Feminist Standpoint Research Articles

‘We don't joke with our money’: Gender-based occupational segregation and women's remuneration negotiations in artisanal and small-scale mining

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) narratives often portray women as a monolithic group in relation to men in the sector. Consequently, there is a need to better understand whether women receive the same remuneration for the same tasks performed at the sites or not, and what factors could explain the possible pay differential. In this paper, we explore the negotiation mechanisms through which women, especially those who transport ore in informal ASM spaces, advance their economic interests, using a case of Prestea-Bondaye mining area in Ghana. Drawing from a multiple feminist standpoint perspective, we argue that women in ASM have different ‘social positions’ and diverse experiences which inform their negotiations for better pay with their informal ASM employers. Our findings revealed that women miners used their numerical advantage to request for standardised pay for all women. Issues related to working conditions – namely distance, and the head pans used for carrying mineralised materials – were also identified as factors over which women negotiated for remuneration. Some women leveraged the number of working years and their personalised networks and relations with employers to negotiate for higher remuneration. Further, the uncertainty of gold production and the gold content in the mineralised materials affected women’s remuneration after the initial agreements negotiated with their employers. In instances where the gold content was very low, women were paid less than the initial pay they agreed with the employers or nothing at all. However, where the gold content was higher, employers only paid the agreed amount. Based on the income inequalities and conditions of work in ASM spaces, we argue that formalisation efforts should support women miners' efforts to receive better pay and working conditions that include employment contracts.

Dalit Women's challenges traditional notions of 'difference', advocating for a unique feminist standpoint position

Dalit women challenge traditional notions of "difference" by boldly advocating for a unique feminist standpoint position that highlights their experiences and struggles. In doing so, they seek to redefine and reshape societal perspectives on gender equality and social justice. These courageous women are at the forefront of a Dalit women movement that aims to dismantle systems of oppression and discrimination that have long marginalized them. By amplifying their voices and narratives, Dalit women are not only reclaiming their power and agency but also sparking crucial conversations and driving essential change within their communities and beyond. Through their perseverance and resilience, they are breaking barriers and paving way for more inclusive and equitable society where all individuals are valued and respected.

The weaponisation of ‘trauma-informed’ discourse in prison policy: An abolition feminist critique

Taking an abolition feminist standpoint, this article develops a critique of the absorption of the language of ‘trauma-informed practice’ into gendered penal policy. We use Carol Bacchi's methodology for post-structural policy analysis, which centres around the question, ‘what is the problem represented to be?’, and apply it to an Australian correctional policy document designed to inform practice in the Victorian women's prison system: Strengthening Connections. We find that the policy constructs criminalised women's trauma as an individual psychological pathology that causes ‘criminal offending’ and makes them vulnerable to further harm. In effect, the prison is framed as both necessary for the protection of the community and for the protection of criminalised women themselves. We argue that these discursive distortions sanitise the structural violence of the prison and revalorise the carceral state under the guises of rehabilitation and therapy. Our contribution highlights broader implications and challenges for criminological research that engages attempts to ‘soften’ carceral conditions without reckoning with their capacity to entrench gendered carceralism.

Locating epistemic (dis)privilege of female fans in select Indian narratives

ABSTRACT As a relatively new category in academia, discourses on Indian Fan culture, both digital and non-digital, are filled with apprehensive perforations. Rapid globalization and the digitization of media have enabled western fan practices as well as a scholarship to permeate into Indian culture but with a twist of patriarchy fused into it. Despite the involvement of female fans in the first wave of western fan practices, feminist cultural studies rarely found a place within fan studies. This article analyses two films Fan (2016) and Mohanlal (2018), set against the backdrop of culturally diverse regional fandoms to critique the gendered heterogeneity within Indian fandom. While the films selected for analysis ostensibly seem to celebrate the rich culture of media fans in India, nonetheless, they also serve as controlling images that reinstate the hermeneutical injustice perpetrated on female fans, thus marginalizing them. This article aims to tease out the epistemic injustice embedded in the gendered space of Indian fandom and calls attention to the need of establishing a feminist standpoint in the discourse.

