Some that
study this theory would claim that “dominant groups in society have little
motivation to understand nondominant groups”. This statement can be interpreted
a multitude of ways, but how I read it, it means that those with power are
self-motivated, and due to their lack of turbulence in life, have little need
to think of the less fortunate or marginalized society as it doesn’t affect
their own.
I would posit that this lack
of listening is what leads to the inextricable connection between feminism and
action, as one of the main assumptions of feminist standpoint theory is that
one should challenge the status-quo if it debases or devalues women. If part of the
M.O. of the status quo is to ignore the marginalization of an aspect of
society, then the shrill cry of feminists would fall on deaf ears, as such I
think this heightened the need for feminist groups to stand on their soap boxes
and demand change, ergo giving them their label as activists.
For this reason, I think feminism gets a bad rap, however it becomes difficult to then separate feminist beliefs and actions from the activism, as it has played a pivotal role in creating media attention. Whether it is a good or bad thing is not for me to decide; some believe there is no such thing as bad media attention, others disagree. What is important to know is the circumstances of how feminism has garnered it's image, and from there you can decide whether or not that image is just.
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