Feminist Standpoint Epistemology Research Articles

What’s Epistemology Got to Do With It?

Feminist standpoint epistemology is neither a necessary nor a sufficient starting point for social work intervention research. Contemporary social scientists readily grapple with cultural, political, and/or structural aspects of social problems either in the absence of or in conjunction with an explicitly formulated feminist standpoint epistemology. The article also argues against privileging any group’s voice for purposes of social work intervention research, including the voices of marginalized and oppressed groups whose judgments, perceptions, and statement of facts are as prone to error or likely to be as mistaken as anyone else’s.

When religion becomes violent: an exploration of gender relations among Nigerian migrants in Durban, South Africa

Migration can pose or introduce new challenges for men as it offers empowerment to women and has the potential to alter traditional lifestyle. This can lead to a situation where male migrants strive to hold on to their patriarchal privileges while female migrants endeavour to challenge former gender relations and roles. Male migrants desire to hold on to their dominant male-controlled position can result in the perpetration of gender based violence. This article explores the above scenario by focusing on Nigerian migrants in Durban, South Africa. A major finding according to my research is that Nigerian male migrants employ religion to keep women in subordinated positions, thus perpetrating psychological violence against them. Framed within a feminist standpoint epistemology and underpinned by the theories of Christian egalitarianism and feminist post structuralism, this article utilises a qualitative interpretivist approach to make meaning of the situation.

“Aren’t I a Woman(ist)”: The Spiritual Epistemology of Sojourner Truth

This paper analyzes African American abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth in the context of two rhetorical paradigms—womanist theology and Black feminist standpoint epistemology—in order to highlight the ways that she used the podium and the pulpit to validate the black woman’s experience and her particular embodied ways of knowing. Significantly, Truth asserted her authority in public spaces as a black woman whose life was rooted in Afro-centric thought and tradition. The paper enhances scholarship in the field of theological-based rhetoric and extends the work of rhetorical scholars who have focused on her famous speech, “Aren’t I a Woman.” The paper highlights Truth as a maverick feminist theologian who was instrumental in the abolitionist and women’s rights movements.

The Epistemological Challenges of Social Work Intervention Research

We argue that the dominance of an empiricist epistemology in social work research steers much of the research away from studying and explaining the structural forces that cause the conditions of oppression, exploitation, and social exclusion that are at the roots of the social problems addressed by the profession. It does so because it assumes that the research enterprise can be insulated from the broader cultural, socioeconomic, and political forces that inherently slant the research to echo dominant ideologies that celebrate individualism. In contrast, we present the feminist standpoint epistemology, which directs researchers to start from the daily lives and conditions of the oppressed and marginalized. Such strong objectivity leads the researchers to interrogate the structural determinants of the oppressed and marginalized. We propose that it provides a more effective starting point for social work intervention research that supports the mission of the social work profession.

‘Why Should Holidays Come in the Way of School?’ Situating Girls’ Experiences of Schooling

This article explores girls’ experiences of schooling in a cluster of villages in the Mahabubnagar district in Telangana, India, arguing that the processual conception of schooling is one that commences before the access of girls to school. It includes the social learning of distributive justice through family, community and religion that influences girls’ perceptions of differential entitlements to educational resources due to their gender. These perceptions are simultaneously reinforced and contested by the school, contouring their engagement with educational resources. Drawing from the theoretical frame of feminist standpoint epistemology this study uses interviews and focus group discussions to engage with its participants. It focuses on the specificities of individual assertions and contestations of girls, as well as the complex responses of affirmation and injunctions of parents, teachers and other members of the community who impact their experiences. In doing so it marks a departure from the linear rhetoric of the dismal experiences of girls and boys in government schools in India.

Feminist Collective Activism in Telangana, South India: Exemplary by the Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samatha Society

This research aims at contributing to the ongoing debate of feminist standpoint epistemology by introducing a study on feminist collective activism in Sangareddy and Yellareddy, two districts of the newly established 29th state of India, Telangana. The purpose here is to document the work of two sanghams (collectives) by the Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samatha Society (APMSS). The focus lies on songs created by Dalit and indigenous women, which are used as a form of, protest against societal and gender inequality. Those songs contribute in making a positive difference on a local level. Analysis of two group interviews strengthens this argument. The sanghams have shown that despite all societal differences, solidarity among women for a common cause can make a difference in combating social issues on a local level. Taking the APMSS as an example, this research shows that the use of a holistic approach to education to support women in their responses to social issues has an overall positive effect on women. Furthermore, and most importantly, women are strengthened in believing that their life-experiences matter. My research shows that literacy is not necessarily needed to be a successful advocate for women's rights. What is needed, however, is an understanding of local contexts, social issues and ultimately the ability to link them to life-experiences.