Situating Cancel Culture

Many view cancellation as a method for holding influential personalities accountable for bad behavior, while others think cancelling amounts to censorship and bullying. I hold that neither of these accounts are worth pursuing, especially if the aim is social progress. In this paper, I offer a situated account of cancellation and cancel culture, locating the phenomenon in our exclusionary history while examining the social dynamics of belief. When we situate cancel culture, we can see how problematic instances of cancelling are embedded in ignorance. While combatting ignorance appears to call for a remedy rooted in feminist standpoint epistemology, there are risks in adopting naive practices of deference. Applying criticisms of epistemic injustice and adopting Táíwò’s elite capture framework, I explain how well-intentioned cancelling can work against social movements. Since epistemic trust mechanisms discourage self-reflection and belief revision, the relevant tactics for enacting social change—coalition politics and education—seem out of reach. I conclude by sketching cancel culture as a diagnostic tool: cancellation can be used appropriately in marginalized communities, but when it comes to combatting ignorance among privileged folks, we should view cancel culture as a method for determining where our social institutions are failing us.

Criticizing Female Genital Mutilation Practice from Feminist Standpoint Theory: A View from Communication Science Perspective

This conceptual review examines Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practice in Indonesia viewed from Feminist Standpoint Theory (FST). The current study uses a literature review to build an argumentative contribution from communication science perspective. FGM is a global phenomenon locally and culturally practiced in more than 29 countries, including Indonesia. Despite many state regulations and international treaties forbidding the practice because of its harmful consequences, FGM practice is persistently maintained by religion, culture, tradition, and other factors. The author proposes FST as a theoretical base to criticize FGM because it does not represent the lived experience of women, marginalizes women further to the brink of ideal democratic participation, and does not contribute towards the positive construction of female selfhood. The author will elaborate on these three objections using the communication science perspective within the Indonesian cultural context. The author proposes more action-oriented theorizing to overcome FST's practical deficiency by providing insights from critical intercultural communication. Women's collective agency based on situated knowledge will empower their communicative skills as enablers of transformation to eradicate FGM.

Understanding feminism on online platforms: Exploration and analysis of two online platforms

This article explores how feminism is practised and communicated on digital platforms. Feminism in India and Khabar Lahariya are two online platforms studied with interviews of respondents to understand how the online spaces are used for knowledge sharing that take feminist perspective. New media opened up spaces for people to communicate from any part of the world, create media content and circulate it. Visibility, privacy, accessibility and risks are negotiated by the reporters and content creators to produce alternative cultural production from an intersectional feminist standpoint.

Harnessing the Lived Experience of Transgender and Gender Diverse People as Practice Knowledge in Social Work: A Standpoint Analysis

Transgender (trans) and gender diverse (TGD) people continue experiencing profound expressions of stigma and discrimination in their attempts at accessing care, including support from the social work profession. Incorporating the lived experience of TGD people as practice knowledge in social work may serve to enhance the profession's relationship with TGD communities and mitigate historical barriers of this population to relevant services. In this study, we draw on qualitative data based on individual interviews with 20 TGD people and 10 social workers in a Western Canadian province to explore the potential of leveraging the lived experience of TGD people as practice insight in social work. Our analysis, which is supported with the tenets of feminist standpoint theory, reveals that incorporating the lived experience of TGD people in social work as practice knowledge may inform and catalyze interventions that (1) validate TGD bodies, identities and experiences; (2) contribute to networks of advocacy and support founded on shared community knowledge and (3) promote resistance and transformation. In our discussion, we explore practical implications of our research for practice at multiple levels, including the potential of engaging TGD ‘peers’ with relevant lived experience in the direct delivery of certain psychosocial interventions.

