Academic Feminism - Papers

📄 Papers

But the empress has no clothes! Some awkward questions about the 'missing revolution' in feminist theory

Liz Stanley & Sue Wise • December 1, 2000

This provocative 2000 article challenges the state of contemporary feminist theory, arguing that while feminist epistemology, methodology and ethics have undergone revolutionary transformation, feminist theory remains trapped within parallel structures to mainstream/malestream social theory. Stanley and Wise call for a fundamental feminist autocritique and the development of feminist metatheory.

Feminist Theory Academic Feminism Feminist Literary Criticism +2

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Feminist Epistemology and Value

Alison Assiter • December 1, 2000

This 2000 article by Alison Assiter develops a distinctive approach to feminist epistemology centered on the concepts of 'emancipatory values' and 'epistemic communities.' Assiter argues that knowledge production is fundamentally shaped by the values of the communities in which it occurs, and that feminist epistemology should focus on creating communities whose values promote emancipation rather than oppression. The paper offers a modernist feminist epistemology that is collective rather than individualist, value-centered rather than value-neutral.

Feminist Theory Academic Feminism Feminist Literary Criticism +2

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Higamous, hogamous, woman monogamous

Amanda Rees • December 1, 2000

This essay critically examines evolutionary psychology's claims about gender differences and mate selection, particularly the popular notion that women are 'naturally monogamous' while men are 'naturally polygamous.' Rees reveals how these scientific narratives serve gender essentialism and how feminism responds to evolutionary psychology's challenges.

Feminist Theory Science Studies Gender Norms +2

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Pure tolerance revisited

Denise Thompson • December 1, 2000

This radical feminist theoretical article revisits the place of tolerance in feminist theory, critically responding to the pluralist stance advocated by the inaugural issue of Feminist Theory journal. Drawing on Herbert Marcuse's theory of 'repressive tolerance', Thompson argues that unlimited tolerance provides shelter for patriarchal and anti-feminist viewpoints, thereby undermining feminism's core as a liberatory politics. She contends that feminism must maintain intolerance toward male domination to preserve its theoretical coherence and political efficacy.

Feminist Theory Radical Feminism Feminist Epistemology +3

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Being reasonable, telling stories

Rita Felski • August 1, 2000

This essay explores the relationship between rational argumentation and narrative knowledge in feminist theory, questioning traditional oppositions between theory and story, abstract and concrete, argument and narration. Felski argues that narrative is not the opposite of rationality but an important mode of feminist knowledge production, and the two should be seen as complementary rather than opposed.

Feminist Theory Feminist Literary Criticism Feminist Epistemology +2

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Beyond the Politics of Location: The Power of Argument in a Global Era

Sylvia Walby • August 1, 2000

This 2000 article by leading feminist sociologist Sylvia Walby challenges the dominance of standpoint epistemology and the 'politics of location' in feminist theory. Walby argues that in an era of globalization, feminism needs to move beyond location-based knowledge claims and embrace the power of reasoned argument to make effective universal claims about gender justice. The paper engages critically with postmodern and postcolonial feminist theories that privilege particular standpoints over universal reasoning.

Feminist Theory Postmodern Feminism Academic Feminism +2

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In search of feminist theory

Sylvia Walby • August 1, 2000

This essay is Walby's response to critiques from Phoenix, Knapp, and others, further elaborating her position that feminism needs robust theorization and universal claims. Walby argues that in the era of globalization, feminism cannot be limited to politics of location but needs to develop theoretical frameworks capable of analyzing systemic oppression across local boundaries.

Feminist Theory Global Feminism Feminist Epistemology +2

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Thinking Through Breasts: Writing Maternity

Alison Bartlett • August 1, 2000

A groundbreaking exploration of how maternal embodiment, particularly breastfeeding, transforms academic writing and knowledge production. Bartlett develops an 'epistemology of breasts' that challenges traditional boundaries between personal experience and scholarly practice.

Feminist Theory Body Politics Academic Feminism +2

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Book Review: Introduction to Feminist Jurisprudence

Jane Scoular • April 1, 2000

This book review discusses Hilaire Barnett's 'Introduction to Feminist Jurisprudence'. Scoular, as a feminist legal scholar at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, evaluates the book's coverage of major issues in feminist jurisprudence as a student textbook, and its analysis of how traditional jurisprudence and law remain masculine subjects despite the vast strides in formal legal equality.

Feminist Theory Legal Equality Gender Politics +2

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What Counts as Feminist Theory

Elizabeth Ermarth • April 1, 2000

This essay explores the definitional boundaries and epistemological foundations of feminist theory, questioning what kinds of thinking and practice can be counted as 'theory' and how such distinctions affect feminist academic and political practice. Ermarth examines feminist theory's diversity and inclusivity from a postmodern perspective.

Feminist Theory Postmodern Feminism Feminist Epistemology +2

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Who Counts (or Doesn't Count) What as Feminist Theory?: An Exercise in Dictionary Use

Bronwyn Winter • April 1, 2000

This critical essay examines epistemological boundaries and power relations in academic discourse by investigating how dictionaries define and categorize feminist theory. Winter analyzes which theoretical traditions are included or excluded, and how these choices reflect power dynamics and knowledge politics within feminism.

Feminist Theory Academic Feminism Feminist Epistemology +2

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Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory

Judith Butler • December 1, 1988

This influential essay explores gender as a performative act rather than a natural given, drawing on phenomenological theory to argue that gender identity is constituted through repeated stylized acts. Butler challenges essentialist notions of gender and proposes that gender is continuously constructed through performance within regulatory frameworks.

Gender Identity Feminist Theory Gender Norms +2