A Framework for Multicultural-Feminist Theorizing: Toward a Non-Binary, Relational, and Non-Static Theorizing Process
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[DRAFT 2008-2009, Sally J. Sayles-Hannon]
A Framework for Multicultural-Feminist Theorizing: Toward aNon-Binary, Relational, and Non-Static Theorizing Process
Too often, we pour the energy needed for recognizing and exploring difference into pretending those differences are insurmountable barriers, or that they do not exist at all. This results in a voluntary isolation, or false and treacherous connections. Either way, we do not develop tools for using human difference as a springboard for creative change within our lives. We speak not of human difference, but of human deviance.
Audre Lorde
As Audre Lorde explains in my epigraph to this essay,
we, as human beings, have often ignored or viewed
differences as impassable barricades between us.
Disregarding differences and/or understanding differences as
impossible obstacles has, in turn, shortchanged the
potential which recognizing our differences has for
enhancing our struggles against injustice. For this reason,
differences are often not seen positively, but are rather
viewed as deviant anomalies. I have been grappling with how
to create a process of feminist theorizing that does not
ignore the complexity of each person and, at the same time,
uses each person’s uniqueness to develop more transformative
Sayles-Hannon 2
strategies for social change. While definitions of feminism
or understandings of practice vary, I believe a shared
common goal is the pursuit of social justice. The potential
our social justice classrooms provide for coming together
around communal purposes serves as a starting point for a
realizable and transformative practice of multicultural-
feminist theorizing. That is, utilizing our differences to
create new and revise old strategies for developing feminist
theories and practices capable of generating positive, long-
lasting social change. Through class discussions, writing
exercises, readings, and teaching experiences, I have
wrestled with my own definition of multicultural-feminist
theorizing and how it could be applicable to my research and
the discipline of education more generally. At this moment
in time, I define multicultural-feminist theorizing as a
non-binary, relational, and non-static process that strives
to eliminate injustice for all human beings.
My Understanding of Multicultural-Feminist Theorizing
Unlike many contemporary forms of feminist theorizing,
which center women’s experiences, understandings, and ways
Sayles-Hannon 3
of knowing and positions all other people on the margins, my
definition of multicultural-feminist theorizing rejects the
center/periphery model.1 That is, I believe that
multicultural-feminist theorizing must not create or sustain
hierarchies between human beings by valuing one race, class,
gender, sexuality, etc. over another. Norma Alarcón, in her
essay “The Theoretical Subject(s) of This Bridge Called My Back
and Anglo-American Feminism,” explains that placing women at
the center “leads to privileging women’s way[s] of knowing
in opposition to men’s way[s] of knowing, thus sustaining
the very binary opposition that feminism would like to
change or transform” (361). In other words, placing any one
group of people at the core of a theorizing process
marginalizes all others and hinders such practices social
justice potential. Moreover, any form of theorizing that
ranks the value of certain identities over others lacks the
possibility of achieving a multicultural focus. Ella Shohat,
in her introduction to Talking Visions: Multicultural 1Please see Barbara Christian’s “The Race for Theory” (341) and Norma Alarcón’s “The Theoretical Subject(s) of This Bridge Called My Back and Anglo-American Feminism” (361) in Making Face, Making Soul/Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists of Color for a discussion of the center/periphery model in feminist theory.
Sayles-Hannon 4
Feminism in a Transnational Age, explains that
‘“Multiculturalism’ . . . does not simply evoke the mere
existence of multiple culture[s]. Rather it designates a
project which calls for envisioning world history and
contemporary social life from the perspective of the radical
equality of all peoples” (1-2). In order for any project to
be multicultural, then, the project must not only be
inclusive of all peoples, but it must also equally value
each person and hir differences.
