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University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Sociology Department, Faculty Publications Sociology, Department of 1988 Empowering a Feminist Ethic For Social Science Research: Nebraska Sociological Feminist Collective Beth Hartung California State University - Fresno Jane C. Ollenburger University of Minnesota - Duluth Helen A. Moore University of Nebraska - Lincoln, [email protected] Mary Jo Deegan University of Nebraska - Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/sociologyfacpub Part of the Sociology Commons Hartung, Beth; Ollenburger, Jane C.; Moore, Helen A.; and Deegan, Mary Jo, "Empowering a Feminist Ethic For Social Science Research: Nebraska Sociological Feminist Collective" (1988). Sociology Department, Faculty Publications. Paper 119. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/sociologyfacpub/119 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Sociology, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology Department, Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Empowering a Feminist Ethic For Social Science Research: Nebraska Sociological Feminist Collective Beth Hartung, Jane c. Ollenburger, Helen A. Moore and Mary Jo Deegan. An ethic defines the general rules and of the morals. standards governing the conduct and choices of individuals as well as of a profession (Q~_~~~§ A feminist ethic for social members 1971). science nature research specifically orders these general issues to recognize and account for wimmin's continued oppression within patriarchal a disciplines. A social sy stem oppression as a major contradiction and social structure. and sociology the academic of our research. work Within social sciences generally. specifically. underlying and feminist ethic identifies this continued little patriarchal ethic att.ention is paid to which informs theory. method and substantive issues. We preface assumptions and study. this collection with a definition of the that underlie a feminist ethic by. and abused in research Our discussion amplifies four key issues: the objectification of wimmin as research for for. in areas are them. (3) objects; (2) language as used sociology; and (4) the gatekeeping process employment, among research and about wimmin; (1) funding and research. inseparable. In reality. these This book reflects the overlap enhancing its continuity and comprehensive- ness. * Some portions of this paper are derived from "A feminist ethic for social science research," Women's S t~_'!!.~.2__ !.!!!~_~I2.E1!L~ ~a LX~~!:!.!!!. V 01. 6 (1 9 83 ): 535 - 543 :------- Published in A FEMINIST ETHIC FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH by Nebraska Sociological Feminist Collective (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 1988), pp. 1-22. Copyright 1988 The Edwin Mellen Press. ---------------------------2-------------------------Feminist traditional scholarship social is science. cross-purposes at with This observation is neither surprising nor profound. but it is the basis for a complex set of problems social sciences. academic which need continual re-analysis in the The authors in this book are mostly sociologists and psychologists who examine their disciplines to illustrate historically-situated problems of patriarchal ethical bias agenda throughout and plausible ethical responses. is the introduced readings author/researcher also here and which provides An elaborated follow. Each a reflexive statement of political and ideological commitment to her topic. In our this own introductory discipline. which follow. made public and essay. we focus on sociology. to frame and introduce the articles Sociology is particularly claims oppressed culpable. having to address the problems of minorities people. During the past two decades, sociologists have generated significant discussions of the politics and ethics of doing research on sex. class and race (Rainwater and Yancey. 1967; Gornick and Moran. 1971; Ladner. 1973; Acker. 1973; However. recent publication of the revised Code Ethics the of the Fo~~noj_~. and Sociological April. 1982) does not reflect substance of effort American Millman "to these arguments. sensitize Kanter. 1975). Association the power or the This revised code was an all sociologists to the ethical issues that may arise in their work" and to examine principles which "may of (~SA occasionally conflict with those more general ethical concerns." For scientific those feminist framework. scholars trained in the social which is historically bounded by a / -------------3------------patriarchal academy, the conflicts presented by the agenda are personal and political, public and private. academic feminist is indeed a Academia 1979; Leffler et a1.. 