Feminist Collective Activism in Telangana, South India: Exemplary by the Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samatha Society

This research aims at contributing to the ongoing debate of feminist standpoint epistemology by introducing a study on feminist collective activism in Sangareddy and Yellareddy, two districts of the newly established 29th state of India, Telangana. The purpose here is to document the work of two sanghams (collectives) by the Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samatha Society (APMSS). The focus lies on songs created by Dalit and indigenous women, which are used as a form of, protest against societal and gender inequality. Those songs contribute in making a positive difference on a local level. Analysis of two group interviews strengthens this argument. The sanghams have shown that despite all societal differences, solidarity among women for a common cause can make a difference in combating social issues on a local level. Taking the APMSS as an example, this research shows that the use of a holistic approach to education to support women in their responses to social issues has an overall positive effect on women. Furthermore, and most importantly, women are strengthened in believing that their life-experiences matter. My research shows that literacy is not necessarily needed to be a successful advocate for women´s rights. What is needed, however, is an understanding of local contexts, social issues and ultimately the ability to link them to life-experiences.

Patient and public involvement in health research: Ethical imperative and/or radical challenge?

Patient and public involvement in health research, including mental health research, is promoted by research funders in England. However, it is poorly conceptualised. One argument is that patient and public involvement in research is an ethical imperative because those who research is for should have a stake in how it is done. This could be developed through concepts of citizenship and democratic science. More strongly, it can be argued that changing the knowledge producers will change knowledge itself. Starting with feminist standpoint epistemology, it is argued that a political conceptualisation best captures the new knowledge that marginalised health groups can produce.

Art-making and well-being in healthy young adult women

The current study investigated the relationship between art-making and well-being in a group of young women artists, while addressing the context in which art-making occurred. Participants were ten female visual artists, twenty-five to thirty-three years of age, who created a variety of different types of visual art. The study employed a feminist standpoint epistemology and a phenomenological methodology. Data were collected through journals, focus groups, and an individual interview. The data were analyzed to understand the nature of the phenomenon of art-making, and its function in participants’ lives. Three main themes emerged in the study. First, participant's identity as an artist consisted of four parts, and contributed to their well-being. Second, the process and context of art-making interacted to influence participant's engagement in art-making and their social relationships. Third, various emotions and cognitions interacted with the process of art-making to influence participant‘s level of productivity. Finally, art-making provided an avenue for participants to manage their emotions. Overall, the study demonstrated that in certain contexts art-making can foster well-being in young adult women, suggesting that therapists can encourage art-making outside sessions to help clients enhance their mental health.

Women’s Early Relational Experiences That Lead to Domestic Violence

Many perpetrators of domestic violence engage in a perpetual cycle of forming sequential relationships while repeating violent behavior. Their methods of manipulation successfully dominate a partner, the outcome of the relationship being control and violence. This research study was influenced by a feminist standpoint epistemology, and was focused on the narratives of 15 women who chose to talk in great detail about the transition in their respective relationship from love to violence. The findings revealed three tactics, termed the princess effect, feeling vulnerable, and commitment, which were deployed by male perpetrators in the early stages of a relationship. The purpose of these tactics was to successfully engage and retain women, to then exert control, inflict violence, and subjugate them. A description of the initial act of physical violence is provided, revealing the impact of these tactics in meeting the ends intended by the perpetrator.

Failed Theories: Explaining Gender Difference in Journalism

This essay reviews major theories, concepts, and perspectives that have been used to ground and defend arguments about the difference that gender makes in media professions and workplaces, particularly journalism. After recalling claims about sex stereotyping, this essay summarizes two kinds of direct effects explanations based on presumed sex/gender differences, including the claim that women's skills and natural talents are complementary to or even superior to men's. After looking at discussions grounded in patriarchy, I discuss critical mass, i.e., the notion, borrowed from nuclear physics, that change occurs when an irreversible turning point is reached. Ironically, in journalism the notion of critical mass gave rise to fears about Pink Ghetto, i.e., that women's successful incursion into journalism would lower salaries and thereby drive out men. When critical mass failed, scholars used the Glass Ceiling to explain women's inability to break into media management. The “Topping-Out Factor” suggests that change comes only from the very top. Status politics and applying Bourdieu's “field” theory explain why these issues are so fraught in journalism. Finally, I suggest that feminist standpoint epistemology and intersectionality productively re-present gender as a notion that is not sexually deterministic or dichotomous but emerges at the intersection of complex historical, material and cultural/social conditions. Experiments in newsroom structures, content, policy- and decision-making emerging from feminist theorizing and critique are necessary if journalism is to serve the ongoing political and social needs of people who are embodied, and who may be particularly disadvantaged by class and race.

Social Worker Interventions in Situations of Domestic Violence: What We Can Learn from Survivors' Personal Narratives?

Social workers are an integral provider in the statutory support offered to women experiencing domestic violence. This paper uses information obtained from women's personal narratives to examine this social worker–client relationship in situations of domestic violence. Embracing a feminist standpoint epistemology and focusing on the women's experiences, it is evident that many of the women expressed dissatisfaction with the way they were treated by social workers. Threats to remove the children from the home and victim blaming were among the tactics described. The parallel between such reported forms of coercion employed by social workers and those used by the abuser are striking. The findings suggest a lack of a favourable climate to ensure the safety of the woman and her family through the provision of family-centred care and a need to build more effective and supportive relationships with women experiencing domestic violence. Implications for social work practice are also discussed.

