Critical Feminist

THEORY
HEAL 223: Take the Lead
 OUR INTRODUCTIONS

KIANA IRANIA
she/her they/them
feminist feminist
 COLLEAGUES WILL BE ABLE TO...

DESCRIBE IDENTIFY DEMONSTRATE

their own positionality how to apply FemCrit the accurate use of
and perspective on tenants to their own testimonio through
feminism within the practice. reflection writing.
context of higher
education.
What is FEMINISM?
 LET’S BREAK OUT!

4 GROUPS
Utilize Jamboard to collaboratively define feminism
in your own words and what it means to you.
Be creative!
Definition of Feminism
“Feminist theory places gender at the center of its
analysis, suggesting that gender is a primary
organizing characteristic in society.”

“Men and women have different experiences;

women's oppression is not a subset of some other
social relationship; the oppression of women is part
of the way the structure of the world is organized;
and one task of feminist theory is to explain how and
why this structure evolved,” (Ropers-Huilman &
Winters, 2015).
FemCrit
Critical feminist theory:
Theorizing (in our case about student development and
experience) from a feminist perspective.

Understanding, criticizing, deconstructing, and

dismantling ideas of gender and patriarchy.
 3 TENETS OF FEMCRIT

Knowing, Being, Doing Differential Consciousness

Art of Failure
Knowing, Being, Doing
Reconstructing the typical ways for knowing, being,
and doing
KNOWING
“every cognitive act takes place at a point of
intersection of innumerable relations, events,
circumstances, and histories which make the knower
and the known what they are at that time”
Enacting Feminist pedagogy to reconstruct
knowledge
BEING
Identity is a result of experiences
“The assumptions and practices of
patriarchal systems are what produce
gender differences”
DOING
Gender is a performance everyone participates in,
knowingly or unknowingly
“Conceptualizing gender as performative allows
FemCrit scholars to identify both
structural constraints (like reinforcement)
and agentic possibilities (like resistance)”
Art of Failure
● The act of “failing” with feminist
intentions-
● There is a vision of feminism with full
representation and full comprehension
of the effects of the “multiple axes of
oppression”
● Always questioning and pushing forward
● “Homework not fieldwork”
Art of FAILURE
“‘the art of failure’ as a feminist and queer strategy
that refutes celebratory stories of progress
and heroism in order to thematize the failure of
current governing systems and social norms to
enable lived experiences of freedom”
Differential Consciousness
To fully engage in feminism and resist
oppression, feminists must FULLY
collaborate with individuals of other
identities and learn about the oppression
of all people.
 DIFFERENTIAL CONSCIOUSNESS
A feminist must commit to dismantling racism, classism,
ableism, colonialism, transphobia, homophobia, and
all other methods of oppression.
FemCrit + Student Development
FemCrit perspective on college student development
must unapologetically center gender as the starting
point for (re)imagining who college students
are (and are not), what development is (and is not), and
what constitutes theory (and who decides).
FEMCRIT VIDEO
EXAMINING
MATERIALS
Five articles examined in de Saxe (2012)
A BLACK FEMINIST STATEMENT
Written by Combahee River Collective in 1978
 MODES RESISTANCE
#1 THE GENESIS #2 WHAT WE BELIEVE
Contemporary black ie., the specific
feminism province/interest of our
politics

#3 PROBLEMS #4 BLACK FEMINIST

In organizing black Issues and practice
feminist
TYING DIFFERENTIAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Reframe & Consider

THE EVOLUTION OF BLACK
WOMEN’S STUDIES
Written by bell hooks
 “Feminism in the United States has never emerged
from the women who are most victimized by sexist
oppression; women who are daily beaten down,
mentally, physically, and spiritually-women who are
powerless to change their condition in life. They are a
silent majority”

“Feminist Movement”
EVOLUTION OF FEMINISM
Origins of the feminist movement

Hooks calls for the making of a liberatory

feminist theory and praxis that advocate for the
unique and valuable experiences of Black
women.
TYING DIFFERENTIAL CONSCIOUSNESS

question & examine

 FELT THEORY: AN INDIGENOUS
FEMINIST APPROACH TO AFFECT
AND HISTORY
Written by Dian Million
 NATIVE FEMINISM

Defining felt analysis

Breaking through silence

TYING DIFFERENTIAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Listening to & Creating a space

CRUISING UTOPIA
Written by Jose Munoz
QUEER THEORY
“reconsider prescribed time and space, and
instead, be critically proactive for
conceptualizing a different and better future”
TYING DIFFERENTIAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Reaching across disciplines & Ideas

ON BEING SHORTER: HOW OUR
TESTIMONIAL TEXTS DEFY THE
ACADEMY
Written by Alicia Partnoy
WHAT IS TESTIMONIO?
A narrative which allows oneself to freely and
authentically express oneself, but it also creates a
discourse of solidarity that nurtures social justice,
as the testimonial text becomes the central force in
unifying both the author and the reader.

The ultimate goal is not to come to an agreement

of Truth, or use the story as a way to generalize
experiences for specific communities or
populations.
TYING DIFFERENTIAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Resistance & Empower

REFLECTING THROUGH WRITING
Take the time to write down
your thoughts about
FemCrit and how you will
utilize it within your
practice.
THANKS
Questions?
 REFERENCES
● Abes, E. S., Jones, S. R., & Stewart, D. L. (Eds.). (2019). Rethinking college student
development theory using critical frameworks. Stylus.
○ Chapter 4: (Re)Framing Student Development Through Critical Feminist Theories
● de Saxe, J. (2012). Conceptualizing Critical Feminist Theory and
Emancipatory Education. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies
(JCEPS), 10(2).
● Ropers-Huilman, R., & Winters, K. T. (2011). Feminist research in higher
education. The Journal of Higher Education, 82(6), 667-690.
● Seventeen. (2017, August 28). What It Means To Be A Feminist [Video]. YouTube.
Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbFhOXapQBk
● TEDx Talks. (2013, April 12). What It Means To Be A FeministWe should all be feminists |
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | TEDxEuston [Video]. YouTube.
Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc