There are four main orientations of feminist theory: liberal, Marxist, radical and socialist feminist theory. Whilst further reading is required to understand each of these orientations, a brief overview is provided. The liberal feminist view developed during the 1800s where the focus was women’s lack of rights and opportunity based on family, gender, race, religion, and unequal distribution of wealth (Chinn & Wheeler 1985). Liberal feminism focused on reform through education.

Marxist feminist theory claims women’s oppression was caused by the introduction of private property which led to the development of class systems and sexism. Marxist feminists contend that the oppression of women will resolve when there is a revolution to redistribute the property to society as a whole (Chinn & Wheeler 1985).

Socialist feminist theory proposes that the patriarchal family, motherhood, housework and consumerism are the basis of women’s oppression. This theory considers the oppression of poor, working class women, third world women and women of colour (Chinn 1985 and Speedy 1991).

The principles of radical feminist theory are derived from a woman-centred world view that challenges patriarchal systems. The perspective is that the oppression of women is caused by cultural institutions and cannot be resolved by changing those institutions. For oppression to be resolved gender discrimination and gender roles must be abolished (Chinn & Wheeler 1985).

Feminist epistemologies argue that knowledge is incomplete, situated in time and place, and embodied by cultural constructions. Feminist epistemologies identify the manner that dominant ways of knowing may be disadvantaging women and other oppressed groups, with the aim of surfacing and challenging power constructions to reshape understandings and practices, aiming to improve the situation for the oppressed group. Central to feminist epistemology is the idea of situated knowledge. The knower’s perspective that situates their understanding of a topic is questioned. Feminist epistemologies contend that gender affects understanding; informing approaches to the central issue being studied and influencing social and political roles of people in the study. This impacts the values underpinning the inquiry and understanding of objectivity, consistency and authority. Consequently feminism becomes difficult to define, but a simple description by Stanley and Wise (1983, p. 55) provides a useful summary from which to start our discussion. It says feminist understanding relies on ‘theoretical constructions about the nature of women’s oppression and the part that this oppression plays within social reality more generally’.

It is important to recognise that there is no single way of knowing that can be described as feminist because all knowledge is context based. Thus diverse methods of understanding women’s experiences are legitimate ways of knowing in feminist epistemology. Many understandings of the same subject will be reflected by the individual’s location to, and relationship with, the subject under investigation. People experience the world with their body and their mind. Thus understanding personal experiences of a phenomenon is assisted by first person accounts about the lived experience of the phenomenon under study. The researcher may only know these states by interpreting signs and features, or obtaining descriptions of the study subject from the person experiencing the phenomenon. Such knowledge relies on how the person represents their experience and the emotions, values, attitudes and interests the phenomenon holds for that person. In many instances this knowledge is tacit, unspoken and highly intuitive.

Those who have more information about the phenomenon under study are likely to interact and react to the phenomenon in different ways than those who come from a position of ignorance. People will form various beliefs about the phenomenon and these will be influenced by their prior experiences, values and belief systems, and their prior knowledge of the phenomenon under study. The varying places in which the person stands in relation to other inquirers also affects their access to necessary information about the phenomenon and their capacity to communicate about the phenomena to other people. This position may have an impact upon their judgement regarding what is significant or otherwise regarding the study subject. So we can see that how a person is situated affects their understanding of their experience and/or the phenomenon under study. The incredible diversity of individual people’s lives and personal experience necessitate the need for multiple and flexible approaches to research. Feminist knowledge emerges from an exploration and unpacking of each person’s terms of reference, which are evolving understandings.

Feminist approaches to research enable one’s personal perspectives to surface (Chinn 2003). The researcher’s epistemology is shaped by the life experiences she or he brings to the research as well as the influences of the many voices and conversations within feminism. As researchers, our assumptions and values underpin the research process. It is important to identify them prior to embarking on research and during the research process. The challenge for us is ‘to develop a kind of self reflexivity that will enable us to look closely at our own practice in terms of how we contribute to dominance in spite of our liberatory intentions’ (Lather 1991, p. 150).

