Power, Privilege, and Feminist Theory/Practice

Extract

I begin with a series of “starting points” (rendered simplistically, without the nuance, supporting argumentation for, and qualifications of them that warrant elaboration). These offer a context for the next section: assessing the contributions and activism of feminist scholars. I then consider prevailing—in contrast to feminist—analyses of power and schematically detail the contributions of feminist theory/practice. This illuminates what I consider our most productive, politically consequential, and transformative insight: theorizing “feminization as denigration.” A concluding section explores why feminists face so much resistance and what is at stake in persevering.