Deck 30: Feminist Standpoint Theory

Question 1

Feminist Standpoint Theory focuses on the central concept of _________ and how it shapes our communication with others.

A) power
B) attraction
C) disclosiveness
D) uncertainty

Answer 1

power

Question 2

All of the following statements about FST are true EXCEPT:

A) the theory gives authority to people's own voices
B) the theory argues that individuals' assertions and statements are objective
C) the theory criticizes the status quo because of the power structures it creates
D) experiences, knowledge, and communication of individuals are shaped by the social groups of which they are members

Answer 2

the theory argues that individuals' assertions and statements are objective

Question 3

The person whose thought is credited with inspiring the original development of Standpoint Theory is:

A) Schramm
B) Hall
C) Hegel
D) Schwartz

Answer 3

Hegel

Question 4

According to FST, the assignment of people to different tasks on the basis of sex and the exploitation that results from inequities in wages is called:

A) sexual discrimination
B) unequal pay for equal work
C) sexual division of labor
D) sexism

Question 5

The standpoint of _________ has served to dominate research and silence other standpoints.

A) white, middle-class males
B) white, middle-class females
C) white, upper-class males
D) ethnic, middle-class males

Question 6

All of the following are assumptions proposed by Chafetz as being characteristic of any feminist theory EXCEPT:

A) sex or gender is a central focus of the theory
B) feminist theory can be used to challenge the status quo when the status quo devalues women
C) sex or gender relations are viewed as being static - they are consistent over time
D) sex or gender relations are viewed as problematic

Question 7

Members of the Students for Environmental Concerns (SEC) organization submitted a request to university administrators to obtain a permit that would enable them to hold a demonstration on Parents' Weekend. The university has agreed to issue the permit, but has designated that the demonstration can only take place between 8 and 10

A) Material life structures and limits understandings of social relations.
B) When there is a dominant and a subordinate group, the understanding of the dominant group will be both partial and harmful.
C) The vision of the ruling group structures the material relations in which all groups are forced to participate.
D) The potential understanding of the oppressed makes visible the inhumanity of the existing relations among groups and creates a move toward a better, more just world.

Question 8

In her research project for her sociology class, Martha discovered that nontraditional students clearly understand the attitudes and opinions held by traditional students on campus. The nontraditional students say that often it is easier simply to go along with requests for late-night study sessions and Sunday night group meetings with traditional students because there are fewer arguments. Which of the assumptions of FST explains social life as experienced by nontraditional students?

A) Material life structures and limits understandings of social relations.
B) When there is a dominant and a subordinate group, the understandings of the dominant group will be both partial and harmful.
C) The vision of the ruling group structures the material relations in which all groups are forced to participate.
D) The potential understanding of the oppressed makes visible the inhumanity of the existing relations among groups and creates a move toward a better, more just world.

Question 9

_________ refers to a location, shared by a group, within the social structure that lends a particular kind of sense making to a person's lived experiences.

A) Situated knowledge
B) Sexual division of labor
C) Standpoint
D) Feminism

Question 10

To say that the research participant is an active partner in the endeavor is to agree with which of the following statements contained within FST?

A) We can only know women's experiences by paying attention to women's own interpretations of these experiences.
B) All knowledge is a product of social activity, so no knowledge can be truly objective.
C) Material life structures and limits understanding of social relations.
D) The dominant group does not wish to scrutinize the structure because it is advantageous to maintain the status quo.

Question 11

One of the criticisms of FST is that it is organized around a set of ___________, which imply a hierarchical relationship between two terms.

A) dialectics
B) contradictions
C) dualisms
D) perspectives

Question 12

A common criticism about FST is that:

A) it has little heuristic value
B) it is organized around a language that emphasizes the equity among groups
C) it doesn't explain the link between communication behavior and individual experiences
D) it is rooted in essentialism

Question 13

Which of the following statements is related to the fifth assumption about the understanding of the oppressed?

