Chapter 2 Creating Knowledge PDF

CHAPT E R 2 Creating Knowledge: Integrative Frameworks for Understanding What Is a Theory? Creating Knowledge: Epistemologies, Values, and Methods Socially Lived Theorizing Media Representations and the Creation of Knowledge Quest...

CHAPT E R 2 Creating Knowledge: Integrative Frameworks for Understanding What Is a Theory? Creating Knowledge: Epistemologies, Values, and Methods Socially Lived Theorizing Media Representations and the Creation of Knowledge Questions for Reflection Finding Out. More on the Web Taking Act:ion Readings Keywords: epistemology, esse ntiali sm, medi a literacy, obj ectivity, Ori ental ism, relativism, standpoint, subj ec ti vity, subjugated knowledge eopl e h ave sought to understand themselves, the ir home environments, and the P wo rld aro un d the m since th e beg inning of tim e. Throug h observation , reasoning, and trial-and-e rro r expe rim e ntation , wome n deve lop ed knowl edge abo ut th e breeding of w ild gra in s; th e domesti cation of anim a ls; th e care of infants and children; the production of materials for clot hing, househo ld items, and building; the m edicinal prop erties of pl a nts; a nd th eo ri es of hea lth and we ll -be ing. With greater literacy, women observed and a nalyzed th e ir social wo rld s in po et ry, so ngs, nove ls, and essays that co nveyed th eir underst andings, feelings , and beliefs. These fo rms of expression have been powe rful ways for al l whose voices have been sil enced or misreprese nted by those in domin an t positions. Some have asked w hat we now think of as feminis t questions : W hy a re wo me n and gender noncon fo rming peop le considered less va lu abl e th an cisge nder men 7 Why is gender-based viol e nce a globa l issue? Wh at do es sex uality mea n? Why is rape used as a weapon of wa r? Why are girls in t he United States genera lly better at creative w riting th a n at math ? Why don't US g irl s do as we ll in m ath and science as their international pee rs? Why do so many childre n in the wo rld go to bed hungry? 43 44 CREATING KNOWLEDGE In this chapter, we exa min e theory and theo ry making and continue the discussion of feminist frameworks started in Chapter 1. As preparation for understanding the material presented in the rest of the book, we look at how knowledge is created and va lidated. People often say that facts speak for th emse lves. On the contrary, we argue that facts are open to interpretation and are influenced by one's perspective and beliefs. In short, how you think about people 's situations and experiences affects what you see and what you understand by what you see. Theory making takes work. As teachers, we want you to stretch yourselves intellectually as you engage with the material in this book. Also, we want you to critically assess other sources of information, whether mainstream news reporting, social media, talk shows, popular culture, or biogs. In the past twenty years or so, the climate of opinion in the United States has become more challenging for women's and gender studies as misogyny, racism , and xenophobia have gained ground in official rhetoric, legislation, policy, and the narrow ing of public discourse. We urge you to take yourselves seriously as thinkers, as intellectuals, who do not settle for simplistic explanations. WHAT IS A THEORY? Think about the following assertion regarding poverty that many people in our society make: poor people are poor because they are lazy. 1. What is the purpose of this statement? 2. What are the underlying assumptions on which it is based? 3. Who came up with this idea, under what circumstances, and when? 4. How did this idea become popular? 5. If this statement were true, what would it imply about action that should be taken? If the statement were not true, what ideological purpose might it serve? 6. What would you need to know in order to decide whether this statement is really true? The preceding statement is a theory; it is one explanation of poverty. Built on a set of assumptions, or certain factors taken for granted, this theory assumes there are well- paying jobs for all who want to work and that everyone has the necessary requirements for those jobs, such as education, skills, or a means of providing for child care. This explanation of poverty takes a moral perspective. A psychological explanation might contend that people are poor because they have low self-esteem, lack self-confidence, or take on self-defeating behaviors. A sociological explanation might conclude that structures in our society, such as the educational and economic systems, are organized to exclude certain groups from being able to live above the poverty line. Each theory explicitly or implicitly suggests how to address the issue, which can then lead to appropriate action. If the problem is defined in terms of laz iness, a step to ending poverty might be to punish people who are poor; if it is defined in psychological terms, assertiveness training or counseling might be suggested; and if it is defined in terms of structural inequality, ending discrimination or creating more jobs would be the answer. Theories may also have ideological purposes. The term ideology refers to an or- ganized collection of ideas applied to public issues. America is a Christian nation, for  Creating Know l edge: Epistemo l og ie s, Values, and Methods 45 exa mple. Heteros exuality is normal , for another. Prisons are necessary to safeguard society, yet another. Dominant ideologies-the ideas that rep rese nt the foundational va lu es of a particular society-often appear neutral , whereas alternative id eologies seem radical , regard less of their content. Putting forward particular ideo logies is fundamental to political activity, including the roles of branches of government, political parti es, lobbyists, and news reporters. Social institutions like education, mass media, law, and criminal justice help to support and perpetuate dominant ideo logies. Peopl e in both advantaged groups a nd disadva ntaged groups may accept dominant ideolog ies even though th ese may not be in their best interests. Ca n yo u think of examples of this? CREATING KNOWLEDGE: EPISTEMOLOGIES, VALUES, AND METHODS Feminist philosopher Sandra Harding (1987) identified three elements that are basic to the process of creating knowl edge: 1. Epistemology-a theory about knowledge, who can know, and under what circumstances. 