Risky Obliviousness Within Fragmented Services: Experiences of Families With Disabled Children During the Covid‐19 Pandemic

Living on an island in a pandemic has its obvious advantages. However, in a globalised economy, border restrictions cannot keep the COVID‐19 virus completely at bay. Despite coordinated efforts at infection control and extensive vaccination, Iceland, a sparsely populated island in the north, was placed among the countries in the highest risk category by the ECDC. In this article, wereport a qualitative study carried out at the peak of the fourth COVID‐19 wave in 2021, when the pandemic had severely hit the Icelandic social and healthcare system, with a record‐breaking number of infections. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with parents with seven disabled children. Guided by feminist standpoint theory and critical disability studies, we focused on how service structures affected and shaped parents’ and children’s experiences during the first waves of the pandemic. The findings suggest that the pandemic intensified the already precarious position of the families. During the pandemic, the gaps in the already fragmented services widened, and the families were left to navigate this new reality on their own. Preventive measures enforced by municipalities and healthcare services centred on non‐disabled people’s experiences and needs. Unprepared service systems distanced themselves from the families while maintaining governance and supervision over defining their need for support.

Queering the Global Filipina Body: Contested Nationalism in the Filipina/o Diaspora

Queering the Global Filipina Body: Contested Nationalism in the Filipina/o Diaspora

Beyond Enrolment and Appropriation Politics in Dalit Girls’ Education: Caste and Patriarchy Among Scavenging Communities of Urban Haryana, India

While contemplating on Dalit girls’ education, a large body of research and policy drafts generally draws from the integration of enrolment and appropriation politics (around being a ‘Dalit’ and ‘women’) to explore the educational experiences and challenges of Dalit girls in the Indian education system. However, less attention is given to what lies beyond the enrolment and appropriation politics in Dalit girls’ education. This article is based on an empirical study conducted among households associated with ‘Unclean’ occupations from two urban cities of Haryana. In order to position Dalit girls’ education beyond enrolment and appropriation politics, the article attempts to unmask the ‘multiple patriarchies’ embedded in the socio-economic barriers often pervading Dalit girls in the Indian education system. While doing so, the article demonstrates the inseparable intersectionality of caste and gender, through the workings of external Brahmanical as well as internal Dalit patriarchy simultaneously functioning against Dalit girls’ education. Eventually, the article calls for a need to position Dalit girls’ education in a Dalit feminist standpoint framework.

