Comparison and Contrast Paper
Aires310
West6e_PPT_Ch30.pptxIntroducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application 6th edition
Richard West, Lynn H. Turner
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1
Chapter 30
Feminist Standpoint Theory (FST)
©McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom. No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter Overview
Historical foundations of FST
Critique of theory and research
Assumptions of FST
FST and the communication field
Key concepts of FST
Integration, critique, and closing
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FST at a Glance
People occupy specific places in the social hierarchy
Individuals view social situations from specific vantage points
Vantage points that oppose those in power become standpoints
All standpoints are partial
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Introduction
Women’s (and all people’s) experiences, knowledge, and communication behaviors are shaped by the social groups to which they belong
Framework for FST is built on knowledge generated from the everyday lives of people
FST criticizes the status quo
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Historical Foundations of FST
Initial conceptualization is based on Hegel’s discussions of the standpoints in the master-slave relationship (1807)
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Historical Foundations of FST (continued)
Hartsock combined Hegel’s ideas with Marxist theory
Expanded Marx’s ideas to include all human activity
Critiqued the class structure
Resulting theory became the Feminist Standpoint Theory
Applied to feminist issues and interactions among other co-cultural groups
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Assumptions of FST
Sex or gender is a central focus for the theory
Sex or gender relations are viewed as problematic
Sex or gender relations are viewed as changeable
Feminist theory can be used to challenge the status quo when the status quo debases or devalues women
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Assumptions of FST (continued 1)
Five assumptions about the nature of social life
Material life structures and limits understanding of social relations
When material life is structured in opposing ways for different groups, the understanding of each will be an inversion of the other
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Assumptions of FST (continued 2)
The vision of the ruling group structures the material relations in which all groups are forced to participate
The vision available to an oppressed group represents struggle and an achievement
The understanding of the oppressed makes visible the inhumanity of the existing relations among groups and creates a move toward a better and more just world
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Assumptions of FST (continued 3)
Four assumptions about knowledge (epistemology)
No knowledge can be truly objective
Women’s experiences and perspectives differ from men’s, producing different communication patterns
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Assumptions of FST (continued 4)
Examining the distinctive features of women’s experiences is worthwhile
We can only know women’s experiences by paying attention to women’s own interpretations of these experiences
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FST and the Communication Field
Standpoints and communication are reciprocal
Communication is responsible for shaping standpoints
Those with similar standpoints adopt similar communication styles
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Key Concepts of FST
Voice is related to our identity
Best defined by its opposition to silence
Silencing is robbing others of the ability to engage in speech acts, such as assertion
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Key Concepts of FST (continued 1)
Standpoint: An achieved position based on a social location that lends an interpretative aspect to a person’s life
Standpoint and perspective differ
Partial: Recognition that no one has a complete view of the social hierarchy
Outsider within: A person in a normally marginalized social position who has gained access to a more privileged location
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Key Concepts of FST (continued 2)
Situated knowledges: Suggests that what anyone knows is grounded in context and circumstance
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Key Concepts of FST (continued 3)
Sexual division of labor: The allocation of work on the basis of sex
Domestic work viewed as unworthy of wages
Feminist standpoint enables women to identify domestic activities as ‘work’ with ‘value’
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Integration
Communication traditions
Critical
Communication context
Cultural
Approach to knowing
Critical
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Evaluating Standpoint Theory
Utility
Relies on essentialism in that it generalizes all women or all members of a group as being similar
Organized around a dualism between subjective experience and objective truth
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