2. Methodology-the resea rch er's values and choices about how to carry out re- search. Resea rchers can pose questions, collect evidence, and analyze informa- tion in different ways based on assumptions about what knowledge is and how best to create it. 3. Method-the tec hniques for gathering and analyzing information, whether from direct observation, listening to personal stories, conducting interviews, reading documents, undertaking media analysis, statistical analysis, and so on. Virtually everyo ne thinks up explanations for their ex periences; that is, they create theory. Fo r instance, we may analyze sexual abuse in our communities or the impact of unemployment on our state. Theories generated by ordinary peopl e, how- eve r, are usually not regard ed as worthy of consideration beyond their immediate circle of friends , classmates, or coworkers. Historically, white, Western, university- educated men from the upper classes and their theories, which are supported by so- cietal institutions such as education and government, have had the greatest impact on how human beings and social phenomena are explain ed and understood. In the following sections, we discuss how certain kinds of theories have been legitimi zed in this society and suggest another way of developing knowledge. (For questions to ask in attempting to und erstand any theoretical perspective, see th e box feature "Under- standing Theoretical Perspectives." ) Dominant Perspectives From the perspective of the dominant culture-the values, symbols, language, and interests of the peo ple in power in this society-only certain types of theories have authority. Generally, the authoritativeness of a theory about human beings and soci- ety is evaluated along two dimensions. One is how closely its development followed a particular way of theorizing, the scientific method. The second is the scope and the assumed generali zability of the th eory.  46 C RE AT IN G KNOWLE D GE Understanding Theoretical Perspectives In Attempting to Understand Any Theoretical Perspec- 5. Do you find this perspective usefu l? If so, why? tive, Ask Yourself 6. Are you convinced by the arguments? Why or why not? 1. What does the theory seek to explain? 7. What kinds of research questions does this perspec- 2. How does it do this? What are the basic arguments tive generate? and assumptions? 8. What kinds of actions and projects fol low from this 3. What does the theory focus on? What does it ignore? perspective 7 4. What is the cu ltural and historical context for the theory? Most of us learned th e basics of the sc ie ntifi c method in high school science classes. Although there a re several variations, key elements must be present for a theory to fit in this category. The scientific method, or igin ally devised by natural sc ientists, rests on the presumption of objectivity, "an attitude, philosophy, or claim... independent of th e individual mind" (Kohl 1992, p. 84). Objectivity is seen as both a place to beg in the process of th eorizing and the outcome of that process. Theor ies developed using the scientific method are held ou t as va lue-free and neutral. The method is also emp irica l. That is, for something to be a fact, it must be physically observabl e, countable, or measurable. This proposition is extended to include th e notion that something is either true or not true, fact or not fact. Last, the experimental method, commonly used in sc ience, "attempts to understa nd a whol e by examining its parts, asking how something works rather than why it works, and derives abstract formulas to predict future results" (Duff 1993, p. 51 ). These elements add up to research methods th at genera lly require a distancing of the researcher from he r or his subjects of study;... abse nce of emot ions from the research process; ethics and va lues are deemed in appropriate in the research process, either as the reason for scien tifi c inquiry or as part of the research process itself;... adversaria l debates, whet her written or oral, become the preferred method of ascerta ining truth: the arguments that can w ith stand the greatest assau lt and survive intact become th e strongest truth. (P. H. Collin s 1990, p. 205) Scholars in the social sciences adopted t he scientific method as a way to va lid ate and legitimate social scientific knowledge beginn ing in the late nineteenth ce ntury, as disciplines such as psychology and sociology were being developed. Since then, fields like education , nursing, and social work have also adopted the scientific method as th e primary way to develop new knowledge, furthering th e dominance of this approach. The second dimension for eva luating and judging a theo ry concerns its scope and gene rality. The range is from the most specifi c exp lanat ion with the narrowest scope to th e other end of the continuum, th e genera l th eory, wh ich is the most abstract and is assumed to have the most general application. Many genera l theories have been promoted and accepted as universally applicab le. One of them, biological determinism , holds that human behavior is determined by people's genes, brain size, or other biological factors like the abi lity to bear chi ldren. Th is is in contrast to the theory that hum an behavior-like gender roles, for example-is socially constructed  Creat i ng Kn owledge: Epis t emolog i es, Va l u e s, an d Methods 47 a nd lea