Contemporary Women's Post-Apocalyptic Fiction by Susan Watkins

Reviewed by: Contemporary Women's Post-Apocalyptic Fiction by Susan Watkins Jennifer A. Wagner-Lawlor Susan Watkins. Contemporary Women's Post-Apocalyptic Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020. ix +219 pp. Several days after September 11, 2001, Guardian critic James Wood commented on contemporary novels' attempts to contain the uncontainable through encyclopedic proportion. Wood proposed that hysterical realism overtook literary fiction at the turn of century, conjuring a picture of an emasculated generation of (male and female) storytellers, with a couple exceptions (such as Don Delillo), who just don't have it in them to respond adequately to the times. Wood took to task the then-first-time author Zadie Smith for falling into a characteristic evasiveness and lack of authentic feeling. In a [End Page 586] wry response entitled "This Is How It Feels to Me," Smith conceded that the millennial literary landscape is shadowed by fear and the realization that the center is not, in fact, holding. But after all, she averred, is it so irrational and weak-minded of a writer, particularly right after the apocalyptic event in New York, to feel (like everybody else) disoriented or untethered, fearful—even terrified? If the self-proliferating stylistics of her and others' novels targeted by Wood are some form of psycho-social defense, thanks to a general sense of approaching doom, what makes such self-conscious defensiveness inauthentic, or lacking in writerly craft and moral seriousness? Twenty years on, as Susan Watkins's Contemporary Women's Post-Apocalyptic Fiction notes, the question of adequate response to the manifold anxieties attending the collapse of one world and the emergence of another remains. She cites Ursula Heise's observation that the prevalence of contemporary dystopias indicates a desire to "unsettle the status quo, but by failing to outline a persuasive alternative, they end up reconfirming it" (10). The suggestion of inauthenticity appears again: "survivalists [are] hard to tell apart from hipsters, their portrayals of apocalypse [recycling] well-known motifs" (Heise qtd. in Watkins 10). Watkins concurs to an extent but warns against extending critical skepticism onto today's postapocalyptic fiction, which comprises critical dystopian and utopian modes. An increasing number of women authors, less committed to the legacy of the heroic narrative and its sense of an ending, are leading the way. As Watkins states at the opening of her study, "conventional apocalyptic fiction (usually male-authored) tends toward conservatism" (1), toward a nostalgia for the time before, and/or a restoration of the world, centered around the nuclear family. Woman-authored novels in this genre, Watkins argues, go a different way—and they must: "My argument is not that women are bound to write end-of-world fiction in a particular way because they are intrinsically different from men . . . Rather, I claim that women writers' fictional engagement with apocalyptic ideas and forms is inevitably related to their specific subject positions in the contemporary moment" (2). In short, we are talking about a feminist standpoint. Feminist critical intervention has meant writing against the end, argues Watkins, "focus[ing] on analysing the ways in which patriarchy and neo-colonialism are intrinsically implicated in the disasters they envision. Rather than nostalgia and restoration . . . they successfully transform and rewrite the apocalyptic genre to imagine different possible futures for humanity post-apocalypse" (1). Feminist attention to situatedness and embodiment, gender and sexuality, crucially distinguishes women's [End Page 587] postapocalyptic fiction from men's, the author claims, and Contemporary Women's Post-Apocalyptic Fiction lucidly articulates how women writers since Mary Shelley (especially her The Last Man [1826]) have interrogated apocalyptic and postapocalyptic narrative as symbolic form. Imbricated in this study of (un)anticipated endings and belated beginnings is the urgency of women's agency, not in driving the rebirth of mankind but rather in generating radical forms of difference that open up possibility or hope. A rich introductory chapter ("Rewriting and Transforming Traditions") gathers the threads of feminist literary and philosophical critiques by Stacy Alaimo, Karen Barad, Rosi Braidotti, Claire Colebrook, Elizabeth Grosz, Donna Haraway, Heise, Melanie Klein, Adrienne Rich, and others who have remarked on the absence of intersectional analysis that feminist and postcolonial writers and scholars bring to bear. Watkins also situates her monograph...

The Lived Experience of Medication for Opioid Use Disorder: Qualitative Metasynthesis.

Buprenorphine and methadone, when used as maintenance therapy in opioid use disorder (OUD), can significantly reduce the risk of death after an opioid overdose. Despite the many benefits, medication for OUD (MOUD) remains controversial and underutilized. The aim of this study was to (a) identify studies that explicate the lived experience of MOUD, (b) conduct a methodologically sound critical quality assessment, (c) conduct a metasynthesis of identified qualitative studies, and (d) analyze the results through the lenses of critical social justice, feminist standpoint, and social theories to inform a more culturally responsive, effective, and holistic approach to treatment to increase the utilization of and receptivity to MOUD in the treatment of OUDs. Metasynthesis is the deliberate process of synthesizing data from multiple qualitative studies to create a new interpretation of previously published research. Our metasynthesis focused on forming a new interpretation of the lived experience of MOUD. Of the 292 studies identified, eight met inclusion criteria. The overall quality of the studies was variable. The study population included adults aged ≥ 18 years with OUD or dependency. Metasynthesis produced three overarching themes: (a) The duplexity of MOUD creates ambivalence in how a person experiences MOUD; (b) the structure of treatment and systemic influences matter, and (c) MOUD as a stepping-stone with multiple meanings in recovery. Understanding experiential dualities allows professionals to see from other perspectives and can inform interventions and treatment structures as well as serve as a backdrop for social change. The synthesized new meaning of MOUD was an ambivalent experience influenced by intersectionality.