1973). scientific status is liberalism. contrast, feminism e.g., is revised by subversive fundamentally are outsiders, the In and c1a~ discipline. As marked by "otherness" (Westkott, "From the start. persons who are sorted into the and persons who are sorted into the other Biven different enjoy fed ethical codes. speaking the language of our particular !!1! (Freeman, As scholars we are marginal insiders at best. wimmin we 1979). An quo with occasional pretensions to the safety of critical. contradiction ASA and treatment, suffer are acquire different experience. different 1977:303; emphasis added). expectations" As feminists. (Goffman. we are compelled to take a critical. activist stance which both encompasses and transcends sociology. In the following discussion. we explicitly attack the traditional "in the canons of sociology. United of the sociological discipline threaten to narrow our focus. But the goal and States and framework of .eans restricted to ~ocio10gy the United States. Sociology i.p1ementing boundaries a and throughout first. feminist draws the Our cultural background bias the feminist ethic are by no or sociology as practiced in is ethic upon cultural the only one vehicle for which crosses discipline experiences of wimmin second and third world nations. Our discussion revolves around the pursuit and use of knowledge. balance the We propose a feminist ethic that restores the between the means and ends of research. raci st. imperialist. c1assist. confronts ab1e-bodist. --------------4-------------heterosexist social and science combats sexist assumptions research agenda in the not) and prevalent (revi sed or patriarchal and masculinist structures inside and outside the academy. Rejecting "business as usual" in the study of wimmin means that data collection for the sake of knowledge alone cannot must be a social. priority. be economic. tolerated. The research act and political act which. as a empowers wimmin outside of the academy. THE OBJECTIFICATION OF WIMMIN The revised ASA code exhorts sociologists to "strive to maintain objectivity and integrity" and "th~ highest possible The ~~~!E~~ status of at the technical to adhere to standards in research." quantitative and technical methods apex of sociological ethics generates a hierarchy of acceptance and as sumpti ons. Social science researchers use the rhetoric of objectivity circulation to legitimate their vested interests and contributions to knowledge. must demystify of positivist methods and A feminist analysis and ethic objectivity in sociology. which can mask the objectification of wimmin and all minorities. The definition. use and rationalization of objectiv- ity dichotomizes the researcher's view example. history in (Lerner. linguistics (Spender. research male sociology 1979). (Penelope. 1981b; obj ect standard (Smith. Lowe 1974a; anthropology 1978). and of the world. 1985). (J;16cum. 1980). and other social sciences Hubbard. 1983). represents either a deviation (norm). or male-biased research paradigm. known becomes ever more rigid For Reinharz. she is subsumed womon as from the by t.he The gap between knower and in the pursuit of objectiv- ---------------------------5 i ty; the sci enti st Wimmin lives. implicitly becomes (as expert researchers in knowing wimmin's and are subjects) as removed from active roles in the traditionally male spheres of analysis and technical research. As research subjects. research (and often unnamed) helpful spouses in manuscript acknowledgements. manipulated or as recognized source the rational 1980). (Goldsmith. wimmin's made invisible. legitimate of assistants. The dissertation and contributions are male is socially manipulator of data and the resources. This or as skills and funding research bias excludes wimmin from revising oppressive and distorting methodologies. The lack (wimmin. of research minorities. lesbians and gays) the until and by about the two decades leaves us 1as~ subdisciplines (e.g •• Daniels. and oral "more 1975; folk discredited as puerile of than intentional" is Roberts. bases. researchers must wimmin's 1981 groups. In a. b) yet the rich wimmin's live s are Whether these omissions are more accidental (McCormack. 1975). remove the "people and race disabled. we lack baseline data in prejudicial. unresolved acknowledge the class. sociology information data these the "other" class. relatively bereft of information for many the working male" voices (Si1vira. than Feminist bias and 1980) to highlight other significant differences among our lives. The ethics diverse is volume. structure range of issues in feminist research reflected in the first set of readings in this Smith persuasively argues in of gender antitheses" her that work "The deep capitalism and --------------------------6 patriarchy form one side of a dialectic in opposition to feminism. Feminist speaking in the social sciences. tution for entitled antitheses research." Smart research activities. While she works to identify of way of of the feminist the personal the current legal. prostitutes. long-term of confronting agenda on those who "enforce the of commodities. focuses acknowledging economic conditions ethics. new of long and short-term goals distress of hearing the voices law." a "Researching prostitution: