SPEAK WEDNESDAY- GENDER THEORIES PART 2
(STANDPOINT THEORY BY DOROTHY SMITH)
Through the standpoint theory, Smith argues that notions and beliefs are greatly influenced by location. “We begin from the world as we actually experience it, and what we know of the world and of the other is conditional on that location” (Smith 1987).
At different parts of the world, harboring different kinds of people, beliefs, religions, ideologies and values define who we are and what we believe. To her, as we grow, our values developed from incidences around our environment and this is why the value placed on each gender differs in every society. Then, we begin to take stands (stand point) in our society from what we know through our experiences and the experiences of others.
In Africa, male children are celebrated over their female folks and this has in so many ways contributed to how less important females feel at home, school, social gathering and even at work place. This has affected the mind-set of most female children and as they grow into adulthood, they are made them see themselves as the weaker gender, whose voice should be heard only when asked.
Since we were all born at different locations of the world, we lack the entire knowledge of it. No one knows the entire information of the world. Smith therefore puts a limitation on the knowledge of man.
According to Smith, standpoint is individualistic. This means that no two persons can have the same standpoint irrespective of if they were born and raised in the same environment or society. She therefore encourages us to take our standpoint seriously because it explicates the totality of an individual.
