinned our systematic ‘feminist collaborative autoethnography’, whereby we critically engaged with individual reflections and together in online meetings to interpret shared social, emotional and structural challenges. In this article, we draw on our experiences sharing this data through poetry, during the stage of our collaborative project in which we utilised ‘poems’ to identify the challenges of being a disabled woman navigating higher education, and the resistance we employed individually, and collectively, in support of one another. Through this process, we challenged the neoliberal, patriarchal and oppressive systems that we are forced to engage with daily and our own complicity in them. Using our individual, collective and overlapping voices, whereby we recognise the tensions and supportive narratives created by and within our research conversations, we identify that feminist activism and feminist futures are not solely a response to extreme events.

Environmental Racism and Climate (In)Justice in the Anthropocene: Addressing the Silences and Erasures in Management and Organization Studies

In this paper, we are situated in postcolonial, decolonial, and feminist epistemologies to study environmental racism in the Anthropocene—a new geological epoch where human activity has changed the functioning of the earth. Drawing from critiques of the Anthropocene, the concept of racial capitalism, as well as environmental justice and racism scholarship, we show how proposed solutions to the climate crisis overlook and may even exacerbate racial injustices faced by communities of color. We contend that a climate justice agenda that is grounded on racial justice is necessary for our scholarship to develop a racially just management and organization studies (MOS). To accomplish this agenda, we propose three shifts: from studying elite institutions to researching grassroots organizations concerned with climate and racial justice, from uncritical endorsement of global technologies to studying local adaptation by communities of color, and from offering decontextualized climate solutions to unraveling racial histories that can help us address racial and climate injustices. We discuss the implications of these shifts for management research and education and argue that MOS cannot afford to ignore climate justice and racial justice—they are both inextricably linked, and one cannot be achieved without the other.

Feminist identity crisis in Africa

Feminist movement in Africa lacks capable guardians to steer the development of feminine identity or theory, and to operationalize the feminist agenda. The apparent lack of a national or continental feminist theory has not helped to elevate the status of the majority of women beyond the patriarchal controls, particularly in the rural and peri-urban communities, despite improved social modernization. Africa’s feminist crisis involves the lack of leadership, ideological vacuity, absence of structure or movement, and the non-application of cultural; political; class; religious and tribal identities in developing feminist theory. In search of capable feminist guardians, the tendency of feminist groups is to co-opt self-actualized African women into feminism with or without their consent, and without regard to the accidental coincidence of those personalities’ narratives with feminist epistemology. Feminism in Africa is in search of relevance within the public space. This paper interrogates these issues and uses the narrative of several self-actualized women in Africa, who have, apparently, been co-opted into feminism as a result, to discuss aspects of the crisis and the delimiting public policy and legislation against, perhaps, the development of feminine identity.