rn ed thro ugh childh ood gender socialization a nd everyday expe ri ence. Most soc ia l scientists a nd feminist theorists argue th at var iati o ns in ge nd er ro les w ithin a socie ty or from o ne soc iety to a no the r provid e stron g ev idence th at gender is a social construction (Lo rb e r a nd Farre ll 1991). The impli ca ti o n of this argument is th at ge nde r arrangements a re no t fi xed or in ev itabl e but ca n be changed. More recently, scientific resea rchers h ave co m e to see that ideas of bi o log ica l sex, too, are constructed, as di scussed by Ann e Fa usto-S te rling in Reading 6. Critiques of Dominant Perspectives Fe minist theorists exposed fallacies, biases, a nd harmful o utco m es of th e scie ntifi c method as a way of crea tin g knowledge (see, e.g., Bleier 1984; P. H. Collin s 1990; Duran 199 8; Shi va 1988). T he primary criti cisms a re th at knowledge created in this way is not va lue-free, neutra l, o r generalizable to th e extent it is cl a im ed to be. Sc ie nce, as w ith o the r acade mic disciplines, is "a cultural institution and as such is structured by the politi ca l, social, and economic values of th e culture w ithin w hi ch it is practiced" (Tu ana 1989, p. xi). Rather than be ing neutral , knowledge re fl ec ts a nd serves the inte rests of th e culture that produced it. The problem is not that th eo ri es a re value-laden but that th e va lu es a nd bi ases of m a ny th eor ies a re hidden under th e cloak of "sc ientifi c o bj ecti vity." Moreover, scholars, policy m ake rs, a nd commentators app ly m a ny th eories deve loped in th e United States to the res t of the wo rld, often w ith o ut ack nowledging th at they primarily serve the interes ts of th e dominant group in this countr y. An example ca n be found in theories of modernization, which assume th at th e eco nomic deve lop ment o f Western Europ e a nd North Ame rica is th e path th at a ll other nations sho uld and w ill follo w. This has generated a language to differenti­ ate "deve lop ed " and "underd eve lop ed " nations, w ith th e ass umption that countries beco m ing more industriali zed ca n be called "deve lop ing" countries, a point we return to in Chapter 8. In Reading 6, fem ini st bi o log ist Anne Fausto-Sterling provides an example of how knowledge refl ects and serves th e interests of the culture th at produces it, and a lso how sc ient ists m ay be pushed to rethink th eir perspectives as the w ider society changes. Intersex activists co nfro nted doctors who used th eir kn owledge and authority to insist th at intersex infants and children needed "co rrective" surge ri es to make th em "fit " the m a le/femal e binary, often w ith horrendous con seque nces (Pago nis 2015). Fausto­ Ste rling explains th at in defi ning biological sex, ex perts distinguish several levels: th e genetic and cellular leve l, th e hormonal leve l, a nd the anatomical leve l. She ac­ cepts criticism of her ow n ea rli er work as overly focused o n genitals, the anatomica l leve l. She came to see th at th ese diffe rent leve ls make many mixes and permutations of m a leness a nd fem a le ness possible, not just two, o r eve n five-as she had proposed. "A chromosomal , ho rm o nal a nd ge nital mal e (or female) may emerge with a fe m a le (or male) gender identity. O r a chromosom a l female w ith male fetal horm o nes a nd m ascu lini zed genitalia-but w ith female pub ertal hormones-may develop a female gender identity (Fausto -Ste rling 200 0, p. 22). She comme nts th at m edical and scientific co mmunities "have yet to adopt a la nguage that is capa bl e of descr ibing such di ve rsity" (p. 22), and recog ni zes th at "t he evo lv ing discussion about how to treat children with ambiguous genitalia is the tip of a biocultural iceberg... that continues to rock both medicin e and our culture at la rge" (p. 19). 48 C RE A T ING KNOWLEDGE Creat ing knowl edge is a politica l project, regardless of whether this is acknowl­ edged. Socia l theories that exp lain th e behavior of human beings and society support the existing socia l order or chal lenge it. For those, like feminists, who are interested in progressive social change, it is important to generate knowledge that explains ev­ eryone's experiences (particularly those whose lives a nd experiences have bee n dis ­ missed), that provides satisfactory solutions to th eir difficulties, or that helps lead to their lib e ration. The Role of Values Charlotte Bunch, former director of the Center for Women's Globa l Leadership at Rut­ gers University, recommended a four-step model for theory making: describe what exists, ana lyze why that reality exists, determine what should ex ist, and hypothesize how to change what is to what should be (Bunch 1987). Determining what should exist-the third step-is a matter of values and beliefs. It involves being able to envision (if only vague ly) another way of organizing society, free from oppression. By definition, feminism is concerned with values in its quest for liberation from intersecting discriminations based on gender, race, class, sexua lity, dis/ abi lity, nationality, and so on. Values do not emerge from facts or from the analysis of a situation but rath er from peopl e's beliefs in fairness, equality, or justice. We may learn such principles from our famili es, in school, or through faith-based traditions (as discussed by Deborah Lee in Reading 57). Whatever the source, feminist theori zing and projects invariably involve values, whether stated explicitly or implied. Notice the value positions in the readings included in this book-and in this book itself. SOCIALLY LIVED THEORIZING Theorizing is not only for elites. Feminist legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon (1991) wrote about the importance of "articulating the theory of women's practice-resistance, visions, consciousness, injuries, notions of