Feminist Theory is a research framework that is rooted in post-structuralist and post-modern theory. Feminist Theory is also transformative in nature, that is, research conduction through a feminist framework usually aims to bring about a positive societal change. Creswell discusses Feminist Theory on pages 29 through 30 of Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. He references Olesen (2011), who states that Feminist Theory draws on:
- different theoretical and pragmatic orientations;
- different international contexts; and
- different dynamic developments.
At its core, Feminist Theory’s goal is to “center on and make problematic women’s diverse situations and the institutions that frame those situations” (Creswell, 2013). Research conducted under Feminist Theory usually highlights issues of gender discrimination and the issues of living and operating in a patriarchal society. This is because the lens of this theory views “gender as a basic organizing principle that shapes the conditions of [our] lives” (Lather, 1991). It uses the centrality of gender, and our relationship to gender, in the shaping of consciousness. When used correctly, Feminist Theory has the ability to correct both the invisibility and distortion of female experience in ways relevant to ending women’s unequal social position” (Fox-Keller, 1985).
Feminist Theory is extremely important to the discourse of social research and knowledge construction as it examines knowledge as partial and gendered, instead of neutral, objective, and value-free (Maynard, 2004). Feminist theory research is identified through:
- framing of gender and power;
- normative frameworks and notions of gender;
- focus on transformation and social change; and
- ideas about ethics and accountability.
This framework lends itself well to narrative interview and ethnographic research, as it allows to the research to engage in “standpoint” research which gives data from the point of view of the participant. Finally, it operates through an epistemological structure, as it is ultimately concerned with “who knows what, about whom, and how is this knowledge legitimated?” (Maynard, 2004).
Creswell, J.W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: choosing among the five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Maynard, M. (2004). Feminist Research. In Michael S. Lewis-Beck, A. Bryman, & Tim Futing Liao (Eds.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods. (pp. 379-382). Sage Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412950589.n333
