7/23/2019 Ch. 35 Standpoint Theory

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Alley Kammer

Application LogCh. 35

Dr. Langan

31 March 2014

Standpoint Theory

Everyone has a standpoint, but our views differ greatly. Everything about who I am

contributes to my standpoint, and never before have I been more grateful for the vantage point on

our societal structure that I have come to realize I possess. Itseasy for me to come to Wheaton,

though, and think that I am distinctly unique with my big picture view of the structure, but

reflecting on my interactions with others, I can recall quite a few people who would be able to

add to my perspective of the structure on which society is built. Our standpoints can be affected

by gender. I met a dear friend this year that came out to our small friend-group. For him, being

gay makes him a member of a marginalized group at this school, and his ability to understand

more deeply the ways in which that section of the structure works allows him to step back andsee the greater picture.Family life affects our standpoint. I then think about a girl on my floor

whose parents are divorced. As part of a group of students with broken families whom we dont

hear from very often on campus, she is marginalized and therefore has a greater picture of how

the structure of family works in our society, and in our Wheaton context. She experienced what a

good majority of students here havetwo parentsbut she has also now experienced life with

one parent, and therefore her perspective has been broadened. Cultural background and

experiences that isolate us affect our standpoint.Another one of my friends was abused as a

child and moved here from the Philippines. He has been marginalized by his experiences which

many do not understand, but also by his race now that he lives in the US. He has another

particular outlook on the structure of society that I do not have. Socio-economic class affects our

standpoint. I come from a working class family, and neither my parents nor my siblings went to

college. I am less powerful in this institution because of my economic status and academic

upbringing, however, because I was raised in that environment, I feel as though I have greater

glimpse of the bigger structures that make up the middle class and educational systems.

To think about the Standpoint theory is humbling, because as we do, it becomes so easy

to recognize that the glimpse of the big picturewe have is never the full story. It is also evident

that this view can always be expanded by someone who experiences even greater

marginalization. As Harding and Wood would suggest, this reality should compel us to ask them

more questionsto see their views on necessary societal change because they are the ones who

can truly see from the ground up.