Locating the feminist standpoint in Sophia Romero's Always Hiding

• Main Author: Ang, Aimee
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2001
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/1791
• Institution: De La Salle University

Biases will always be present in our society and with the biases, comes oppression. Women suffer more because not only do they have to suffer social oppression but sexual oppression as well. The novel Always Hiding talks about two female characters who suffered these oppressions and how they overcame it. A theory called feminist standpoint theory hypothesizes that oppressed women have its advantages because they gain knowledge from their oppression. The paper intends to know whether the theory will hold true in the novel. In most events where the characters experienced oppression, they indeed gain knowledge from it. And with the awareness of their oppression, they overcame these tragic moments in their life. But there are also some events where they didn't gain knowledge at all, instead some oppression made them weak and afraid to face their problems which placed them in a disadvantaged position. This proves the incoherency in the theory but it certainly hold true in most of the oppressions the two characters experienced. Women can use this theory to help them cope up with the biases they experiences in the society. Instead of feeling sorry for oneself because they are oppressed, they can use this theory and think that the oppression they are experiencing might be an advantage for them. With this kind of thinking, there's a greater chance that they'll have a more positive outlook in their lives and a greater chance that they'll overcome whatever cruelty life gives to them.