Sociology 2LL3 group assignment 2

Dorothy Smith’s theories, centralized around one’s standpoint in society, and Patricia Hill-Collins’ theories, emphasizing the impact of racial discrimination and oppression, share similarities in their focus on women’s oppression. Tension may arise between these theorists’ perspectives of the factors that lead to women’s oppression. These theorists’ contributions can be applied to understand the contemporary event of the Me Too movement.

As the videos present, both Smith and Collins use standpoint theory to highlight the oppression women face in society and call for a more equitable society. Smith uses standpoint theory to explain that a standpoint is one’s knowledge based on where one stands in society and emphasizes giving voice to the oppressed. Applying a feminist and Marxist lens, she argues that patriarchal ideologies rooted in capitalism have disregarded women’s valuable perspectives, thus resulting in their oppression. Collins expands on standpoint theory to create standpoint epistemology and black feminist thought. The former extends standpoint theory’s concept of standpoints and emphasizes the interconnected nature of various statuses, such as race, class and sexual orientation to explain oppression; while the latter advocates for the importance of paying attention to the oppressed groups in society as they offer valuable insight into the realities of society. Additionally, both theorists offer an optimistic future for an equitable society through recognizing women’s oppression and heeding their perspectives to identify improvements in society. Smith argues that society can be more just through women’s cognizance of their oppression and the power of the seemingly neutral ruling apparatus which conceals a male subtext, or “relations of ruling”. Smith also emphasizes the importance of recognizing all standpoints equally, including those who are oppressed. Similarly, Collins argues that an equitable society can be achieved through heeding the perspectives of the oppressed black women in society, as they offer the greatest insight into the realities of, and improvements for, society because of their intersectional oppression. Thus, Collins’ theories overlap with Smith’s in that they both use standpoint theory to highlight women’s oppression in society and emphasize recognizing all standpoints, including the oppressed. Collins extends the phenomenological and feminist ideas of Smith by illuminating the epistemological standpoint of black women and the valuable perspectives they offer regarding the realities of society. These theorists also share the hope for a more equitable society.

There is a possibility for tension between these theorists with regards to their perspectives of the factors that contribute to women’s oppression. Smith points to objective social, economic and political relations, such as patriarchal ideologies rooted in capitalism and European masculinist thought to explain women’s oppression. By contrast, Collins rejects the model of oppression that believes domination is rooted specifically in European masculinist thought. Instead, she highlights the importance of the intersectionality between statuses such as race, nationality and sexual orientation that play into one’s oppression. Thus, these theorists might disagree over the factors that contribute to one’s oppression. While Smith would argue that oppression stems from patriarchy and capitalism, Collins emphasizes additional factors such as race, sexual orientation and nationality.

Smith’s and Collins’ emphasis on giving voice to the oppressed can help us understand the Me Too movement. The Me Too movement seeks to bring attention to women’s experiences with sexual harassment and assault by giving a voice to the oppressed victims. Collins’ video emphasizing bravery and the need for the oppressed to fight for what they believe in is seen in the movement’s fight against dominant worldviews that urge victims of sexual assault to remain silent in their fight for advancing gender equality. Furthermore, Collins’ influence can be seen in the movement’s emphasis on understanding the experiences of the oppressed victims in order to gain insight into the realities of their society and create a more just society. Through giving a voice to the oppressed victims, the movement aims to shed light on the realities of society and the problems that need to be solved, those being sexual harassment. In alignment with Smith’s ideas, this movement calls attention to the importance that the dominant worldview, rooted in capitalism and patriarchy, has played in the silencing of women’s voices and how the dominant worldview has disregarded women’s experiences with sexual harassment.

In sum, Smith and Collins share many commonalities, particularly calling attention to the oppression that women in society face and the emphasis on recognizing all standpoints equally. While Smith emphasizes social, economic and political relations as well as dominant patriarchal paradigms to explain women’s oppression, Collins points to other factors including race, sexual orientation and nationality. Furthermore, their ideas can be applied to the Me Too movement to understand the importance of fighting for what you believe in, listening to the voices of those who are oppressed and the role that dominant patriarchal views have in discrediting oppressed women’s claims.

References:

Collins, P. [UALRTV]. (2016, March 29). Dr. Patricia Hill Collins — Still Brave? Black Feminism as a Social Justice Project (Promo). [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Deo7Ha9s1g

Me Too. (2021). Me Too Movement, Get to Know us. Me Too movement. Retrieved from: https://metoomvmt.org/get-to-know-us/

Smith, D. [tmasoninnes]. (2009, October 31). Dorothy Smith EDER 700. [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlIavZpOYPc

This was done by group 10 for Sociology 2LL3.