community, experiences of inequality. By practic[e], I mean socially lived" (p. 20). In the 1960s and 1970s, US feminists popularized the slogan "the personal is po­ litical" to validate individual women's experiences in recognizing and understanding gender-based discrimination. This promoted the practice of "starting from one's own experience" as a legitimate way to create new knowledge. This practice also counter­ acted the dominant view of theori zing that personal experience, along with emotions and values, contaminates the "purity" of the scientific method. We argue that a theoretical framework should allow people to see the diversity of our lives and the structures of power, inequality, and opportunity that shape our expe­ riences. Sociologist Jackie Stacey (1993) noted that th e concept of patriarchy, meaning "the systematic organization of male supremacy" (p. 53), is central to feminist th eori z­ ing. In Reading 7, Allan G. Johnson argues that patriarchy is not just a collection of in­ dividuals but rather a system whose core values are control and domination. Everyone is involved and implicated in this system, but we can choose how we participate. This emphasis on a wider system is crucial. Without it, as Johnson suggests, our thinking is reduced to the personal or micro level, and discussion easily becomes bogged down in accusations, defensiveness, and hurt fee lings.  Socially Lived The orizing 49 First-person stories are compelling ways to lea rn about others. In this book, we include several articles by writers who reflect on their experience in order to examine social processes and institutions-that is, to open a window onto a wider world. In Reading 9, Nadine Naber discusses he r upbringing in an Arab Christian family in the San Francisco Bay Area. Growing up, she was surprised to learn that her US Arab com­ munity "had more socially conservative understandings of religion, family, gender, and sexuality than their counterparts in Jordan " and asked why the stakes of family respectability were so high in America. She explains this by referring to Orientalism, a concept introduced by Palestinian American scholar Edward Said (1979), who argued that Western notions of Eastern or Oriental people have been "defined in terms of cul­ tural or religious essences that are invulnerable to historical change." This generated rigid, binary, categories: Arabs or Westerners. Naber shows that as a way of retaining their culture in this country, her parents' generation "s imply reversed Orientalism and used its binary categories... for different purposes," often valuing Arab over American culture. As a scholar-activist, she has sought to create a third place to stand: to speak frankly about the complexities of Arab American women's experiences without "Arab bashing" or Orientalism. Standpoint Theory Naber's work provides an example of standpoint theory. Sandra Harding (1998) iden­ tified four elements that contribute to constructing a standpoint as a place to generate knowledge: 1. Physica l location-including geographical location, bodily experiences, gendered activities, and the effects of race/ethnicity, class, and nation that "place" people differently. 2. Interests-different locations generate different interests. 3. Access to discourses-provides tools for making sense of specific experiences. 4. Social organization of knowledge production-being situated in a university, work­ ing for a nonprofit organization, or talking informally w ith friends and cowork­ ers all facilitate the creation of some kinds of knowledge and obstruct others. By definition, standpoints are grounded and limited. We chose to open this book with Paula Gunn Allen's essay on the "red roots of white feminism" rather than with feminist writings generated in Western Europe. Allen's standpoint opens up a different perspective, grounded in the history of this nation-state, the USA, as well as a more critical view of first-wave US feminism. Our discussion of intersectionality in Chapter 1 provides another example. Many academics cite a groundbreaking paper by critical legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw (1993) as the source of this concept. In Chapter 1, we saw that Black women in the Combahee River Collective used this idea in the 1970s. Moreover, Beverley Guy-Sheftall (1995) , a scholar dedicated to African American wom­ en's issues and writings, has pointed out that Black women in the United States were talking publicly about the intersection of race and gender as early as the 1830s, though they did not use this term back then. Each of these formulations draws on a different context or standpoint to make sense of the intertwining of race and gender in the lives of African American women-indeed, all women and men , whether heterosexual, queer, gender -nonconforming, or trans. 50 CR EAT IN G KNOWLEDGE For Patricia Hill Collins, standpoint is not about individual experience or point of view but "historically shared, group-based experiences" (1997, p. 375). As a university professor ,vho was raised in an African American community, she draws on these two very different standpoints in her discussion of Black feminist thought (see Reading 8). She argues that traditional creators of Black feminist thought were not recognized as theorists by university-based Eurocentric masculinist epistemologies, or theories of knowledge. Such thinkers included "blues singers, poets, autobiographers, storytellers, and ora- tors validated by everyday Black women as experts on a Black woman's standpoint." As African American women have gained advanced degrees and academic positions, some have chosen to "make creative use of their outsider-within status" in resisting the dominant nature of white male patterns of thinking. Because Black women's standpoint exists in a context of domination, Collins refers to Black women's thought as subjugated knowledge, a term introduced