Feminist Theory Glossary
25 essential terms — because precise language is the foundation of clear thinking in Feminist Theory.
Showing 25 of 25 terms
The capacity of individuals to act independently and make free choices, a central concern in feminist analyses of structural constraint.
A feminist tradition centering the experiences of Black women and analyzing the interlocking oppressions of race, gender, and class.
The concept that heterosexuality is a political institution enforced through social and economic pressures.
A practice in second-wave feminism where women shared personal experiences in groups to identify common patterns of oppression.
The combination of paid employment and unpaid domestic labor disproportionately borne by women.
A feminist approach linking the domination of women to the domination of nature through shared logics of control.
The belief that groups (such as women) have inherent, fixed characteristics. Feminist theory generally critiques gender essentialism.
The epistemological claim that marginalized groups possess distinctive insights into social structures due to their subordinate position.
The theory that gender is constituted through repeated performance of gendered acts rather than being an innate identity.
An invisible barrier preventing women and minorities from advancing to senior leadership positions despite qualifications.
R.W. Connell's concept describing the culturally dominant form of masculinity that legitimizes men's power over women and other men.
A framework for analyzing how overlapping social identities create compounding experiences of discrimination or privilege.
A feminist approach focused on legal reform, equal opportunity, and individual rights within existing institutions.
Patricia Hill Collins's concept describing how race, class, and gender create interlocking systems of oppression.
The treatment of a person, typically a woman, as an object or commodity, reducing them to their physical appearance or sexual function.
The process of constructing a group as fundamentally different from and inferior to one's own group, as in Beauvoir's analysis of woman as 'Other.'
A social system in which men hold primary power and authority across political, economic, and cultural institutions.
A feminist approach critiquing Western feminism's universalism and analyzing how colonialism shapes gender oppression across cultures.
The integration of theory and practice; in feminism, the commitment to linking intellectual analysis with political action for social change.
A feminist approach arguing that patriarchy is the fundamental system of power and must be dismantled at its roots.
Rights related to the freedom to make decisions about reproduction, including access to contraception and abortion.
The analytical separation between biological sex and socially constructed gender roles and identities.
The depiction of women in visual media from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that positions women as objects of visual pleasure.
The feminist principle that personal experiences are shaped by political structures and should be subjects of public concern.