Abstract
The history, origin, content and focus of feminism in general was characterised by fragmented approaches that took into account the realities and experiences of a particular group of women who had voice and privilege, mostly White middle class women, at the expense of African and other marginalised and disadvantaged women. In line with views by Sojourner Truth, Tone Code Bambara rhetorically presented such concerns by saying “How relevant are the truths, the experiences, the findings of White Women to Black Women?'' The chapter looked at how the feminist standpoint theory relates to African women in Africa and in the diaspora. A brief history of the theory is given and the influence of Marxist thinking on the development of this theory presented. Three principal claims of the theory are discussed. The discussion on the criticisms of the theory bring the chapter to a close.
Top1. Introduction
Feminist standpoint theories emerged in the 1970s from Marxist feminism and other critical theoretical approaches to feminism to a variety of disciplinary frameworks, but share a commitment to acknowledging, analysing and drawing on power/ knowledge relationships, and on bringing about change which results in more just societies. Feminist epistemology does not adopt a monolithic critical position with respect to a traditional canon of epistemological work; rather it consists of a variety of feminist epistemological approaches, of which feminist standpoint epistemologies form a strand(Bowell,2016). Observations by Salami (2022) are that understanding feminism from the African perspective and the ideological standpoints within the movements helps in expanding African as well as global feminism.
The experience of womanhood coupled with slavery and various forms of oppression give African women an epistemic advantage in articulating historical narratives of both the African women and all who contributed to their oppression through slavery, patriarchy and other factors. A call from Dosekun(2021) urges African Women to resist being spoken for by not only Western men and women but African men too. Informed by discourses of colonialism, imperialism, heteronormativity, ethnicity, race, class and human rights (Salami,2022). African women can redefine history and start creating a new historical trajectory where women are equally visible in historical narratives. In using methodologies of feminist standpoint theories history will no longer be Europartriachal knowledge which centres on Western Imperialism in Africa’s story and male supremacy in women’s realities(Salami,2022).History recognises the work that African Women feminists have done, for example, the political role played by the Amazons of Dahomey and how Queen Nzinga defended the country from invaders and what African feminists continue to do,for example the work done by Josina Machel, Wambui Otienno; Lymah Gbowee, Ngozi Adichie Chimamanda; Amina Doherty is all an indication that feminism has always been in Africa but now it is the time for those who occupy the standpoint to develop an accurate epistemology about African women in all historical eras.
Observations by Stuhlhofer (n.d) reiterate the assertion raised by (Hooks,2000)that Western feminism failed to address significant issues of race, class, and gender which affect Black African women in America. In Africa, Western feminism has been viewed as being authoritarian towards issues of African women (Atanga et al, 2013). Similarly, Gatwiri & Mclaren (2016), note the failure of Western feminism to comprehend some concerns of African women. These criticisms indicate that both feminisms do not share the same reality. African feminism is concerned with the realities of the challenges that African women encounter in their daily lives(Atanga et al, 2013), which is associated with historical injustices.
This chapter surfaces a kind of feminist thought, which emphasises not only on the experience and consciousness of women as a starting point for analysis, but also the articulation of knowledge as located and situated. Feminist standpoint theorists emphasises that reality, rather than being available to a neutral observer, is socially and materially constructed. To individuals shaped by these ideas, it is important to connect everyday life with the analysis of social institutions that shape life (Hartsock, 2004). Feminist standpoint theorists argue that knowledge is developed by local/personal/social competencies which are seen as sites for knowledge creation. If the practices which people acquire through their experience are seen as knowledge, the people themselves can be seen as knowers who are able to share that knowledge. While the radical feminist slogan ‘the personal is political’ has been interpreted in myriad ways, most standpoint feminist theorists use this slogan in referring to the reconstruction of the standpoint of historically shared, group-based experiences. Collins (1990: 375)argues that, ‘Groups have a degree of permanence over time such that group realities transcend individual experiences’. Similarly, Hartsock (2004) stresses that the subjects who matter are not individual subjects but collective subjects, or groups. Thus, feminist standpoint theory defines knowledge as particular rather than universal; rejects the natural observer of modernist epistemology; and defines subjects as constructed by relational forces rather than as transcendent (Hartsock,2004;Mama,2020).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Power Relations: This refers to how those who have power relates with those who do not have power. Oppressive Power relations are the root cause of discrimination and vulnerability that disadvantaged communities experience in most societies
Standpoint: From the argument presented by standpoint feminist scholars, a standpoint is a hypothetical location in space and in time that enable the occupant to understand realities differently from other people who are not in the same situation as he/she is. A standpoint is characterised by unique historical experiences and the operation of power relations in oppressive conditions. A standpoint is best explained by the occupant and not observers of the situation as they may not have accurate understanding of why things happen the way they do. The individuals in a standpoint are the best to articulate knowledge about their experiences in that particular standpoint
Gender: The socially ascribed identities of sexual orientation in any society.
Feminism: A school of thought which focusses on issues that hinder women from enjoying same rights as men so women team up to fight against oppressive social structures for greater equality and equity
Epistemic Advantage: The privilege that disadvantaged communities have in creating accurate knowledge about their historical experiences which is different from knowledge claims developed by scientists who did not get a first hand experience of the situation.
Outsider within: This is a description of the dual vision that disadvantaged people have when compared to those who are advantaged over them. The person is outside the circle of advantaged people but knows a lot about how these people do their business. Slaves understood how their slave masters operated but the slavemasters had no details of what was going on in the slave camps. This is how disadvantaged people realise that things are not well which will push them to unite and revolt against the advantaged groups.