Prevent Domestic Violence: Reconstruction Wife Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expressions

The wife is one of the potential victims of domestic violence. In patriarchal culture and social construction norms, the wife must obey all of their husband's requests. Hence, they became vulnerable and got physical, sexual, economic, and many forms of domestic violence. Based on radical feminist theory, human rights concepts, and interpersonal communication theory, this article builds the idea to prevent domestic violence for wives by reconstructing their rights to freedom of opinion and expression. This research-based is on a literature review from scientific articles, books, and reports. After it, analyze with standpoint feminism. The result is that two points. First, in cultural and logical patriarchal, wives need interpersonal communication training to get equality when talking with their husbands. Second, reconstruction about wives' awareness about freedom to opinion and expressions is necessary, so they do not fear to say no to their husbands and love themselves first. Finally, to prevent domestic violence against wives needs implementation of freedom to opinion and expressions in everyday life.

“I’m Described as Good Journalist Because I Am ‘Tough’”: How Femininity Is Still Considered a Weakness in Zimbabwean Newsrooms

ABSTRACT This paper investigates journalism practice and newsroom cultures in both private and state media companies in Zimbabwe. The paper moves beyond the gender body count to analyse journalists’ cultural interpretations of their everyday work and actions and how this contributes to the structuring of power relations in the newsrooms. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 journalists from selected Zimbabwean newsrooms to unearth their lived experiences of the profession. Using the journalism culture concept, feminist standpoint epistemology and intersectionality, the study found out that Zimbabwean journalists continue to experience gender biases owing to cultural interpretations of the roles of women and men; increasing subtle sexual harassment from both media managers, male colleagues and sources; and deliberate silencing of women’s voices. Further, a poor performing economy contributes to unethical journalism practices. The study also reveals how gender intersects with other social norms such as the location/positioning of women, ethnicity, age, and years of experience in the newsroom to further dis-privilege female journalists. There are deliberate efforts by journalists (both male and female) to employ feminist journalism—with the goal of contributing towards a journalistic culture that is non-oppressive.

A Mujerista Liberation Psychology Perspective on Testimonio to Cultivate Decolonial Healing

Grounded in a liberation psychology mujerista epistemology and a decolonial feminist standpoint, the article describes the development and application of testimonio as a resource toward healing. The application of this resource goes beyond the classroom to include clinical settings. By bridging Latin America liberation psychology within LatCrit theory, the article describes testimonio as a decolonial feminist mujerista strategy to cultivate decolonial healing through storytelling. Healing is conceptualized as a process of reconstituting the self, individually, relationally, and collectively, through life stories. Extending this definition, decolonial healing is experiencing community well-being through relational critically reflexive dialogues that facilitate a critical social analysis, mutual reciprocal recognitions, and radical hope. Building on evidence that identifies testimonio as a pedagogical and methodological tool, this article purports that the sociopolitical process of testimoniar can serve as a therapeutic mujerista strategy to support community well-being. The sociopolitical elements of testimonio toward decolonial healing experiences, as a potential therapeutic resource, are discussed through a thematic analysis of Latinx students’ reflections featured in their Testimoniando El Presente essay assignment. Testimonios were conducted with their mothers, friends, siblings, or mentors and written within in the context of an online undergraduate course. Through an analysis of Latinx students’ written reflections, evidence in support of mujerista strategies like testimonio that can complement existing decolonial practices and healing therapies are discussed. The conclusion offers an invitation to engage a mujerista epistemology, specifically adapting testimonio as a resource to support decolonial healing among Latinx students living in precarious times.

