Feminist Theory & Social Change – Core Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering major thinkers, texts and concepts from Weeks 1–6 of the feminist theory lecture series.

Feminist Theory

A body of ideas that describes, analyzes and explains social reality through the lens of gender relations and power structures.

Theory (General)

An explanatory framework that helps us understand, describe and predict social phenomena.

bell hooks’ View of Theory

Sees theory as ‘a location for envisioning a better society’ and a tool for social change, not detached academic work.

Bunch’s 4 Components (DAVS)

Description, Analysis, Vision and Strategy—four elements Charlotte Bunch argues every feminist theory must include.

Academic Elitism (Sara Ahmed Critique)

The tendency of scholarly feminism to become inaccessible, detached from lived experiences and activism.

Subjugated Knowledge

Insights produced by marginalized groups that are dismissed or devalued by dominant power structures (Patricia Hill Collins).

Intersectionality

Kimberlé Crenshaw’s framework showing how overlapping identities (e.g., race, gender, class) create unique systems of oppression and privilege.

Mythical Norm

Audre Lorde’s concept of the unmarked social standard (white, male, heterosexual, able-bodied, thin, etc.) against which others are measured.

Invisible Knapsack

Peggy McIntosh’s metaphor for the unearned, often unseen advantages that come with white privilege.

Traffic Intersection Metaphor

Crenshaw’s image of a crossroads where multiple forms of discrimination collide, explaining compounded oppression.

Positionality

Acknowledging how one’s social location (race, class, gender, etc.) shapes what and how one knows (Linda Alcoff).

Outsider Within

Collins’ term for someone marginalized in a group yet able to gain critical insight into its power dynamics.

Feminist Epistemology

The study of how gender influences our understanding of knowledge, truth and justification.

Empiricism (Enlightenment)

Philosophical view that knowledge is derived from sensory experience and objective observation.

Gender as Social Construction

Idea that gender identities and roles are produced by cultural and social practices, not biology.

Gender Stratification

Hierarchical ranking of genders that distributes power and resources unequally.

Biological Determinism

Belief that biological sex dictates social roles and abilities; critiqued by de Beauvoir and others.

‘Other’ (de Beauvoir)

Concept that woman is defined solely in relation to man, who is considered the norm or ‘absolute.’

Hegemonic Masculinity

Connell’s notion of the culturally dominant model of masculinity that legitimizes male power.

Liberal Feminism

Seeks gender equality through legal reform, equal opportunity and individual rights (e.g., Wollstonecraft, Friedan).

Radical Feminism

Focuses on dismantling patriarchy and the root structures of male domination (e.g., Adrienne Rich).

Socialist Feminism

Links women’s oppression to capitalist exploitation and class relations, advocating systemic economic change.

Patriarchy

A social system where men hold primary power and dominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority and control of property.

Combahee River Collective (CRC)

Black feminist group whose 1977 statement foregrounded interlocking oppressions of race, class, gender and sexuality.

Black Feminism

Perspective centering Black women’s experiences to challenge racism, sexism and classism simultaneously.

Audre Lorde on Difference

Argues that acknowledging and valuing differences (age, race, class, sex) is essential for coalition and liberation.

White Privilege

Systemic, often unseen advantages enjoyed by white people at the expense of people of color.

Natural Hierarchies

Enlightenment belief in inherent social ranks (e.g., husband over wife) challenged by early feminists.

Enlightenment

18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason and individual rights; provided context for early feminist arguments.

Declaration of Sentiments

1848 document by Elizabeth Cady Stanton outlining women’s grievances and demands for equality.

‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ Speech

Sojourner Truth’s 1851 address exposing racial exclusions in early feminism and asserting Black women’s rights.

Vindication of the Rights of Woman

1792 work by Mary Wollstonecraft advocating women’s education and citizenship rights.

The Second Sex

Simone de Beauvoir’s 1949 book analyzing women’s oppression and the construction of ‘woman’ as Other.

The Feminine Mystique

Betty Friedan’s 1963 critique of the idealized housewife role and its impact on women’s fulfillment.

Patriarchal Power (Adrienne Rich)

Seven ways patriarchy controls women: sexuality, imposed male sexuality, labor exploitation, child custody, movement, creative limits and exclusion from knowledge.

Three Revolutions

French, Haitian and American uprisings inspiring early feminist calls for universal equality.

CRC to Crenshaw Link

Crenshaw builds on CRC’s concept of interlocking oppressions to coin ‘intersectionality.’

Education as Equality Strategy

Wollstonecraft’s idea that equal access to education is foundational to gender equality.

Subjugated Knowledge (Collins)

Knowledge born of marginalization that challenges dominant epistemologies.

Lived Experience

Everyday realities of marginalized people elevated as valid sources of knowledge in feminist theory.

Knowledge–Power Link

Feminist insight that controlling knowledge production sustains power inequalities.

Invisible Privilege

Advantages that dominant groups (e.g., white, male) possess without conscious awareness.

Empiricism vs Feminist Standpoint

Contrast between ‘objective’ knowledge claims and feminist argument that knowledge is situated.