Some problems feminist contradictions require In her essay on prosti- social and She then raises the women's bodies as She calls for a flexible system of feminist including the study of powerful men and the institutions they control. Bart. in her article "Lesbian research proposes that feminist research stands world for wimmin. and that to demystify issues research the being a lesbian researcher requires more than being a "good" researcher. on key ethics." She focuses of responsibility to research subjects and training within the academic enterprise. Williams provides a classic statement on the importance of Black wimmin within the social sciences in her essay "On the ethics of research on the American women." by Black wimmin have been androcentric and praxis public within triple oppression of Black The range of family and work roles held distorted policy the by Anglo-centric and research. capitalist. A focus on theory racist economy forms the focus of her critique. and sexist ------------------------------ 7 ----------------------------RESEARCH BY, FOR AND ABOUT WIMMIN and The issue of power is integral to research to key that eradicating processes of subjects. Their critique of major funding agencies. researcher research the research institution to and academic wimmin exploited self-interest? through the revi sed harassment and of To grounds extent enlightened To what extent does research on auspices of traditional institutions ASA code exploitation. remains consequences for ambiguous about despite specific discussions norms and behaviors regarding economic of question what These are questions of ethical conduct. benefit wimmin? The the on 1985). the Critiquing sociology as practiced begs wimmin is unheard. p:oject how we can empower a feminist ethic. are the to in the grant review maintain a patriarchal enterprise (Reinharz. of disci pli ni ng left research assistants and nor institutions. the ethics or process of a enabling the activities is process, participate in the human subjects review not within activities research~ accusi ng. defining. for anti-womon Research powerless. "others" do various oppressions inherent in Through the patriarchal the responsibility and the confronting agenda. is a sexual abuse (Evans. victims and 1978). its This exploitation must be tied explicitly to the oppressions of sex. code clas s. race. defaults accusa ti ons ethic sexual responsibility and redress acknowledges breaking down academy. preference the to these age. for the and rank. these powerless. oppressions The ASA definitions. A feminist by analyzing and sex and rank groupings within the This is particularly true for graduate students ---------------------------8 -------------------------and non-tenured faculty whose work is often misappropriated or maligned as non-academic. In addi ti on. the contributions of "others" in the office. in the field. and as informants must be validated. fairly compensated and publicly acknowledged. According to the ASA code. we "must not guarantees to subjects. and ability to guarantees any • unless there is full intention honor such commitments." ethic. we must not undertake research can make make to our In a feminist until and unless we informants. advocacy research has been relegated to In the past. the sidelines as "non-academic" and the ties between theory and praxis have been denied. Feminist scholars often lose professional legitimation for ments to wimmin their and research when they return investcontribute significant social to change. The research of male academicians/technicians wimmin is often an invasion of sexual objectification of sciences is a clear example research in wimmin's wimmin of the privacy. in the on The be hav ioral outcome of cross-sex which a feminist ethic is not employed. We encourage wimmin in the social sciences to recognize their own "insider" roles. in a talents and perceptions and to engage research dialogue that empowers all wimmin. acknowledge participation the advantages in sexual. and We must responsibilities of our familial. academic and political relations which inform our ideas. In the second set of readings. specific and research general process. maps for we are provided both feminist When examining the ethics in the interaction of ---------------------------9 ------~------------------violence and sexism the research in rape. Bristow and Esper approach process with a heightened consciousness of oppression in "A feminist research ethos." the They contrast "interrogation" of "respondents" with a true dialogue that regards research participants as experts on their own experiences. These dialogues are extended to the internal dialogue the of d.ia1ogues with researcher SOCiety (critical awareness) (reporting). In her "Research as critical reflection: A Study and Malhotra communicative competency." symbolic interaction. phenomenology. of and article time. self integrates and critical theory to define research as a critically reflective process. By incorporating participants process. line between "researcher" and "participant" was the continually erased. methodological in each stage of the research By reviewing approaches to and alleviate using mu1ti- repressive esp10itive aspects of research about oppressed groups. and the ama11 groups empowered themselves in their everyday lives. Shapiro and Reed turn their ev,a1uating feminist ·eva1uation: Meeting ~o~jective techniques feminist ·c.ol1eague and of activities the consultant. to "Illuminative needs of feminist they combine qualitative and discuss evaluator staff input to the practice of in special In their model. projects." 