The Standpoint Theory is very similar to Deborah Tannen’s Genderlect Theory, however, the developers of the Standpoint Theory cast a broader net. They argue that your view of the world is dependent on where you sit in life. The theory states at the different locations within a social hierarchy allow for different experiences, interpretations, and perceptions of the world. Through the critical tradition of this theory, they argue that the standpoints of the marginalized people provide less false views of the world than do the privileged perspectives of the powerful. In other words, those in power are more blind to what occurs in the real world, they’re blinded because they don’t know what’s really going on.

An example of this theory could be seen in the famous historical quote falsely attributed to Marie Antoinette; “Let them eat cake.” As tradition goes, Marie Antoinette was so blinded by the power of her nobility that she assumed that if the peasants didn’t have bread to eat, then they should just eat cake. Her role at the peak of French Society provides a more false view of the world; she’s only able to see how nobility experience and perceive life and thusly applies these views/beliefs on the entire population of her society.