Two Distant Feminist Standpoints in Nineteenth-Century India: Case Studies of Savitribai Phule and Pandita Ramabai

Modern feminist theory endeavours to explain gender inequality in terms of gender politics, power hierarchies and sexuality. In this endeavour, it has come to the crossroads with a variety of theoretical and philosophical domains. It dynamically deals with multiple domains such as sociology, history, anthropology, economics, philosophy, psychoanalysis and literary criticism. Standpoint epistemology has been applied by gender scholars to highlight the intersectional issues in feminist theory. In the present article, two different feminist standpoints in the nineteenth-century India have been discussed. Feminist ideologies of Savitribai Phule, a low-caste Hindu woman, and Pandita Ramabai, a high-caste Hindu widow, have been compared. Their thoughts and writings on diverse gender issues such as education, self-reliance, child marriage, widow remarriage and choice marriage have been examined. Since both the leaders are from different backgrounds at the individual, interactional and macro levels, efforts have been made to understand their standpoints. By tackling two different standpoints, it has been embarked upon to contribute to a critical gender scholarship leading to a better social understanding.

The social conception of space of birth narrated by women with negative and traumatic birth experiences

BackgroundMany women experience giving birth as a negative or even as a traumatic event. Birth space and its occupants are fundamentally interconnected with negative and traumatic experiences, highlighting the importance of the social space of birth. AimTo explore experiences of women who have had a negative or traumatic birth to identify the value, sense and meaning they assign to the social space of birth. MethodsA feminist standpoint theory guided the research. Secondary discourse analysis of 51 qualitative data sets/transcripts from Dutch and Czech Republic postpartum women and 551 free-text responses of the Babies Born Better survey from women in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Spain, and the Czech Republic. FindingsThree themes and associated sub-themes emerged: 1. The institutional dimension of social space related to staff-imposed boundaries, rules and regulations surrounding childbirth, and a clinical atmosphere. 2. The relational dimension of social space related to negative women-healthcare provider interactions and relationships, including notions of dominance, power, authority, and control. 3. The personal dimension of social space related to how women internalised and were affected by the negative social dimensions including feelings of faith misplaced, feeling disconnected and disembodied, and scenes of horror. Discussion/conclusionThe findings suggest that improving the quality of the social space of birth may promote better birth experiences for women. The institutional, relational, and personal dimensions of the social space of birth are key in the planning, organisation, and provision of maternity care.

Discrimination Exposure Based on Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation of Veterans Affairs Health Administration Patients.

This study contributes to research and policy aimed at reducing population-level health disparities by applying a Feminist Standpoint approach to the examination of rates and correlates of health care discrimination among patients at the Veterans Affairs Health Administration (VHA). Drawing on quality improvement survey data (N = 806) collected within the VHA in 2018, we document and describe rates of both direct and vicarious past-year exposure to health care discrimination disaggregated by race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender. The analysis of within- and between-group rates and correlates of health care discrimination exposure reveals important subgroup-specific patterns that prior studies using aggregate or non-stratified data have masked. The findings have important research, theory, and policy implications and support advocacy for an intersectional approach to documenting and addressing health care discrimination.

Gender Ramifications of a Weberian Bureaucracy: A Feminist Appraisal of the United States Department of Agriculture

AbstractIn the field of public administration, a feminist appraisal of Weber’s bureaucracy has transpired gradually. In this article, we examine the gender ramifications of Weberian bureaucracy, with a specific focus on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Using the feminist critique of the field at large, and the framework of bureau men and settlement women in particular, we critically analyze Weber’s ideas of an ideal bureaucracy. Our central contribution is intermeshing Stiver’s critical perspectives with the theoretical frames of feminist phenomenology and feminist standpoint theory to craft a feminist model for appraising the agricultural bureaucracy in the United States. In doing so, we demonstrate how women farmers’ and landowners’ approach to agriculture and farm management is fundamentally different in values and orientation than the USDA’s Weberian bureaucratic approach which dictates the design and implementation of agricultural policy.