by French philosopher and historian Michel Foucault (1980). Moreover, she notes that the suppression of Black women's ideas motivated them "to create knowledge that empowers people to resist domination." Chal lenges to Situated Know ledge and Standpoint Th eory Critiques of situated knowledge and standpoint theory emphasize the self-centeredness of subjectivity, "in which knowledge and meaning [are] lodged in oneself" (Maher and Tetreault 1994, p. 94). This leads to comments such as "I can only know my own experience," "I can only speak for myself," or "What does all this have to do with me?" Historian Joan Scott (1993) examined the authority of persona l experience in creating theory. She acknowledged the value of theorizing from experience, especially if this has been ignored, denied, or silenced in dominant systems of knowledge production. However, she argued that experience should not be "the origin of our explanation, but that which we want to explain" (p. 412). And she warned that assuming experience to be an authoritative source of knowledge precludes questions about the constructed nature of experience. Poet and writer Minnie Bruce Pratt (1984) provided an example of this. As a white woman becoming aware of inequalities based on race, she re-thought her assumptions about herself and the world. Her new understandings meant that she learned a way of looking at th e world that is more accurate, complex, multi laye red, multidi- mensioned, more truthful.... I've learned that what is presented to me as an accurate view of the world is frequentl y a lie.... So I gain truth when I expand my constricted eye, an eye that has onl y let in what I have been taught to see. (p. 17) A second critique of situated knowledge involves relativism. Situated knowledge is taken as authoritative because it is some group's real experience. From a relativist per- spective, each group's thought is considered equally valid. Thus, the white supremacist views of neo-Nazi members are as va lid as those held by anti racist activists. As a result, others may think they have no basis on which to question or challenge racism and no right to do so. Patricia Hill Collins provided a solution to this problem. She argued that Black feminist thought offers a specific and partial perspective on domination that "allows African American women to bring a Black women's standpoint to larger epistemological  Soci all y Li ved Th eo ri zin g 51 dia logues" concerning the nature of domination. Thus, th e ideas that are va li dated by other oppressed groups, based on distincti ve but overlappi ng standpoints, beco me the broadest truths. Th is methodolog y requires spaces and settings-classrooms, com­ munity cen ters, social m ed ia, o r public discussions-for shari ng knowledge and for co nsc ient io us li stening. Simil ar ly, Chand ra Talpad e Mo hanty (2003a) ca ll ed for ethi ca l and ca ring "non-co lonized" dialogue across diffe rences, div isions, an d confl icts. These conversatio ns are one aspect in creat ing transnational feminisms. They should be an­ chored in equ a lity and respect to avoid reproducing power dynamics and in eq ualiti es among feminists that pa rall el those in the w id e r world. In practice, such conversations may be cha ll e nging. Most of us have had few op­ portunities to engage in hon es t d ia logue with others-both peop le like ourselves, and t hose from different backgrounds-abou t contentious issues. However, thoughtful dialogue and cri ti ca l questions move us beyond excess ive subjectiv ity because thi s process offers a basis for eva lu ating facts and experiences. It compe ls us to see and understand many diffe rent sides of an iss ue, a nd it a ll ows appropr iate action in a given situat ion. Such conversat ions provide a framework for dec iding where to draw th e lin e on cultural relativism. For students of women's a nd gender studies, it is important to take a position on comp lex issues after thinking carefu ll y about th em and drawing on diverse stand­ points. Th is is not th e same as universalizing from one's own perspective or tellin g p eo ple what to think or what to do. Many people's expe ri e nces and agency have been excluded or erased by dominant th eoretica l approac hes, and we do not want to rep li ­ cate that way of knowing. Purposes of Socially Lived Theorizing We believe that knowledge should be usefu l for helpin g to transform structures of power and inequa lity into a sustaina bl e world for a ll. As Catharine MacK inn on (1991) remarked many years ago, "It is common to say th at something is good in theory but not in practice. I a lways wa nt to say, then it is not such a good theory, is it?" (p. 1). In writing about th e Ho locaust-the mass murd er primarily of Jewish peop le but also of Roma, people with disabilities, and gay people in Europe before and during World War II-philosopher Alan Rosenberg (1988) made an important distinction be­ tween knowing and understanding. Accord ing to Rosenbe rg, knowing is hav ing th e facts abou t a particular eve nt or co ndition. We know th e Holocaust h appened. T he Naz is, under the leaders hip of Ado lf Hitler, were th e perp et rators. Some peopl e in side a nd outside Germany tried to res ist these atrocities; others, including the United States initially, we re unable or refus ed to he lp. The resu lt was the slaug hte r of some eight mil­ lion people includ ing six million Jews. Trad iti ona l educational pract ices, epi tomized by the scienti fic method , teach us primarily to know. For Rosenberg, knowing is the first step toward understanding, a much deeper process that, in the case of the Holo­ caust, involves not on ly comprehending its significance and long-term effects but a lso trying to discover how to preve nt simi lar injustices in the future: Know in g. refers to factual information or th e process by which it is gathered. Understanding