Concepts of voice and feminism

Abstract

Concepts of voice and feminism and feelings of agency are in many ways connected to our multiple subjectivities as women and as feminists. In this chapter we explore the paradoxical concepts of voice and feminism, and focus on what speech acts do, whom they include and exclude, whose voices are valorised and whose are silenced. We critically interrogate notions of silencing and silence in relation to women’s voices, agency, and empowerment. In doing so it is possible to reconceptualise silence as a potential strategy for negotiating gender relations.