Why island feminism?

Abstract

Island Studies literature rarely has engaged with feminism or queer theory to explore how gender and sexuality, as it intersects with other social forces, contour the lives of islanders and the cultural and socio-economic conditions of islands. Concurrently, feminist and queer research on islands and of islanders analyse social inequalities, sexuality, and coloniality without deliberating islandness and Island Studies research. Island feminism is offered as a synergistic perspective to enable critical analysis of the social inequalities and sexuality regimes within and across islands and the varied gendered strategies for maintaining island livelihoods and preserving island topologies.