Feminist standpoint theory : a case of too much Marx or not enough?
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(Published version)
Date
2009
Authors
Ellis, B.
Fopp, R.
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Stewart, L.
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Conference paper
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The future of sociology, 2009 / Stewart, L. (ed./s), pp.1-15
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Australian Sociological Association 2009 Annual Conference (1 Dec 2009 - 4 Dec 2009 : Australian National University, Canberra, Australia)
Abstract
The feminist standpoint theories ofHarding, Hartsock and Smith are both methodologies and epistemologies which share the project of developing morally and scientifically preferable explanations of social life. While standpoint theories use Marx's notion of the standpoint of the proletariat they are also wary of becoming too indebted to Marx. We argue in this paper that standpoint theories do not contain too much Marx but not enough. More specifically, we argue that more Marx in the form ofhis ethical concept of the proletariat could strengthen those standpoint theories which contend that the adoption of a standpoint is not only a matter of choosing a form of knowledge but is also based on ethical and political criteria. Further, such an addition may avoid the deleterious contemporary developments in standpoint theory which have seen the standpoint of women relativised to include the standpoint of almost all other groups. In so doing the idea of a feminist or women's standpoint fractures into multiple standpoints, sites and locations to the extent that the very notion is jeopardised.
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Copyright 2009 The Authors