1 Theory, Feminism, and Feminist Theory As we begin to consider feminist theory, we must examine a number of important and central issues, including: • What is “theory”? What does it mean to theorize? • What is specifically feminist about feminist theory? • Are there specific methods for feminist theorizing? • What is the relation of theory to everyday experience and practice? • What are the implications of the diversity of feminist theories? The editors of Feminist Frameworks suggest the following regarding theory: A theory offers a general account of how a range of phenomena are systematically connected; by placing individual items in a larger context, it increases our understanding both of the whole and of the parts constituting the whole. Theory is a systematic, analytic approach to everyday experience.… Feminist theory, they suggest, • attempts to develop a comprehensive account of the subordination of women, including its supposes essence and origin; • is a prerequisite for developing effective strategies to liberate women; • identifies the underlying causes of women’s subordination. Rosemarie Tong suggests that feminist theory attempts to describe women’s oppression, to explain its causes and consequences, and to prescribe strategies for women’s liberation. In “Women Do Theory,” Jane Flax suggests that theory is a systematic, analytic approach to everyday experience. Flax argues that everybody does this unconsciously and that to theorize is to bring this unconscious process to a conscious level so that it can be developed and refined. As Flax explains: All of operate on theories, though most of them are implicit. We screen out certain things; we allow others to affect us; we make choices and we don’t always understand why. Implicit theory-making includes our assumptions about the way the world works. Theory makes those choices conscious, and enables us to use them more efficiently. According to Flax, feminist theory has several purposes: 1. to understand the power differential between men and women 2. to understand women’s oppression—how it evolved, how it changes over time, how it is related to other forms of oppression 3. how to overcome oppression