Breaking Out: Feminist Consciousness and Feminist Research

A timely and original book, Breaking Out reflects a growing feminist
recognition that feminism requires a new and radical approach to
academic research as well as to all other aspects of life. The authors
argue that feminist social science must break out of the confines of
research models which down grade experience as 'mere' subjectivity
into something more closely resembling feminism. This is in direct
contrast to a widely held view among academic feminists which insists
on the need to 'get beyond' an exploration of the personal. Liz Stanley
and Sue Wise point out that 'getting beyond' elevates theory above
practice and establishes 'theorising' as an arcane activity which is the
prerogative of an elite. Rejecting such a traditional approach to social
science, they insist that 'feminist theory ' and 'feminist research' must
be practices in which feminism above all is emphasized. Without this,
we end up with theory and research as they have always been, with
'experts ' telling us 'the truth' about our lives and experiences