refers to sys te maticall y grasp in g th e sign ificance of an event in suc h a way th at it beco m es integra ted into one's moral and in te ll ec tual life. Facts ca n be 52 CREATING KN O WLEDGE a bsorbed w ithout th eir having a ny impact on th e way we understand ourselves or th e world we li ve in ; facts in th e ms elves do not make a difference. It is th e und e rstanding of them that m a kes a diffe rence. (Rose nb erg 1988, p. 382) Many assume that the scientific method invol ves authoritativeness and rigor. We maintain that th e socially lived theori z ing describ ed here is also rigorous in that it requires thinking systematically and critically and talking about differences honestly. This approach obligates us to consider the implications and consequences of our theo­ ries. Knowledge created in this way helps us to grasp "the significance of an eve nt in such a way that it becomes integrated into [our] moral and intellectual life," as Rosen­ berg argued. MED IA REPRESENTAT IONS AND THE CREAT ION OF KNOWLEDGE Media representations provide another avenue for disseminating information and shaping opinion. It is a truism to say that we live in a media-saturated culture with TV and radio stations broadcasting 24/7, weekly magazines, new movie releases, and constant access to the Internet. Social media platforms have expanded media access enormously, with a plethora of on line publications and discussion forums. The Stories Behind the Head lines Mainstream media reporters, editors, and corporate sponsors are in powerful positions in terms of producing knowledge. They employ their own theories of what issues are important and who is a credible "authority." Their methodologies are shaped by their values and assumptions regarding what constitutes a "good story" and what they be­ lieve "the public wants to know." Thus, media outlets have their own standpoints: their physical and social locations, interests, and access to particular discourses. Patricia Hill Collins' view that all standpoints represent a partial perspective helps to see the limits of much media reporting, although it is often passed off as being generally relevant. The shift from print to electronic formats means that journalists are under greater pressure to produce reports for the 24-hour news cycle. Fewer reporters have time for intensive research compared to in the past. Media scholars, critics, and some leading journalists are increasingly concerned about the "unasked" as well as "unanswered" questions in much contemporary journalism. Further, the mainstream media are owned and controlled by corporate conglomerates like Disney/A BC and Time Warner/ Turner. These US media also have an international reach as shows are marketed glob­ ally. One of the media's main functions is to round up an audience for advertisers, and advertisers influence media content, especially in television. From time to time, they may threaten to pull advertising if they think a show's content will "turn off" their intended audience, and editors and directors are expected to toe the line. Proliferating web-based media, with their various sub-audiences, undercut the as­ sumed authoritativeness of older media outlets. However, social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are also corporate ventures dom­ inated by advertising (Shepherd 2014). As a condition of our using such sites, these companies have unprecedented access to our personal information in order to direct  Media Representations and the Creation of Kn owledge 53 specifi c adverti sing our way. 1'vloreover, o nline bus iness models th at seek to maximi ze "cl icks " as a way to ea rn advert ising revenue encourage the posting of in forma tio n that is "cl ick-wo rthy" rega rdl ess of wheth er it is accu rate. Indeed, fake news has become a wo rld w ide phenome no n in rece nt yea rs. This occurs when so meo ne posts in acc urate m ate ri a l that is then "p icked u p by dozens of o the r biogs, ret rans mitted by hund reds of we bsites, cross- pos ted ove r tho usa nds of social med ia acco unts and read by hundreds of thousands" of peop le (Boun eg ru et a l. 20 17). Thi s may be done delib erately o r in adve r­ te ntly, but always has th e effect of misleading readers about the fac ts of an issue. Th is is espec ia lly sign ificant as 62 percent of US ad ults ge t news from soc ial m ed ia (Gottfried a nd Shea rer 2016, p. 2). (Note: this is very different from President Trump's use of the termfahe news to refer to accu ra te news stori es th at he does not like.) Whose Knowledge? Women are margin a li zed in US news media, as are men of co lor and white working­ cl ass men. Although a few no tabl e female medi a perso nalities like Rach el Maddow and Oprah Winfrey host TV news a nd ta lk shows, most wome n o n television appear in the context of entertainment, home, a nd personal relat io nships. Much media represe nta­ ti o n se rves to reinforce id eo logica l no tions of wome n's roles, bodies, and sexuality. Wo m en are m ore likely to be includ ed in "lifestyle" pieces as opposed to "h ard " news, business, or sports. Wome n are least likely to be quoted in stories about foreign affa irs, giv ing the impress ion that th ere are no wom en wi th ex pertise in this area. Moreover, facu lty a nd administrators "who run th e nation's journalism a nd mass communication schools are overwhelmingly white, a nd two -thirds of them are male," even th o ugh about two -thirds of their students a re wom en (Unive rsity of Maryland 2007). A similar pattern is see n internationally. Compi ling data from 114 countries, the Glo ba l Media Monitoring Proj ect found that women were a minority of people in th e news a nd a minority of reporters a nd presenters; a lso, m ost news reports had little or no serio us gender perspective (Mach ar ia 2015). In Read ing 40, Mark Graham and Anasuya Sengupta note that Wik ipedi a, the