A) The vision available to an oppressed group represents struggle and an achievement.
B) The clearer vision enables the subordinate group to pay careful attention to the dominant group.
C) The ruling group often structures life so as to remove choices from the subordinate group.
D) Sex or gender relations are viewed as problematic.

Question 14

The communication context associated with FST is:

A) cultural
B) interpersonal
C) societal
D) mass

Question 15

All of the following are assumptions of FST EXCEPT:

A) The ruling group often structures life so as to remove choices from the subordinate group.
B) The subordinate group often develops a clearer vision of social life than the dominant group
C) Material life promotes understandings of social relations
D) The vision available to an oppressed group represents a struggle and an achievement

Question 16

According to the text, there are two primary tensions that FST tries to hold together. One is that there is always a search for new knowledge. The second is that:

A) knowledge is always changing
B) knowledge is not imparted in equitable ways
C) knowledge is tied to power and politics
D) knowledge is always situated

Question 17

According to FST, standpoints come from:

A) resisting those in power
B) accepting the way that society defines one's group
C) the powerful beginning to understand the plight of the powerless
D) allowing others to speak for oneself

Question 18

FST is grounded in a second set of assumptions about knowledge, in addition to the assumptions about the nature of social life. All of the following are accurate statements of this second set of assumptions EXCEPT:

A) All knowledge is a product of social activity, and thus no knowledge can be truly objective.
B) We can know women's experience in part by looking into men's interpretations of this experience.
C) It is a worthwhile endeavor to understand the distinctive features of women's experience.
D) Cultural conditions typically surrounding women's lives produce experiences and understandings that routinely differ from those produced by the conditions in men's lives.

Question 19

When it is said that those in the lowest positions in the hierarchy are best able to understand the social system as a whole in addition to their own place in it, those in the lowest positions are considered to possess the greatest:

A) intuition
B) understanding
C) insight
D) accuracy

Question 20

Because standpoints are defined by specific social locations, they are necessarily:

A) accurate
B) temporary
C) partial
D) situated

Question 21

Standpoint epistemology is based on the assumption that no knowledge can be truly objective.

Question 22

Hegel and Marx were influential in the development of Feminist Standpoint Theory.

Question 23

Standpoint Theory can be used to analyze a variety of standpoints, not just those related to gender.

Question 24

Feminist Standpoint Theory assumes that the dominant group often has a clearer vision of social life because of its hierarchical position.

Question 25

Communication is the vehicle used to transmit and shape standpoints.

Question 26

Developing a standpoint usually requires little or no effort.

Question 27

Hartsock's theory has its beginnings in the writings of Aristotle and his mentor, Plato.

Question 28

Social hierarchy is fixed.

Question 29

Describe the relationship between communication and standpoints as conceptualized by feminist standpoint theorists.

Question 30

Discuss the epistemological and ontological assumptions that serve as the basis for Feminist Standpoint Theory.

Question 31

Explain the historical foundations of Feminist Standpoint Theory. What central concepts are included in this foundation?

Question 32

Based on your understanding of Feminist Standpoint Theory, how would you apply concepts discussed in Chapter 3 to evaluate the theory?

Question 33

Based upon your understanding of feminist theory, would you propose that feminism is linked to activism? Why or why not? Provide examples to defend your view.

Question 34

Comment upon the following statement within the context of Feminist Standpoint Theory: Dominant groups in society have little motivation to understand nondominant groups. What does the statement mean to you? How does it apply to Hartsock's theory? Discuss the statement using some of the key concepts of the theory.

Question 35

How would you go about using Feminist Standpoint Theory as the basis for formulating a study? Select a marginalized group other than women and pose a research question that stems from this theory. Describe your study and its utility.

Question 36

What does it mean to say that Feminist Standpoint Theory is a critical theory? How does this help us distinguish it from other theories? Does it share anything in common with any of the other critical theories we've discussed?