FEMINIST THEORY AND SOCIOLOGY - UNDERUTILIZED CONTRIBUTIONS FOR MAINSTREAM THEORY

Feminist theories in sociology reflect the rich diversity of general t heoretical orientations in our discipline; there is no one form of fem inist theory. The development of these theories over the last 25 years has only recently begun to influence the mainstream theory canon, whi ch has much to learn from their insights. This chapter demonstrates wh y feminist versions of the following theory types should be more fully integrated into mainstream sociological theory: neo-Marxist, macro-st ructural, exchange, rational choice, network, status expectations, sym bolic interactionist, ethnomethodological, neo-Freudian, and social ro le. Feminist standpoint theory, an epistemological critique of mainstr eam sociology, is discussed at the beginning, and the chapter conclude s with a brief account of the newly developing effort to theorize the intersection of race, class, and gender.