Standpoint epistemology—or, more generally, standpoint theory—is concerned with the impact of one’s location in society on one’s ability to know. Because men and women, for example, are gendered differently and accordingly have different experiences, how they know and what they are capable of knowing will differ.

Most standpoint theorists have disavowed relativism (e.g., Medina 2013), and their views are often interpreted as rejections of objectivity due to their commitment to situatedness.

Standpoint theory, a feminist theoretical perspective that argues that knowledge stems from social position. The perspective denies that traditional science is objective and suggests that research and theory have ignored and marginalized women and feminist ways of thinking.

Thus a feminist ontology holds that women and men matter in international politics, and that social structures are imbued with gendered power relations. The term ontology is often included in a discussion of epistemology, methodologies, and the like. Most feminist theorists fall into this category.

Standpoint theory might be incorrectly presented as the only alternative to the claim that knowledge is completely unaffected by social circumstances, so that if one rejects the latter one must accept the former. In many discussions of standpoint theory social positions are presented as simple, homogenous wholes.

Feminist standpoint epistemology is a unique philosophy of knowledge building that challenges us to (1) see and understand the world through the eyes and experiences of oppressed women and (2) apply the vision and knowl- edge of oppressed women to social activism and social change.

1. Situated Knowers. Feminist epistemology conceives of knowers as situated in particular relations to what is known and to other knowers. What is known, and how it is known, reflects the situation and perspective of the knower.

In Haraway’s theses, “Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective” (1988), she means to expose the myth of scientific objectivity. Haraway defined the term “situated knowledges” as a means of understanding that all knowledge comes from positional perspectives.

Standpoint theory, or standpoint epistemology, is a theory found in some academic disciplines used for analyzing inter-subjective discourses. This body of work proposes that authority is rooted in individuals’ personal knowledge and perspectives, and the power that such authority exerts.

Patricia Hill Collins (born 1948) is an American academic specializing in race, class, and gender. She is a Distinguished University Professor of Sociology Emerita at the University of Maryland, College Park. Collins was the 100th president of the ASA and the first African-American woman to hold this position.

adj. 1 containing or making severe or negative judgments. 2 containing careful or analytical evaluations. a critical dissertation. 3 of or involving a critic or criticism.

Standpoint epistemology (or standpoint theory) arose within feminist epistemology in the 1970s and 1980s, reaching something of a zenith in its application under the noted feminist theorist Sandra Harding in the late 1980s.

Feminist standpoint theory’s initial focus was in challenging the idea of scientific neutrality and objectivity from a presupposed generalized knower. Closely related to epistemology, early standpoint theorists explored how one’s gendered identity affected their epistemic resources and capacities, or their access to knowledge.

Standpoint theory. This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. Standpoint theory is a theory found in some academic disciplines which is used for analyzing inter-subjective discourses. This body of work proposes that authority is rooted in individuals’ knowledge (their perspectives), and the power that such authority exerts.

Epistemology in sum is, the claim on what knowledge is valid in research on organizing knowledge, and therefore what constitutes acceptable sources of evidence (presenting that knowledge) and acceptable end results of knowledge (findings from KO research).