Feminist Epistemology: An Introduction

Feminist epistemology, i.e., feminist theory of knowledge, is a relatively new development of feminist philosophy. There are various theories that are classified as “feminist epistemology,” and they are heterogeneous and irreducible to one another. However, regardless of the differences between feminist epistemologies, every feminist theory of knowledge is concerned with the ways gender influences what epistemic agents take to be knowledge. Feminist epistemology is in part motivated by the recognition that each epistemic agent occupies a position in one or more social groups (Webb 1995, 84). According to feminist epistemologists, “knowledge claims are always socially situated” (Harding 1993, 54). How we conceptualize things and what kind of standard of epistemic inquiry we use are socially and historically decided. One’s way of knowing is affected by one’s class, gender, and racial background. The gender identity of the knower is the main social aspect of knowing that feminist epistemology investigates, although it is not investigated in isolation from other social aspects such as class, race, and culture.