While my comprehension of multicultural-feminist
theorizing requires an all-encompassing vision that
incorporates and equitably respects each person’s
differences, it must be able to provide useful theories. In
order for theories to be applicable to all human beings, I
believe multicultural-feminist theorizing must be
simultaneously grounded in practice. Christian explains, “My
fear is that when Theory is not rooted in practice, it
becomes prescriptive, exclusive, élitist” (340). In other
words, if our theories are not grounded in and continuously
revised by our practice, they could potentially become very
Sayles-Hannon 5
dogmatic. For this reason, I believe multicultural-feminist
theorizing is an ongoing, reflective, and back-and-forth
process between theory and practice. When we simultaneously
create theory, put it into practice, reflect, and revise, we
enable our theories and practices to respond to changes in
the world. Gloria Anzaldúa, in her introduction “Haciendo
caras, una entrada,” explains that we need theories that
“will enable us to interpret what happens in the world, that
will explain how and why we relate to certain people in
specific ways, that will reflect what goes on between inner,
outer and peripheral ‘I’s within a person and between the
personal ‘I’s and collective ‘we’ of our ethnic communities”
(xxv). To summarize, not only do our theories need to have
practical functions, but they must also provide a lens for
understanding our complex selves and negotiating our
individual and community identities. In order to accomplish
this goal, the form our theories and practices take can and
will differ depending on each person’s and community’s
current needs. For example, writing, in various forms, can
be both theory and practice if the objective is to help
Sayles-Hannon 6
create positive social change at either the personal or
community level.
Like other forms of theorizing, which hold certain
premises or values, my understanding of multicultural-
feminist theorizing is guided by specific principles.
Currently, I believe multicultural-feminist theorizing must
be a non-binary, relational, and non-static process. These
values, in my view, help develop theories and practices that
are grounded in the radical equality of all human beings
and, by extension, strive for the elimination of all forms
of injustice. By using the term radical equality, I am
stressing that if our theories and practices strive to
eradicate inequality, in all its configurations, they must
begin from a foundation that equally values all human beings
regardless of differences. While I have outlined specific
premises for my conception of multicultural-feminist
theorizing, these principles should in no way be seen as a
definitive formula. The characteristics that define my
understanding of feminist theorizing will change over time
as forms of injustice and the means used to propagate
Sayles-Hannon 7
inequality mutate. Through a brief analysis of each
principle, I explain why I believe these characteristics are
necessary for multicultural-feminist theorizing. In
addition, I describe how my definition of multicultural-
feminist theorizing and its premises are useful in my own
research and the discipline of education.
Principle One: Non-Binary
A primary principle of my definition of multicultural-
feminist theorizing is that it strives for non-binary
understandings. In my view, I believe binary thinking has
and continues to prevent our theories from creating
alternative visions to the unjust status quo. Anzaldúa, in
her essay “En rapport, In Opposition: Cobrando cuentas a las
nuestras,” explains that “[a]s long as we see the world and
our experiences through white eyes—in a dominant/subordinate
way—we’re trapped in the tar and pitch of the old
manipulative and strive-for-power ways” (145). In other
words, if we continue to construct theories that utilize the
dominant, Eurocentric lens, we will be unable to escape the
binary-oppositional thinking engrained in that worldview.
Sayles-Hannon 8
Either/or and antagonistic understandings paralyze us
because they limit the possibilities for change. Instead of
recognizing our differences as useful, binary thinking pits
our differences against one another. The devastating and
fragmenting effects of binary-oppositional thinking are
easily noticeable in many identity-based movements. As
Christian explains, the Black Arts Movement’s limited
“emphasis on one way to be black resulted in the works of
southern writers being seen as non-black since the black
talk of Georgia does not sound like the black talk of
Philadelphia” (341, author’s emphasis). Furthermore, she
explains that since most advocates of the Black Arts
Movement came “from urban centers they tended to privilege
their way of speaking, thinking, writing, and to condemn
other kinds of writing as not being black enough” (341). The
Black Arts Movement’s rigid, prescriptive, and either/or
understanding of being black, in turn, created a divisive
hierarchy between black people that maintained the status-
quo.
Sayles-Hannon 9
While non-binary thinking is necessary for a theorizing
process that seeks to equally value each person’s
differences, it is also crucial for bridging the
theory/practice gap. A non-dualistic understanding is
required for conceiving theory and practice as a
simultaneous process. Leela Fernandes, in her book
Transforming Feminist Practice: Non-Violence, Social Justice
and the Possibilities of a Spiritualized Feminism, explains
that the division between theory and practices is most
noticeable when students argue “that feminist knowledge and
theory is irrelevant for real activism and practice” (50).
In other words, when our theories are disjointed from our
practices, the theory/practice split is only widened.