1uantitative role attention in Their the the and stance of the her roles as cri ti c. analysis includes the research proce ss and its wherein the benefits. FEMIN ISM, Language is patriarchal values discipline come critical a and to LANGUAGE AN D IDEAS dimension prejudices light. embodied Offensive in language the goes ----------------------------10 ---------------------------hand-in-hand with oppresive research and theory. Sociological language reflects the patriarchal features of language in general. as well as ethical problems. The generic use of "man." "mankind." and "he" as well as the spelling creating its own uniq ue of "woman" and "women" illustrate the historical trend of men to aggrandize their own sex (Penelope. 1978). demonstrates the Even when sociological research effects of language on consciousness. these efforts are ignored or labeled "trivial". Schneider and Hacker (1973) tested the hypothesis that "generic" man is generally understood to include wimmin. but found that the concept "man" clearly meant male individuals. Sociologists consistently use the passive voice in writing and reporting research and theory. removes the self from the report. objectivity. Thus The researcher creating an illusion of it appears that "institutions act" instead of sociologists interpreting actions conducted in. and enforced by. institutions. abdicate responsibility concerns of research for The researcher the ethical subjects. and can political The passive voice also invokes the ambigious "they" or the unnamed "expert." Thus. wimmin in are sociology symbolically represented or absent; (3) 1978; selection of from family annihilated. I.e.. (1) 1980) • Stimpson. sociological sex role social stratification. under- (2) trivialized and victimized; or the research agenda or or other academic disciplines. to "hearth and home" (Tuchman. delegated Benet. and Through questions. confined Daniels and the narrow wimmin are omitted to the development. Wimmin's productive home labor. areas of position in racial and -------------------------Tf-------------------------ethnic groups. etc .• has historically been subsumed under their family status (I.e •• The use of the husband's status). oppressive language and ideas has important implications for the theoretical development sociology as well as for 6e~ived from sociological research. values wimmin for obj ective through science. By wimmin. By defining norms and the sociology inhibiting oppression(s). authority sociologists. color For explained Black domineering to the understanding of our this oppression is especially severe for Wimmin- of i granted supports the oppression of wimmin who are multiply oppressed (Deegan. pathological of the public policies which are are consistently misrepresented by example. economic family 1985). the 1965 problems structure Moynihan as a consequence of a with absent fathers (Moynihan. 1965; 1968). mothers report and By virtue of "strong matriarchal drive". Black wimmin were accused by wbite sociologists and Yancey. critique the of "castrating" 1967). Wallace sociological Black men (Rainwater (1978) myth of (1981) and Hooks the Black womon as -"castrator" and "matriarch" both for its normative distortions and its significant negative effect political movement in the United notes that white male researchers men's sense of patriarchy. ~ank have on the Black Wallace also appealed to Black thereby forcing Black wimmin to their oppressions. Lesbians theory of (male) and States. are also sociology homosexuality and oppressed by the language and are subsumed under the topic of in the area of deviance. Lesbians gays are classified as deviants from the heterosexual ---------------------------12 norm and contact stigma" (Kirby with them leads and Corzine. to 1981). heterosexist and "contagion The language used to study homosexuality homophobic. a sociological implicitly takes the masculinist perspective. omitting lesbians from discussions of family. and politics. "other" By and focusing on the = by using the "people sociologist perpetuates of reproduction research male" subject as paradigm. the his/her ethical distance and can ignore the lived consequences of research for wimmin and minorities. Sociology as concern for revolutionary "Prescribed Penelope and a discipline positivist or socially passivity: (Stanley) "mankind" power to men. literature. document and language formal what is defined