| Part of a series on |
| Feminism |
|---|
 |
 Feminismportal |
Feminist constructivism is an international relations theory which builds upon the theory of constructivism. Feminist constructivism focuses upon the study of how ideas about gender influence global politics. [1] It is the communication between two postcolonial theories; feminism and constructivism, and how they both share similar key ideas in creating gender equality globally. [2]
Constructivism is a theory of knowledge which argues that humans generate knowledge and meaning through world interactions and ideas. Constructivists argue that international life is social, resulting from the ways people interact with each other (i.e. talk, follow norms, create rules, etc.). [3] While there are similarities, feminist constructivists view relationships of power differently than traditional constructivists. Power and gender are considered "integral elements in processes of construction," where as traditionalists believe power to be external. [3] Feminist constructivists argue that the lack of problematization research as a social process of construction is logically inconsistent "with an ontology of becoming." [3] They also believe that differences between men and women, other than anatomical differences, were constructed due to socialization and cultural training. [4] However, there are criticisms that take place between interactions of feminism with constructivism. [2] Many feminists do not agree with constructivism as an alternative middle ground due to most constructivists ignoring feminist literature and gender analysis. [2] It's also pointed out that constructivism lacks the tools to explain how gender and power in politics influence each other, due to the social construction of power being under theorized. [2]
Feminist constructivism critiques traditional constructivist approaches for acknowledging the social construction of political realities while often neglecting to integrate gender as a central analytical category [5] . Additionally, constructivist scholarship is frequently criticized for its lack of an explicit political agenda, in contrast to feminist literature, which actively seeks to address and challenge gender-based inequalities [5] .
However, feminist constructivists argue that ideas about gender profoundly shape political outcomes by influencing norms surrounding conflict, humanitarian practices, and institutional policies [5] . By integrating these insights, feminist constructivism broadens both constructivist and feminist frameworks, emphasizing the importance of analyzing how gendered power hierarchies are constructed, sustained, and contested within political systems [5] . This approach provides a critical lens to uncover the deep interconnections between gendered norms, power dynamics, and international relations.
Major critiques in the feminist presence of global politics have not received as much attention in the media, due to more attention being given to the arguments of environmentalists and labor issues at anti-trade rallies, as opposed to those of feminist ideologies. [6] However, some places were found to be very ambivalent towards anti-globalization, an example being women in India who weren't concerned with the demands that linked trade liberalization with the enforcement of work standards. [6]
Many dilemmas feminists observe is that there is some difficulty in measuring out the impact feminists had on international relations. [7] Feminist theory tends to reveal politics in every aspect of the research process, whether it's absence of action, silence of major concerns, oppression of feminist beliefs, and the power epistemology has on others preconceptions. [7] In order to change this, many researchers utilize feminist research ethic, the commitment to inquire how one inquires. [7] It involves being attentive to the power of knowledge, boundaries, marginalization, and silences, relationships and the power differentials between them, and the researcher's own situatedness. [7] Epistemology plays a significant role, in that the researcher must destabilize themselves from our system of thought that goes into distinguishing fact from belief, which then allows the researcher to be objective in their studies. [7] Another key component in feminist research ethic is boundaries, as in being attentive to them and their power to marginalize. [7] It may include inclusion and exclusion of boundaries, as well as breaking them down. [7] Having a feminist research ethic also requires the researcher to consider are relationships and how social, political, and economical actions are interrelated with other actions and lives. [7]
When women or other members of minority groups obtain a position of substantial power in society, they most likely will encounter trouble garnering compliance for the use of their powers. [8] This is primarily caused by the existing belief that gender is an institutionalized system of social practices for constituting males and females as different in socially significant ways and organizing inequalities in terms of those differences. [9] Expectation states theory states that gender is deep-seated within social hierarchy because the rules for gender systems that contain stereotypes are considered status beliefs, cultural schemas about the leadership position that are based on gender, race, ethnicity, education, or occupation. [9]
International relations is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns all activities among states—such as war, diplomacy, trade, and foreign policy—as well as relations with and among other international actors, such as intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), international legal bodies, and multinational corporations (MNCs).
International relations theory is the study of international relations (IR) from a theoretical perspective. It seeks to explain behaviors and outcomes in international politics. The three most prominent schools of thought are realism, liberalism and constructivism. Whereas realism and liberalism make broad and specific predictions about international relations, constructivism and rational choice are methodological approaches that focus on certain types of social explanation for phenomena.
Feminist geography is a sub-discipline of human geography that applies the theories, methods, and critiques of feminism to the study of the human environment, society, and geographical space. Feminist geography emerged in the 1970s, when members of the women's movement called on academia to include women as both producers and subjects of academic work. Feminist geographers aim to incorporate positions of race, class, ability, and sexuality into the study of geography. The discipline was a target for the hoaxes of the grievance studies affair.
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and feminist politics in a variety of fields, such as anthropology and sociology, communication, media studies, psychoanalysis, political theory, home economics, literature, education, and philosophy.