Fernandes further notes, “Students are frustrated . . . by
the fact that they are not given the tools to think about
alternative forms of practice that do not repeat exclusions
of the past or help them move past their privileges in the
present” (50-51). That is, when our theories and, as a
result, our practices are invested in the dominant, binary-
oppositional framework, we end up perpetuating and
Sayles-Hannon 10
maintaining the unjust status quo because we are unable to
provide viable alternatives. For this reason, non-binary
thinking is imperative for a multicultural-feminist
theorizing that views theory/practice as a constant,
ongoing, and back-and-forth process.
Principle Two: Relational
In order for multicultural-feminist theorizing to
maintain non-binary understandings of people and cultures,
the theorizing process must be relational. By relational, I
am emphasizing the need for multicultural-feminist
theorizing to understand how identities, such as race,
class, gender, sex, and other identity elements, intersect
with and influence each other. If our feminist theorizing
does not encompass a relational approach, we run the risk of
minimizing, erasing, or omitting human differences because
our theorizing does not account for the multiplicity and
complexity of identities. Lorde, in her essay, “Age, Race,
Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference,” explains that
“[a]s a Black lesbian feminist comfortable with the many
different ingredients of my identity, and a woman committed
Sayles-Hannon 11
to racial and sexual freedom from oppression, I find I am
constantly being encouraged to pluck out some one aspect of
myself and present this as the meaningful whole, eclipsing
or denying the other parts of self” (120). When our
theorizing process does not recognize how the various parts
of our identities relate to one another to produce a complex
whole, we can end up constructing rigid, non-relational
understandings of identities. By premising relationality in
our theorizing process, our theories and practices are
malleable enough to encompass each person’s multiplicity
without requiring people to weed out specific aspects of
their identities.
While a relational approach to multicultural-feminist
theorizing enables our theories and practices to recognize
the complexity of identities, it is also needed for our
theorizing to maintain a multicultural focus. When our
theorizing process does not include a relational approach,
we could potentially end up producing theories and practices
that are Eurocentric. If our theorizing process operates
from a Eurocentric viewpoint, our theories and practices
Sayles-Hannon 12
lose multicultural relevance. As Shohat explains, “One
challenge for First World feminists of color is how to avoid
a Eurocentric rescue narrative that substitutes the First
World woman of color for the white man (á la colonial
narrative) or the white woman (á la white feminism) rescuing
a dark woman from a dark man” (9). If our theorizing process
produces theories and practices that posit the First World
as more superior to the Third World, we perpetuate a
colonialist mentality. A colonialist approach to theorizing
does not see individuals from other countries or cultures as
equal, but rather asserts that one particular group is
better and, in turn, has the authority to decide what is
best for the other groups of people. In contrast to
Eurocentric theorizing, when our multicultural-feminist
theorizing emphasizes relationality it is able to produce
theories and practices “that speak and act dialogically
with” different cultures, histories, and/or social locations
and share “the critique of hegemony and the burden of
representation” (Shohat 9). That is, when our theorizing
operates from a relational position instead of a
Sayles-Hannon 13
hierarchical or oppositional stance, we are able to see the
importance of our various differences and find ways to use
them to enhance our struggles against injustice.
Principle Three: Non-Static
If our theories and practices are going to have any
long-term usefulness, then our multicultural-feminist
theorizing must be non-static. Non-static theorizing
requires our theories and practices to always be shifting to
accommodate for new forms of discrimination or old
injustices that have changed shape over the years. In
addition, insisting that our theories and practices must be
non-static, enables our theorizing to be an on-going process
and not some finite formula. When theorizing is seen as a
process, we highlight the fact that errors will occur, but
also that mistakes may be part of theorizing. Lorde
explains, “[W]e have, built into all of us, old blueprints
of expectation and response, old structures of oppression,
and these must be altered at the same time as we alter the
living conditions which are a result of those structures”
(123). Because we have all been immersed in the unjust
Sayles-Hannon 14
status quo, we cannot expect to rid ourselves of the
dominant worldview overnight. For this reason, our
theorizing must be able to adjust not only to external
changes in the world, but also to our internal changes.