Language shapes who are analysis. sexism" In Julia structure of thought giving theory as elitist tendering these words in advertisements. The female is the antithesis so of an than that "generics" such as "man" the of rather responsible The argues The use perpetuates science. augment the spoken word. of the male in our language. male is defined positively. a disturbingly negative reality for those female. "semantic space." reflecting an entrenched patriarchal Levy then further delineates the gender bias common to domain assumptions. language structures and operationalization in her article entitled "Gender bias as a threat to construct validity in research design." reviewing of this work. mainstream research disadvantaging males While she concludes that the reformulation or must avoid the pitfalls of introducing "estrocentric" bias. The social construct of science is a political process that employs reductionist models taken from the biological and natural sciences to legitimate male power. -------------------------13 In the next essay. "Sociology of medicine for whom? feminist perspectives in a multi-paradigmatic sociology of medicine." Clarke the pf identifies ideas: has approach find position implement ni sm and ideas. social that least able to explain in as a particularly practi ce In her arti cle "Lesbiani sm. Whisman science." these problems uses feminism to demonstrate soci al are poli ti cal theory. She often rooted in the of feminist theorists who may be trained soci 01 ogy • feminists. legitimated. Critics of positivism. anti-pornography .c).ass background most themselves parallel problems in general concludes Each activism. in terms of the ability to their l.esbiani sm and the also is It patriarchy. vulnerable ~ome is or women's experiences. change well as and sets particular advantages and disadvantages. positivist tinanced and enacted. ~nd naturalism posi tivism. perspective but the ,~emi the complex practice within sociology of medicine that reflects three major The lesbians competition or over sociologists definitions illustrates by "what happens when social theories become ideologies." GATEKEEPING IN EMPLOYMENT. PUBLICATION AND RESEARCH The effects of "objectivity" and lack .,the powerless are further ::".".research funding. they .:the most important :lIIoney. Career access for compounded in publication and People who ~eepers; of certi fy others control access to resources. resources are jobs. are gate- In academia. publications and advancement is marked by the successful ,completion of stages guarded by gatekeepers who distribute these scarce Berghe. 1970). resources (Caplow and McGee. To implement a feminist 1958; Van den ethic. feminists ---------------------------14 --------------------------need to successfully barriers. and. by pa s s gatekeepers. most importantly. conceive to break down of alternatives to the present oppressive system of power brokerage. A sociologist's entry into the job market is linked directly to graduate training and sponsorship. system undergirds institutions are the entire ranked A prestige gatekeeping according to process; their value and achievement of excellence by positivist standards. to mentors and institutions (assistantships. grants. etc.) is a key mechanism omitting wimmin major graduate (Hughes. in fell~ships. gatekeeping. feminist mentors Rossi and Calderwood. 1973). is By professional full-time positions in institutions. 1975; sponsorship network. to from Access called. Thus a massive. ap pr opri a tely. the are "old systemic hierarchy exists any student's entry into the system. and ways of doing sociology are rare Patriarchal boy" prior and certain ideas ~-P~i2ri defined as less acceptable than others. That effectiveness of the job placement of wimmin from elite institutions gatekeeping can be gauged by scholars. Wimmin graduates in sociology experience greater downward mobility on the job market than their male peers (Welch and Lewis. 1980). Part-time and temporary positions in soci 01 ogy. wimmin are as elsewhere. are "women's issues" because over-represented in these positions (Tuchman and Tuchman. 1982). The temporary or confined to piece-work teaching. which restricts research and job security. i nsti t uti onal With support professional needs. publication is heavier for teaching travel. productivity difficult. part-time scholar is loads and less and other research. in terms Hierarchical of written control is ---------------------------15 --------------------------maintained further restri ct s a in resources symbol sand outside the sy stem self-perpetuating of outside. remain system that prestige. Those those inside tend to to narrowly defined academic remain inside if they adhere norms. Feminism is a key way of thinking about research that is suppressed within this structure. and continually held Freeman succinctly summarizes the barriers outside of it. that confront wimmin who achieve academically: Research on women. male colleagues. worse faddish. for example. is rarely read by