go -to resource for in forma ti o n, w ritten by volunteers, is slanted by geography and by gender. In 2017, th e majority of the world 's population had o n line access, yet "web content remains heavily skewed towa rd rich , Western coun­ tries." Further, in format ion studies resea rcher Safiya Umoja No ble (201 8) shows how sea rch engines use a lgori thm s based on assumptions th at re in fo rce racist stereotypes. Alte rnative med ia prov id e important sources of news (e.g., www.wome nse news. o rg, www.a lternet.org, a nd www.dollarsandse ns e.o rg) a nd feminist perspectives (e.g., https://www.bitchmed ia.orga ndhttp://feministing.co m/ ). International wo m en's organ izations use websi tes, news lette rs, radio shows, a nd co mmunity theater to share their persp ectives. Examp les includ e Asia Pacific Fo rum o n Wo men , Law, and Develop­ ment; Development Altern at ives w ith Women for a New Era (DAWN ); Federation of African Medi a Wo men; FEM PR ESS (Chile); Internationa l Wo m en's Medi a Found ati on; ISIS Internation a l Ma nil a; Women's Feature Service (India); a nd th e projects a nd orga­ ni zat io ns cited in oth er chapters throughout this book. Reading Media Tex ts Medi a tex ts are often layered a nd complex. TV shows ta ke up se rious issues; US news repo rts focus on th e flip , titill ating, and controversial; soc ia l m edia offer a range o f 54 CREA T I N G KNOWLED G E information and opinion; and popular culture provides enjoyment as well as ways to think about salient social issues. As media consumers, people develop sophisticated skills in "reading" media texts, whether they are ads, biogs, sitcoms, news reports, feature films, or documentaries (see the box feature "Principles of Media Literacy"). Media audiences and Internet users bring our standpoints to what we watch , read, and hear, just as students bring their commu­ nities' standpoints into the classroom. The more we know about particular people, the more we are able to judge the accuracy of media representations and to notice whether they reproduce myths and stereotypes, romantici ze or exoticize people, or open up the possibility of new-even transgressive-readings. Reading "with the grain" involves reading a text as the author or filmmaker likely intended it to be understood. In reading "against the grain," we analyze beliefs or assumptions that typically go unexamined in a text, "drawing attention to gaps, silences, and contradictions" (Teaching Tolerance 2018). Whitney Pow provides an example of this in her critique of media representations of Asian Americans in Reading 10. Asian Americans constitute a very diverse group, with connections to the United States reaching back generations. Asian American women and men topped the US earnings charts in 2017 and many young Asian Americans are in college, yet mainstream media still portray Asian Americans in stereotypical ways. Many scholars, commentators, and policy-makers argue that consumers must de­ velop media literacy. The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organi­ zation (UNESCO) contends that Media and [iJnformation [l]iteracy... lies at the core of freedom of expression and information-since it empowers citi zens to understand the functions of media and other information providers, to critically evaluate their content, and to make informed decisions as users and producers of information and media. (UNESCO 2018) While accepting the value of this, media researcher Rosalind Gill observes that an em­ phasis on media literacy "forces the work of deconstructing media back on to individu­ als" (2014, p. 595). Writing about sexism in media representations she asks: When did engaging w ith sexist media seem to call out for an ever more sophisticated and literate media user rather than a campaign to stamp out sexism? (p. 596) In other chapters we include several articles about media representations that further this discussion (see Readings 17, 18, 21, 22, 28, and 59). To summarize, in this chapter we argue that facts are always open to interpretation and that everyone makes theory in trying to understand their experiences. Feminist theories involve analyses of gender and patriarchy. They are based on clear value posi­ tions and constitute a critique of the dominant view that sees theory as "objective" or "value-free." Socially lived theorizing requires collective dialogue, careful listening to other people's views, and sophisticated skills in "reading" media texts so that we do not incorporate stereotypical notions of others into our theory making. This chapter may seem abstract at first, and you may want to return to it as you work with the later material in this book. It is also a good idea to review it at the end of your course. Or, you can study this chapter after you have read some of the thematic chapters that follow.  Media Repre se n tations a n d th e C reat io n o f Know le d ge 55 Principles of Media Literacy 1. All me d ia me ssa g es a re "co nstructe d." Media mes- Question : How might different people understand sages involve many decisions about what to include this message differently? or exclude and how to present "reality." Know- 4. Me di a have e mbe dd e d va lu es a nd poi nts of vi e w. ing this enab les readers to cha llenge the power of Analyzing the content of med ia messages is a key ap- media to present transparent messages. Semiotics, proach in cultural studies in order to question and the science of signs and how meanings are social ly expose ideology, bias, and the connotations expl icit produced, has contributed greatly to media literacy. and implicit in media representations. Commenting It aims to challenge the apparent naturalness of a on the TV series Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Kellner message, the "what goes without saying. " and Share (2005) noted that the monsters "can be Question: Who created this message? read