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THIS INFORMATION IS COPIED/PASTED FROM THE OFFICIAL STANDPOINT THEORY PAGE--I AM USING IT TO EDIT THE MATERIAL

Standpoint theory is a postmodern theory for analyzing a variety of spoken and written interactions between people. This body of work concerns the ways that authority is rooted in individuals' knowledge (their perspectives), and the power that such authority exerts.

Standpoint theory's most important concept is that an individual's perspectives are shaped by his or her social and political experiences. A single standpoint usually does not define an individual's experiences. For example, while Hispanic women may generally share some perspectives, particularly with regard to ethnicity or sex, they are not defined solely by their participation in these categories. They may hold as many unique viewpoints as there are people across the remaining spectrum of social and political issues. The amalgamation of a person's many experienced dimensions form a standpoint—a point of view—through which that individual sees and understands the world.

Standpoint theorists emphasize the utility of a naturalistic, or everyday experiential, concept of knowing (i.e., epistemology). One's standpoint (whether reflexively considered or not) shapes which concepts are intelligible, which claims are heard and understood by whom, which features of the world are perceptually salient, which reasons are understood to be relevant and forceful, and which conclusions credible.

Standpoint theory supports what feminist theorist Sandra Harding calls strong objectivity, or the notion that the perspectives of marginalized and/or oppressed individuals can help to create more objective accounts of the world. Through the outsider-within phenomenon, these individuals are placed in a unique position to point to patterns of behavior that those immersed in the dominant group culture are unable to recognize. Standpoint theory gives voice to the marginalized groups by allowing them to challenge the status quo as the outsider within. The status quo representing the dominant white male position of privilege.

The predominant culture in which all groups exist is not experienced in the same way by all persons or groups. The views of those who belong to groups with more social power are validated more than those in marginalized groups. Those in marginalized groups must learn to be bicultural, or to "pass" in the dominant culture to survive, even though that perspective is not their own.