Oversight: Critical Reflections on Feminist Research and Politics

What ideas are overlooked in contemporary feminist politics? How do particular issues become part of the feminist agenda? Why do we need to think about how feminists imagine and actualize their political objectives? This book explores these questions through the notion of oversight—a concept used both to consider what has been overlooked and to examine how particular objects of feminist politics become visible in the first place. Through chapters that focus on realities lived by trans women, Viviane Namaste explores diverse case studies and facets of political life:: women’s labour, the archiving of everyday life, the history of HIV, urban development and displacement, bisexualities, and the culture of feminist activists themselves. Oversight suggests that feminists need to engage in careful, deep reflection on how feminist knowledge comes into being. This book will be of interest to scholars in women’s and gender studies, community development, sociology, social work, geography, history, and sexuality studies. Its accessible tone, pedagogical questions, and suggested readings make it well suited to classroom use. Its exploration of activist culture will be of particular interest to advocates of social justice both inside and outside of the university. All royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to the Emergency Relief Fund of PASAN—Prisoners’ HIV/AIDS Support Action Network. This fund helps support individuals who are newly released from jail and who need financial resources for housing, food, medications, and the replacement of identity documents.