as signifying the dangers of drugs, rampant sex- 2. M edi a messages are co nstructed usi ng a creative uality, or gangs producing destructive violence. Con- la ng uag e with it s own ru les. Students of media lit- tent is often highly symbo lic and thus requires a wide eracy ana lyze the dual meanings of signs: the signi­ range of theoretica l approaches to grasp the mu lti- fier, the more literal reference to content, and the d imensiona l socia l, po liti cal, mora l, and sometimes signified, the more subjective sign ifications of a mes- ph ilosop hica l meanings of a cultura l text" (p. 376). sage. As you watch a fi lm or TV show, try to separate Question: What values, lifestyles, and points of view what you see or hear from what you think or feel. are represented in, or omitted from , this message? Question: What creative techniques are being used 5. Most media me ssages a re org a nized t o gai n to attract my attention? profit o r power. Mainstream media messages are 3. Different pe opl e experie nce t he sa me media mes­ generated in an industry dominated by a handful sages differen t ly. Cultural studies professor Stuart of mega-corporations. Their purpose is not simp ly Hall (1980) distinguished between the encoding to entertain or inform. Knowing which corporation of media texts by producers and the decoding by owns a particular news outlet or what system of pro- consumers. This distinction high lights the abi lity of duction dominates given media forms will help in in- aud iences to produce t heir own readings and mean- terpreting the viewpoints embedded in media texts. ings and to decode texts in "deviant" or opposi- Questions: Why is th is message being sent? Why is it tiona l ways, as we ll as "preferred" ways in line with being sent at this time? the dominant ideology. Differences of gender, race, class, sexuality, dis/ability, or national origin may Sources: Kellner and Share (2005): also see Center for Media al low people to produce different readings. Literacy (www.medialit.org). QUESTION S FOR REFLECTION As you read and discuss this chapter, think about these questio ns: 1. How do you exp lain poverty? In the United States? Worldwide? Are these linked? If so, how? 2. How do you explain inequalities based on gender and race in the United States? 3. What does it take for a member of a dominant group (e.g., a white man or cis- woman) to learn from and value the experiences of someone from another group (e.g., a Native American woman or a trans person)? 4. What standpo ints he lp to give full and cogent explanations of issues such as fat shaming or globa l warming? 5. Consider people and events that have affected the deve lopment of you r thinking. How d id th is happen? Who-or what- infl uenced you? 6. What do you va lue, and how d id you learn t h is? 7. How do you know what you know? How is th is connected to your standpoint? 56 CREATI N G K N OWLEDGE FINDING OUT MORE ON THE WEB 1. Exp lore the we bsite of a fe m ini st o rga ni zat io n. W hat ca n yo u lea rn abo ut the o rga- ni zati o n's th eoreti ca l fra mewo rk 7 How does th is in for m its ac ti v iti es? Here a re so m e exa mpl es to ge t yo u sta rted : Deve lo pme nt Alte rn ati ves wi th Wo men for a New Era (DAWN ): www. d aw nn et. o rg Fund for a Fe mini st Majo rity: h ttp://femini st. o rg Globa l Fund fo r Wo men: ht tps :// www.g lo ba lfu ndfo rwome n. o rg Glo ba l Wom en's St rike: www.g loba lwo menstr ike. net Interna ti o na l Com mu nity of Women Living w it h H IV/AIDS : h tt p://www.icwglobal. o rg/ ou r- o rga n iz at io n/ today Nati o na l O rga ni za ti o n fo r Wo m en : www. now.o rg Revo luti o nary Assoc iati on fo r Wo me n in Afg ha ni sta n : www. rawa.org Wo m en Liv ing Unde r Muslim Laws: http: //www.wluml. org/ 2. Compare edito ri a l perspec ti ves a nd news cove rage of a n issue you ca re about in p rog ress ive m agaz in es, fo reign newspapers o n lin e, o r fe mini st bi ogs w ith th ose of m a in stream US med ia repo rting. Exa mpl es of fe mini st bi ogs include: h ttp ://fem in ist i ng.co m http://m sm agaz in e.co m/b log/ htt p :/ /qui rkyb Iackgi rl s. bi ogs pot.co m h ttps:// bl og.feed spo t. co m/fe m in ist_ bl ogs/ htt ps:// ladyeco no mi std o tcom.wo rdpress.co m htt ps://www. m sa fro po lita n.co m/ 3. Find out about the wo rk of intern ational wo me n's m ed ia o rga ni zations cited in thi s ch apter, as we ll as th e wo rk o f th e foll ow ing: Glo ba l Medi a Mo n ito rin g Project: http://w ho m a kesthenews.o rg/ Intern atio n al Wom en's Med ia Found atio n : https://www. iw m f.o rg/ Whose Know led ge? https://whose knowledge.org/ TAKING ACTION 1. Ana lyze what happens when yo u get into a n arg um ent w ith a fri end, cl ass m ate, o r teacher abo ut a n iss ue. Are yo u both using th e sa m e ass umptio ns? Do yo u under- sta nd th e other person's po int of view? Could yo u ex pl ain yo ur po sitio n more clea rl y, or do you need to rethin k it? How might yo u co nv in ce som eo ne who is skeptica l of yo ur v iews? Use what yo u h ave lea rn ed fro m thi s ch ap ter to express your o pini o ns. 2. Inco rporate the ideas from this ch ap ter into yo u r "reading" of po pul ar cu lture a nd soc ia l m edi a. 3. Look cr iti ca lly at med ia represe ntatio n s of peop le li ke yo u a nd peo pl e in othe r groups. How a re they po rtrayed ? Is a ny thi ng left o ut o f th ese represe ntati o ns? If they re in fo rce stereotypes how d o they d o it? 4. Read a nove l li ke Gerd Bra nten berg's Egalia's Daughters (2004) t hat redefin es gender ro les a nd stereo types. W hat d o yo u learn abo ut yo ur ass umpti o ns? Oxford Uni ve rsit y Press is a d epa rtm e nt of th e Uni ve rsity of Oxfo rd. It furth ers th e Uni ve rsity's o b jecti ve of exce ll ence in resea rch , sc ho la rshi p, a nd ed uca ti o n by publi shing wo rl dw ide. 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