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.

The standpoint theory was created by Sandra Harding and Julia Wood and was defined “a place from which to critically view the world around us. In this theory, it is known that many people in the society have different viewpoint about life and how they should live in it. The principle of standpoint is that it shapes our world view of the world around us. A good example of this would be someone from the lower class moving into the middle class, but having a lower class mindset about the world around them. Another example, would be two people from different background that have different viewpoint on the world around them.

Example: Uncle phil and Will disagree on on how to acting in a party environment.

Sandra Harding and Julia T. Wood are the Standpoint theorists who claim that “the social groups within which we are located powerfully shape what we experience and know as well as how we understand and communicate with ourselves, others, and the world.” Standpoint is “a place from which to critically view the world around us” and it affects our view of the world entirely. German Philosopher George Hegel claims that whatever a person “knows” about themselves, society, and others around them are dependent on whatever group they are a part of. In the classic movie, Tarzan, it is portrayed perfectly. Tarzan has been raised in the forest by animals and only knows the ways of the wild. When he encounters humans throughout the movie he is confused and unfamiliar with human behavior and ultimately rejects it. His standpoint is of the jungle life, so he isn’t clear about the human standpoint and does not like it.

Sandra Harding and Julia Wood are standpoint theorists who claim that, “the social groups within which we are located powerfully shape what we experience and know as well as how we understand and communicate with ourselves, others, and the world.” In essence, our standpoint shapes our view of the world. For example, Georg Hegel found that “what people ‘know’ about themselves, others, and society depends on which group they are in.” The group they are in also defines their standpoint. This relates to the movie, Planet of the Apes, because of the different standpoints Caesar, the main ape, experiences. Caesar acts out in violence so he has to go to a facility where other misbehaved apes were placed as well. However, Caesar does not know how to react around these other apes since he was raised by humans. He never had the normal standpoint of the apes so he is confused and scared.

In Sandra Hardings and Julia T. Woods standpoint theory they define a standpoint as, “a place from which to critically view the world around us.” We all have different knowledge of the world and have experienced different things which causes us to all have different standpoints. Our standpoint directly affects our view of the world. Standpoints can be of different class, gender, race or anything else really. Having these different standpoints can cause one to have a different perspective on that particular thing.

For example in the TV show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will Smith demonstrates the standpoint theory perfectly. He grew up in west Philadelphia with his mother, but is then forced to go live with his rich aunt and uncle in Bel-Air. Immediately upon his arrival he notices several differences between the life he lived and the one his relatives live. The wealthy lifestyle in Bel-Air is portrayed as normal to everyone except Smith. This difference is demonstrated multiple times throughout the entire TV series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBe0VCso0qs