Trinh Minh-Ha, in her book Woman, Native, Other: Writing
Postcoloniality and Feminism, explains that “[e]ach story is
at once a fragment and a whole; a whole within a whole. And
the same story has always been changing, for things which do
not shift and grow cannot continue to circulate” (123). If
we think of our individual selves as one story within a
larger story, valuing non-static theorizing allows for
individual change that, in turn, alters the larger story. As
new generations are born and older generations grow, a non-
static multicultural-feminist theorizing maintains relevance
by enabling our theorizing to not only encompass the present
reality, but the past and future realities as well. For
example, instead of defining feminism in separate
generational waves (i.e., first, second, and third wave),
non-static theorizing allows for these waves to be seen as
Sayles-Hannon 15
both individual wholes and as parts of a larger whole that
has changed over time to maintain relevance.
Multicultural Feminist-Theorizing and Multicultural
Education
Due to my very broad definition of multicultural-
feminist theorizing, I find it very applicable to my current
research on how epistemologies of whiteness are communicated
through multicultural curriculum design and pedagogical
strategies.2 In fact, I intentionally designed my definition
of multicultural-feminist theorizing in a way that would
help me with my current research on multicultural education.
Multicultural education, in my view, emphasizes inclusive
models of learning that discourage monolithic thinking by
providing multiple perspectives about knowledge, systems of
oppression, and the complexities of social identities In my
research, I argue that multicultural education has often
propagated rather than eradicated prejudiced understandings
of the world because it is rooted in a pseudo-invisible
2Please see my research on whiteness and multicultural education, “In Search of Multiculturalism: Uncovering ‘Whiteness’ in Curriculum Design and Pedagogical Strategies,” for an example of my application.
Sayles-Hannon 16
epistemology of whiteness. I define whiteness as a way a
knowing, a belief system, which not only regulates racial
boundaries, but also formulates specific processes of
understanding. To explain further, I suggest that whiteness
works to maintain the unjust status quo by emphasizing rigid
boundaries, binary-oppositional thinking, single-voiced
perspectives, and non-relational understandings (Keating
133-37). A primary objective in my research is to
demonstrate how multicultural curriculum design and
pedagogical methods operate within a white-Eurocentric
framework. After I have established the presence of
whiteness in multicultural curriculum design and pedagogical
strategies, I explore ways to uproot whiteness.
My understanding of multicultural feminist theorizing,
as a non-binary, relational, and non-static process, is
helpful for my research because it assists me with
theorizing possible strategies for uprooting whiteness. As I
continue working on my research, I seek to utilize a non-
binary and relational perspective to envision alternatives
to the oppositional models of multiculturalism that are
Sayles-Hannon 17
often employed within academic contexts.3 For example, when
multicultural curricula only presents diverse perspectives
regarding sexuality, gender, race, class, etc. in opposition
to the norm (i.e., white, heterosexual, middle-class male),
they un/intentionally substantiate the norm (Loutzenheiser
and MacIntosh 153). Instead of equally valuing all
historical, social, or cultural perspectives and
demonstrating how they intersect with and influence each
other, this add-and-stir approach creates an oppositional-
binary (e.g., heterosexual/homosexual, white/black,
male/female, etc.). The non-binary and relational qualities
of my definition of multicultural-feminist theorizing helps
me explore strategies for presenting multiple perspectives
in non-oppositional and relational ways. For instance, if I
was constructing a U.S. history course, I would not separate
different racial/ethnic categories (i.e., African-American
History, Native-American History, etc.), but rather I would
design the course to showcase the multiple, and often
contradictory, perspectives simultaneously. Organizing the
3Please see AnaLouise Keating’s Teaching Transformation: Transcultural Dialogues (11-12) for a discussion of oppositional models of multiculturalism.
Sayles-Hannon 18
course in a thematic way, around broad themes instead of
rigid categories of analysis, enables students to see
different worldviews, identities, and histories in relation,
which works to dismantle instead of perpetuate binary-
oppositional thinking.
Throughout my research on multicultural education, I
believe that my definition of multicultural-feminist
theorizing can also be applicable to the field of education
more generally. While my background in education is quite
interdisciplinary, my research and experience in the field
reveals logical empiricism as a favored way of knowing.
