Feminist theory(-ies) refers to approaches, analyses and perspectives in theories aimed at understanding and addressing the experiences and issues related to people’s rights, gender inequality, and the broader dynamics of power and oppression.
The field of Feminist theory(-ies) is wide and diverse. Over the past two decades, it evolved to include intersectionality and to include improving the experiences of all people. Important to note is that nowadays Feminist Theory is not just about women but the world’s intersecting perspectives engaging intersectionality, interdisciplinarity and activism with a focus on ways to understand and improve gender equality.
The main tools of analysis are intersectionality, interdisciplinarity, the intersection of scholarship and activism, and a commitment to transnational thinking.
Apart from many areas and subjects that feminist theories address, common shared key points are the emphasis on going beyond binary thinking, embracing looking at historical developments and therefore recognising societal dynamics and connections in the system of hierarchical power and oppression, and as well as the connection to political movements for equality, justice and freedom for everyone.
(Author: Faith Mutugi)
See more resources
Ferguson, 2017, Feminist Theory Today Annual Review of Political Science Vol. 20:269-286 (Volume publication date May 2017) https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-052715-111648
Hawkesworth M. 2012. Political Worlds of Women: Activism, Advocacy, and Governance in the Twenty-First Century. Boulder, CO: Westview http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?hl=en&publication_yPolitical Worlds of Women Activism Advocacy and Governance in the Twenty First Century