Feminist sociology is an interdisciplinary exploration of gender and power throughout society. Here, it uses conflict theory and theoretical perspectives to observe gender in its relation to power, both at the level of face-to-face interaction and reflexivity within social structures at large. Focuses include sexual orientation, race, economic status, and nationality.
Transnational feminism refers to both a contemporary feminist paradigm and the corresponding activist movement. Both the theories and activist practices are concerned with how globalization and capitalism affect people across nations, races, genders, classes, and sexualities. This movement asks to critique the ideologies of traditional white, classist, western models of feminist practices from an intersectional approach and how these connect with labor, theoretical applications, and analytical practice on a geopolitical scale.
In epistemology, and more specifically, the sociology of knowledge, reflexivity refers to circular relationships between cause and effect, especially as embedded in human belief structures. A reflexive relationship is multi-directional when the causes and the effects affect the reflexive agent in a layered or complex sociological relationship. The complexity of this relationship can be furthered when epistemology includes religion.
The ethics of care is a normative ethical theory that holds that moral action centers on interpersonal relationships and care or benevolence as a virtue. EoC is one of a cluster of normative ethical theories that were developed by some feminists and environmentalists since the 1980s. While consequentialist and deontological ethical theories emphasize generalizable standards and impartiality, ethics of care emphasize the importance of response to the individual. The distinction between the general and the individual is reflected in their different moral questions: "what is just?" versus "how to respond?" Carol Gilligan, who is considered the originator of the ethics of care, criticized the application of generalized standards as "morally problematic, since it breeds moral blindness or indifference".
In international relations (IR), constructivism is a social theory that asserts that significant aspects of international relations are shaped by ideational factors. The most important ideational factors are those that are collectively held; these collectively held beliefs construct the interests and identities of actors.
In international relations theory, the concept of anarchy is the idea that the world lacks any supreme authority or sovereignty. In an anarchic state, there is no hierarchically superior, coercive power that can resolve disputes, enforce law, or order the system of international politics. In international relations, anarchy is widely accepted as the starting point for international relations theory.
Feminist philosophy is an approach to philosophy from a feminist perspective and also the employment of philosophical methods to feminist topics and questions. Feminist philosophy involves both reinterpreting philosophical texts and methods in order to supplement the feminist movement and attempts to criticise or re-evaluate the ideas of traditional philosophy from within a feminist framework.
Judith Ann Tickner is an Anglo-American feminist international relations (IR) theorist. Tickner is a distinguished scholar in residence at the School of International Services, American University, Washington DC.
Feminism is a broad term given to works of those scholars who have sought to bring gender concerns into the academic study of international politics and who have used feminist theory and sometimes queer theory to better understand global politics and international relations as a whole.
Feminist epistemology is an examination of epistemology from a feminist standpoint.
Feminist theory in composition studies examines how gender, language, and cultural studies affect the teaching and practice of writing. It challenges the traditional assumptions and methods of composition studies and proposes alternative approaches that are informed by feminist perspectives. Feminist theory in composition studies covers a range of topics, such as the history and development of women's writing, the role of gender in rhetorical situations, the representation and identity of writers, and the pedagogical implications of feminist theory for writing instruction. Feminist theory in composition studies also explores how writing can be used as a tool for empowerment, resistance, and social change. Feminist theory in composition studies emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a response to the male-dominated field of composition and rhetoric. It has been influenced by various feminist movements and disciplines, such as second-wave feminism, poststructuralism, psychoanalysis, critical race theory, and queer theory. Feminist theory in composition studies has contributed to the revision of traditional rhetorical concepts, the recognition of diverse voices and genres, the promotion of collaborative and ethical communication, and the integration of personal and political issues in writing.
Social Theory of International Politics is a book by Alexander Wendt. It expresses a constructivist approach to the study of international relations and is one of the leading texts within the constructivist approach to international relations scholarship.
Feminist political theory is an area of philosophy that focuses on understanding and critiquing the way political philosophy is usually construed and on articulating how political theory might be reconstructed in a way that advances feminist concerns. Feminist political theory combines aspects of both feminist theory and political theory in order to take a feminist approach to traditional questions within political philosophy.
Feminist security studies is a subdiscipline of security studies that draws attention to gendered dimensions of security.
Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism and political ecology. Ecofeminist thinkers draw on the concept of gender to analyse the relationships between humans and the natural world. The term was coined by the French writer Françoise d'Eaubonne in her book Le Féminisme ou la Mort (1974). Ecofeminist theory asserts a feminist perspective on Green politics that calls for an egalitarian, collaborative society in which there is no one dominant group. Today, there are several branches of ecofeminism, with varying approaches and analyses, including liberal ecofeminism, spiritual/cultural ecofeminism, and social/socialist ecofeminism. Interpretations of ecofeminism and how it might be applied to social thought include ecofeminist art, social justice and political philosophy, religion, contemporary feminism, and poetry.
Feminist empiricism is a perspective within feminist research that combines the objectives and observations of feminism with the research methods and empiricism. Feminist empiricism is typically connected to mainstream notions of positivism. Feminist empiricism critiques what it perceives to be inadequacies and biases within mainstream research methods, including positivism.