Logical empiricism is a sensation-grounded epistemology that
believes all knowledge can be derived from sense experiences
(e.g., observation). This process of knowing relies on
empirical (scientific) methods to validate knowledge. In the
discipline of education, scientific research that relies on
precise formulas, such as quantitative methods, is most
valued. James L. Paul and Kofi Marfo, in their essay
“Preparation of Educational Researchers in Philosophical
Foundations of Inquiry,” explain that quantitative methods
Sayles-Hannon 19
seek to provide infallible truths or laws and qualitative
approaches seek understanding (540). Accordingly,
quantitative methods are often favored because they provide
a logical and rational set of procedures that ensure, in
theory at least, that one will arrive at truth. Because
education values quantitative methods, which are static, I
suggests that my definition of multicultural-feminist
theorizing could be useful for designing and implementing
non-static research methods. For example, when research is
seen as an on-going continuous process, rather than
something that has a definite beginning and ending, we allow
our theories and practices to adjust to new information and
conditions. A good example of how non-static theorizing
could be useful for educational research is with school
desegregation. While federal legislation has mandated school
desegregation since 1954, school segregation has lived on
through geographical segregation. If education research
adopted a non-static theorizing process, then educational
theories and practices might be able to shift and
Sayles-Hannon 20
accommodate for old injustices, such as school segregation,
which have mutated over the years.
Conclusion
Throughout this essay, I have explained my current
framework for multicultural-feminist theorizing and
attempted to demonstrate the usefulness of a non-binary,
relational, and non-static theorizing process for my
research and education more generally. While my
understanding of multicultural-feminist theorizing is only
based on my current views, I do believe that a non-binary,
relational, and non-static theorizing process that works to
end injustice for all people is realizable. As I have
outlined my definition of multicultural-feminist theorizing,
I have drawn from numerous readings that seek, above all
else, to create a more just world. The theorists named in
this paper do not have the same viewpoints, identities, or
histories, but the collage presented demonstrates that our
theorizing does not have to begin from a homogenous
foundation. Instead, the weaving of different identities,
social and historical locations, and points of view enrich
Sayles-Hannon 21
and strengthen my framework for multicultural-feminist
theorizing. The polyphonic composition of voices in this
paper represents a non-binary, relational, and non-static
theorizing process in practice. For this reason, the ideas
in this paper do not posit a fixed formula for
multicultural-feminist theorizing, but rather demonstrates
that the theorizing process must be amenable to account for
new voices and concerns.
Works Cited
Alarcón, Norma. “The Theoretical Subject(s) of This Bridge
Called My Back and Anglo-American Feminism.” Making Face,
Making Soul/Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical
Perspectives by Feminists of Color. Ed. Gloria
Anzaldúa. San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Books, 1990.
356-69.
Anzaldúa, Gloria. “En rapport, In Opposition: Cobrando
cuentas a las nuestras” Making Face, Making
Sayles-Hannon 22
Soul/Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical Perspectives
by Feminists of Color. Ed. Gloria Anzaldúa. San
Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Books, 1990. 142-48.
---. “Haciendo caras, una entrada.” Introduction. Making
Face, Making Soul/Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical
Perspectives by Feminists of Color. Ed. Gloria
Anzaldúa. San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Books, 1990. xv-
xxviii.
Christian, Barbara. “The Race for Theory.” Making Face,
Making Soul/Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical
Perspectives by Feminists of Color. Ed. Gloria
Anzaldúa. San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Books, 1990.
335-45.
Fernandes, Leela. Transforming Feminist Practice: Non-
Violence, Social Justice and the Possibilities of a
Spiritualized Feminism. San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute
Books, 2003.
Keating, AnaLouise. Teaching Transformation: Transcultural
Classroom Dialogues. New York: Palgrave Macmillan,
2007.
Sayles-Hannon 23
Lorde, Audre. “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining
Difference.” Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by
Audre Lorde. Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press, 1984.
114-23.
Loutzenheiser, Lisa and Lori MacIntosh. “Citizenships,
Sexualities, and Education.” Theory into Practice 43.2
(2004): 151-58.
Paul, James L. and Kofi Marfo. “Preparation of Educational
Researchers in Philosophical Foundations of Inquiry.”
Review of Educational Research 71.4. (2001): 525-47.
Sayles-Hannon, Sally. “In Search of Multiculturalism:
Uncovering ‘Whiteness’ in Curriculum Design and
Pedagogical Strategies.” The International Journal of
Learning 16.10 (2009): 709-719.
Shohat, Ella. Introduction. Talking Visions: Multicultural
Feminism in a Transnational Age. Ed. Ella Shohat. New
York: The MIT Press, 2001. 1-62.
Trinh, Minh-Ha. Woman, Native, Other: Writing
Postcoloniality and Feminism. Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press, 1989.
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