Standpoint Theory

The Standpoint Theory looks at the world through an extremely feminist point of view. The two founders and researchers of the theory are Sandra Harding and Julia T. Wood who argue that one of the best ways to understand how our society works is to research it from the viewpoint of groups who are less priveleged- primarily women. The theory argues that by taking the perspective of women, we gain a viewpoint of the world that shows a new perspective on mainstream issues. The best example I can think of for this is the research that has been done on rape and also domestic violence. If we were to follow the Standpoint Theory, our research would stem from women who were raped or involved in abuse situations, and even taking it further, conducted by female researchers. This would give us the female perspective that Wood and Harding argue is more objective.