and is largely considered to be at and at best narrow. Even if one has written twenty papers on extremely diverse aspects of woman's existence. it is still considered to be in the same subfield and hardly comparable to five good papers on voting statistics or Melville's novels (Freeman. Students and/or patriarchal II no t 1979:29). faculty structures sociologists" how understand Academi cs view weakness in a who the ideological are seen as "not very bright" because "val ue criticisms the question "other" they free" of the do not appear profession sy stem student/faculty. or to operates. as si gns rather of than legitimate critiques. Journal policies operate with similar rhetoric about supposedly apolitical. objective standards of excellence. A major mechanism to ensure this egalitarian claim democratic peer review. recognized leaders is the Referees are selected from among in the field. interested readers or ---------------------------16 --------------------------recommended names that gain the attention and approval of editors and their review boards. rarely and Feminist referees are included since those who dominate both numerically ideologically are bitterly anti-feminist. feminist writers become not A cannot recognized feminists. circular get and often process operates: so they do not published. reviewers. are Feminism is defined ideological (as opposed to scientific and objective). feminist authors review by feminist are not positivist writings rej ecti on are are seen "excellent." peers not This published. that Acceptance and not as a reflection of (We lapse into the passive voice invoke the authority of the discipline.) review process is. process that guarantees reside in the canons of knowledge to discriminatory treatment. deliberately The democratic virtually and the judgment of one's peers. to as thus after all. the same evaluation Some researchers are viewed others undergo. as successful and feminists are not. Dissenting voices are stilled. Similarly. obtain the research conflicts interviewers. is money with the reason basic that patriarchal assistants. that feminists cannot the feminist agenda Computers. sy stem. and other research resources are outside the pocketbook range of all social scientists. but feminists bear the brunt of this discrimination. conflicts Wimmin's are evidenced in a widening range of government funding policies. biased payment disabled wimmin: Kutza thoroughly documents structure of U. the gender- S. government benefits for ---------------------------17 --------------------------Marginal improvements in program specifics will not solve what is a continuing problem for women - the strong relationship between program benefit entitlement and labor force participation. As long as the major (and most generous) disability protection programs are premised upon a model of life-long. full-time employment outside the home. with disability being explicitly defined in a work-related context. women will continue to be disadvantaged" (Kutza. 1981: 315). The government will not pay researchers to tell it to spend more money on wimmin or. Research programs support and we if needed. often comes from must femini st these efforts. enlarge will deliberately ignored or reinforced by mainstream academic In a be action Wimmin's inequalities research. otherwise less on men. systematically capitalist society. funds are denied to researchers who the final set Sociology: feminist yet the efforts work. creative disciplinary ebntrast. many posture feminist within possibility and feminist to created research. enlarge sociologists discourse. non-reciprocity" that sociology have been suppressed. sociological Cook In Feminists have vigorously participated lines sister's gatekeeper? wimmin. remains for compatible and mututa11y their have barriers to conclusions. hierarchy." public and private empower Stewart argues in "Feminism and An unfortunate case of reinforcing in of papers. and often crossing analyses. In maintained a defensive the incorporation of In their article entitled "Am I my Cautionary and we Fonow must tales argue from the academic that stimulate to safeguard and protect its ----------------------------18 ---------------------------production by critically analyzing the process of feminist scholarship. While patriarchal authority against the highlighting and arbitrary the scienti sm. and structure they of also caution unpredictable nature of gatekeeping. CONCLUSION S feminist A sociological ethic ethi c Traditional in social from differs several scienti sts the traditional fundamental seek knowledge ways. for the advancement and enlightenment of the discipline itself; in contrast. wimmin feminists and analyze social oppression to empower minorities. accountable only The traditional to scientist profession. the The sociologist is also accountable to her peers. movement. In a feminist ethic. wimmin. this assumptions United introduction. prevalent States. in we femini st the wimmin's and oppressed peoples. framed sociology Established