Social Constructionism and Housing Studies: A Critical Reflection

The article aims to outline briefly the Australian research that has adopted the social constructionist approach which, in turn, arose in the context of the inadequacies of the positivism used to examine so-called ‘social problems’. This positivism took for granted the dominant understandings, definitions, causes and the discourse of the ‘social problem’. Social constructionists maintain that humans are actors and participants who create their social world, with the consequence that perspectives, definitions, explanations of causation and discourses are constructed by them. In this way powerful housing ideas, policies and practices can be undermined as merely constructions of a time and place and for special interests. Yet in its extreme or ‘strong’ form this position is not without difficulties and, after briefly analysing several of them, the article examines a more moderate or ‘weak’ form of social constructionism which is now more generally adopted and which addresses to some extent the problems of the ‘strong’ position. The article concludes by exploring the possibility that the feminist standpoint epistemology of Sandra Harding, while different in some respects, has the potential to both illustrate and compliment the more moderate constructivist position.

Hermeneutics of science and multi-gendered science education

In this paper, I consider the relevance of the view of cognitive existentialism to a multi-gendered picture of science education. I am opposing both the search for a particular feminist standpoint epistemology and the reduction of philosophy of science to cultural studies of scientific practices as championed by supporters of postmodern political feminism. In drawing on the theory of gender plurality and the conception of dynamic objectivity, the paper suggests a way of treating the nexus between the construction of gender within the interrelatedness of scientific practices and the constitution of particular objects of inquiry. At stake is the notion of characteristic hermeneutic situation which proves to be helpful in designing a multi-gendered pedagogy as well.

The Bias Paradox in Feminist Standpoint Epistemology

ABSTRACTSandra Harding's feminist standpoint epistemology makes two claims. The thesis of epistemic privilege claims that unprivileged social positions are likely to generate perspectives that are “less partial and less distorted” than perspectives generated by other social positions. The situated knowledge thesis claims that all scientific knowledge is socially situated. The bias paradox is the tension between these two claims. Whereas the thesis of epistemic privilege relies on the assumption that a standard of impartiality enables one to judge some perspectives as better than others, the situated knowledge thesis seems to undermine this assumption by suggesting that all knowledge is partial. I argue that a contextualist theory of epistemic justification provides a solution to the bias paradox. Moreover, contextualism enables me to give empirical content to the thesis of epistemic privilege, thereby making it into a testable hypothesis.

The Bias Paradox in Feminist Standpoint Epistemology

The Bias Paradox in Feminist Standpoint Epistemology

Faith and feminism: how African American women from a storefront church resist oppression in healthcare.

It is well documented that racism in the US healthcare system, including the objectification and disparagement of women of color, contributes to disparities in health status. However, it is a mistaken notion to characterize women of color as unknowing victims. In this study, black feminist standpoint epistemology is used in methodological approach and analysis to understand how a small group of African American church-going women use religious beliefs to help them cope with and resist the racism and discriminatory objectification they encounter in healthcare encounters.

Disparate But Disabled: Fat Embodiment and Disability Studies

At a recent conference on race, a prominent but controversial white male academic presented a paper on buckshot skull studies, noting comparisons between Caucasian and African skulls. Well-known for his race/ist scholarship, this scholar concluded that such studies represent facts that cannot be ignored, implying that racism, at least on some levels, can be biologically and scientifically justified. During the discussion of his paper, I posed a question about feminist standpoint epistemology, his obvious belief in science as purely objective, and his recalcitrance to situate himself, as a white male, within the context of his own study and scientific epistemology. After replying with the tiresome argument that only scientists can criticize science and stating that feminist standpoint epistemologists needed to build a rocket that made it to the moon before he would take their criticisms seriously, he continued to argue for pure objectivity, stating he could show me studies that empirically prove women's hips are wider than men's. Unpacking his choice of example exposes the liability I faced as a woman of size in a culture that values thinness. First, his example reminded me of my body size (while I was standing in the front of a

Genetic Counseling and the Disabled: Feminism Examines the Stance of Those Who Stand at the Gate

This essay examines the possible systematic bias against the disabled in the structure and practice of genetic counseling. Finding that the profession's “nondirective” imperative remains problematic, the authors recommend that methodology developed by feminist standpoint epistemology be used to incorporate the perspective of disabled individuals in genetic counselors' education and practice, thereby reforming society's view of the disabled and preventing possible negative effects of genetic counseling on the self-concept and material circumstance of disabled individuals.

Genetic Counseling and the Disabled: Feminism Examines the Stance of Those Who Stand at the Gate

This essay examines the possible systematic bias against the disabled in the structure and practice of genetic counseling. Finding that the profession's "nondirective" imperative remains problematic, the authors recommend that methodology developed by feminist standpoint epistemology be used to incorporate the perspective of disabled individuals in genetic counselors' education and practice, thereby reforming society's view of the disabled and preventing possible negative effects of genetic counseling on the self-concept and material circumstance of disabled individuals.