Improving on Sociology: The Problems of Taking a Feminist Standpoint

Abstract

The case for feminist knowledge as an improvement on male-centred sociology is a strong one. Taking a feminist standpoint produces knowledge of gendered meanings and relationships of which we may not be aware and which sociology has generally ignored. This resolves some of the problems posed by male-centred versions of sociology. Taking a feminist standpoint, though, also raises serious problems of how to make both sociological and feminist knowledge convincing. It enables us to improve on existing sociological knowledge, but exposes many further problems which still need attention. The implications of taking a feminist standpoint are explored by considering some methodological problems of improving on a 1960s study of shiftworking women.