ethics biases key and as practiced in the conti nue to uphold objectivity as the pinnacle of sociological research. thi s an end. practi ce is artificial interviewers. wives. unimportant research and wimmin. primarily male in researchers. to a husband feminist work The of wimmin biases and lack of language oppressi on. myths about wimmin. gatekeeping process. theory and secretaries. studies sociological thei r re 1a ti on by resources. Likewise. perpetuates harmful the generated trivia1izes as To graduate students is defined as thus exploitable by reflect reflexiveness. between Wimmin's work and conclusions continue to dichotomy maintained. is and omits defines family. them and Finally. through is kept out of ------------------------~19 --------------------------- publication circulation. that and the widespread patriarchal sociological The result is method continues unchallenged for the most part. There do put are several levels on which feminists can a feminist ethic into practice. barriers. feminist sociologists between co-optation and can expulsion walk a thin line from the field. Many feminists are politically active outside working for scenes. long-term Practicing changes. feminist the discipline. Others work behind the ethics inside the academy will not provide prestige or advancement in the field. make in myriad small compromises to gain and hold sociology. positions; Our danger we must analyze and patriarchal structure of lies in challenge those positions. lies in working for significant and Despite existing our We positions privileged the underlying Our challenge change inside and outside the academy even as we are a part of it. EMPOWERING A FEMIN 1ST ETHIC The following are suggestions/challenges to all who labor in the discipline: End the O~~_c:...!..i fi_~ti~I!L~J_oi!.!I_tj._~E-..£..L~im~:!:.!L}_n ~!!!Sl!: Learn. accept and use qualitative. historical and other methodologies which highlight wimmin's oppressions. Learn. critique and use research techniques withheld from wimmin in the past. ---------------------------w --------------------------Institutionalize reflexiveness. self-criticism and accountability in the research process. Stress theoretical development as well as methodological efficiency. Conduct liberating research which enables wimmin to speak about their own lives. e.g. publish the words of housewives. third world wimmin. lesbians. etc. Specify the conditions of wimmin in all areas of sociological specialization (medicine. law. theory. race and ethnicity). not merely in marriage and family or sex roles. Rotate the manual/theoretical work or incorporate it into one process rather than falsely dichotomizing work. Acknowledge/recognize the importance of coding. interviewing. and similar activities. giving credit where it is appropriate. Recognize the importance of teaching as a dialogue That empowers students. and expands our own understanding. even though few rewards are offered by the discipline. ---------------------------21 Critique patriarchal language. theory and concepts. Use language that is non-exclusive. accessible and de-my sti fi ed. Eliminate English chauvinism by incorporating bilingualism in journals. abstracts. course syllabi. and so forth. Stress the active voice instead of the psssive voice. Bypass Gateke~rs and Cre~~~_~~~__Form~_of-ye~i~is! Cri ti ci sm: Improve access to sociological/feminist conferences through sliding fees. accessible language. recruitment of community participants. Improve access to journals in the same manner: recruit non-academic research reviews. especially by groups who are "objects" of research; generate cross-disciplinary feminist reviews. Empower feminist ethics and feminist accountability in the development of feminist journals; create shared decision-making processes which involve boards and editors with more input from readers and the general public; change standards of excellence to include controversy. the goal of liberation and the importance of practice/reinvestment of research; --------------------------22-------------------------change reward structures to emphasize public recognition of feminist accomplishments; institutionalize the rotation of even feminist gatekeeping positions. Support feminists in the discipline(s) by passing on knowledge, rather than withholding and creating a new scarce resource. Create inclusive feminist support/study groups. Become feminist mentors who open the field to new scholarship and new politics and new methods to empower all wimmin. Generate alternate forms of professional recognition. scholarship and evaluation These guidelines sciences are not for a a feminist ethic in the social completed mandate. but a responsible attempt to formulate rules for moral action. ACKNOWLEDGMENT We wish to thank Julia Penelope. Cynthia Trainor. Judy McCubbin. Sharon Selvage and Carole Kokes for their encouragement and support. We also note that the Collective typed and edited the entire final manuscript to reduce publication costs to our readers.