Feminism is not a set of rules, methods and ideas (Lumby 1997) but is a perspective that may inform and guide the way we live. Hence feminism challenges us to be accountable for congruence between our thought and our behaviour (Maguire 1996). Locating one’s feminism, and one’s personal epistemology, is a dynamic process involving reflection and a critical consciousness. Feminist research is not an intellectual exercise guided by theory, but is passionate, political, participatory and personal. Feminist principles are intimately connected to our lives; hence knowing our world through a feminist lens has implications for how we live and work, and whether we engage in feminist research (Maguire 1996).

Diverse feminist positions have evolved over time (Olesen 1994). The historical context and development of the arguments that constitute feminist theory are important for gaining a sense of where we have been and how we have arrived at this point. Theoretical history has meaning and purpose in connecting the old to the new as it allows us to record advances and lay the foundation for advancing inquiry. Many gains made for women can be attributed to the feminist movement. One example is the movement against domestic violence. Until feminism, there had been no acknowledgement of domestic violence, no legal avenues and support for women and no supported accommodation/sheltered housing. During the 1970s, feminist groups funded shelters, but the government, police, and media paid little attention to violence within the family, even though violence continues to be one of the most pervasive health and social issues facing women worldwide. In 2006 there is funded supported accommodation in our cities, improving public awareness based on long-term media campaigns against domestic violence, reformed laws and police practices, and altered legislative strategies aimed at contesting violence against women and children.

Common to the various feminist theoretical orientation is the notion of patriarchal power relations that oppress women where women’s interests or social positions are subordinate to men (Speedy 1991). Although there are many forms of feminist thought, there are also shared aspects. A feminist worldview sensitises researchers to consider voice, that is who is being heard and who is being excluded. It is also of central importance to explore and understand the context and lives of people participating in research by understanding power relations and how those play out in individual experiences of help-seeking (Crotty 1998). In so doing, however, a feminist perspective refrains from perpetuating the view of the ‘woman as victim’ of their circumstances; instead it celebrates diversity and varied strengths (Maguire 1996). Chinn and Wheeler (1985, p. 76) explain this characteristic of feminist research:

The diverse feminist theories hold differing perspectives about the forces that oppress women, and consequently advocate different ways by which justice (via action and change) may be achieved (Kolmar & Bartkowski 2000). Feminist theory aims to transform women’s lived experiences and women’s participation in the construction of new possibilities (Smith 1991). A woman-centred approach is fundamental to feminist research, with the aim of illuminating the life context and experiences of women, grounded by their frame of reference, experiences and language (DuBois 1985 and Speedy 1991). This thinking develops through a critical awareness of experiences, values, ideologies and goals. It is through this awareness that consciousness raising and action becomes possible as women learn to view the world through a critical lens and contradictions in their lives become illuminated. Some ‘common threads in feminism’ (Maguire 1996, p. 107) have been identified as:

The intent of feminist principles is to encourage women to take action to develop new structures or reshape existing forces so that women can ‘live out new ways of being in relationship with the world’ (Maguire 1996, p. 108).

Feminist inquiry has often been conceptualised as research for women and with women rather than research on women (Campbell 1991, Hall 1991, Olesen 1994, Scharbo-DeHann 1994 and Webb 1993). Feminism focuses on the way women are represented, and the way in which knowledge is constructed (Griffiths 1995 and Maynard 1994). Feminist research has revealed that, while most knowledge has been generated and defined by males, the perspective they espouse is not the only one and not always appropriate (Speedy 1991). The experiences of men are not the experiences of women, nor are the experiences of women homogeneous. Feminists have challenged not only the view of the way knowledge is produced but also whose view the research represents. Feminist principles in research are political, transformative and transparent and therefore used where the aim of the research is to create change (Jackson 1997).

It is important that feminist research extends further than the creation of knowledge to have a commitment to social justice (Drevdahl 1999) and social change that will serve to enhance the lives of women (Hall & Stevens 1991).

Speedy (1991, p. 201) identified three main principles that inform feminist research. They are:

Consciousness-raising involves the recognition of social, political, economic and personal constraints on freedom, and is the forum in which decisions of actions are made that will challenge those constraints and initiate change (Henderson 1995). Consciousness-raising allows women the opportunity to view the world in a different way.

Consciousness-raising is when: