Reading rage: Theorising the epistemic value of feminist anger

Abstract

The #MeToo movement, Women’s Marches and less prominent grassroots initiatives have clearly demonstrated that women are angry. This anger is often criticised as ‘disruptive’ or ‘uncommunicative’, praising ‘calm rationality’ as a superior alternative. This article applies Fricker’s (2007) Epistemic Injustice framework to examine the communicative disadvantages and merits of what I call feminist anger. I explain how it can be subject to both testimonial and hermeneutical injustices, but that this does not preclude its communicative merits. Importantly, feminist anger can challenge the patriarchal status quo and may provide an epistemic bridge towards hermeneutical justice. Listening to feminist anger, both our own and others’, is therefore a crucial step towards epistemic equality.