Feminisms and decolonising psychology: Possibilities and challenges

Abstract

In this special issue, we bring together papers that speak to feminisms in relation to decolonisation in the discipline of psychology. The six articles and two book reviews address a range of issues: race, citizenship, emancipatory politics, practising decolonial refusal, normalising slippery subjectivity, Islamic anti-patriarchal liberation psychology, and decolonisation of the hijab. In this editorial we outline the papers’ contributions to discussions on understanding decolonisation, how feminisms and decolonisation speak to each other, and the implications of the papers for feminist decolonising psychology. Together the papers highlight the importance of undermining the gendered coloniality of power, knowledge and being. The interweaving of feminisms and decolonising efforts can be achieved through: each mutually informing and shaping the other, conducting intersectional analyses, and drawing on transnational feminisms. Guiding principles for feminist decolonising psychology include: undermining the patriarchal colonialist legacy of mainstream psychological science; connecting gendered coloniality with other systems of power such as globalisation; investigating topics that surface the intertwining of colonialist and gendered power relations; using research methods that dovetail with feminist decolonising psychology; and focussing praxis on issues that enable decolonisation. Given the complexities of the coloniality and patriarchy of power-knowledge-being, feminist decolonising psychology may fail. The issues raised in this special issue point to why it mustn’t.

Coloniality and Psychology: From Silencing to Re-Centering Marginalized Voices in Postcolonial Times

“…They argue that we need to engage in a “productive debate as to how to decolonize African psychology and to work towards Africa(n)-centered psychology as situated decolonizing practice and knowledg e” (p. 332, emphasis added). Thus, decolonizing psychology highlights the located-ness of knowledge production, (neo)colonialist assumptions that are embedded in “mainstream” psychology, and the need for contextualized epistemologies, methodologies, and practice (Macleod et al, 2020). A crucial element of the project of decolonization is to investigate the “processes and mechanisms” (Dutta et al, 2016, p. 6) through which unequal and oppressive structures are internalized as individual experiences.…”

Open Science and Feminist Ethics: Promises and Challenges of Open Access

“…(p. 189) Feminist ethics have also developed within postcolonial and transnational feminism (Jaggar, 2013). These scholars worry that dominant societies will impose cultural expectations and regional practices on people outside North America and Europe (Chan et al, 2019;Macleod et al, 2020). Other Philosophers of Color have developed feminist ethics grounded in the lived experience of Latinx people (Lugones, 2014;Santa Cruz Feminist of Color Collective, 2014;Sosa-Provccencio, 2016).…”

What and for whom is a decolonising African psychology?

“…In recent years, we have seen a burgeoning of research into the decolonisation of African psychology, as well as into harnessing African psychology for decolonising purposes in the classroom, the clinic, everyday life, communities, and beyond (see, e.g., Barnes & Siswana, 2018; Boonzaier & van Niekerk, 2019; Carolissen & Duckett, 2018; Macleod et al, 2020; Ratele, 2019; Ratele & Malherbe, 2020; Seedat & Suffla, 2017). In each of these instances, psychology’s somewhat parochial scope is stretched under decoloniality’s ambitious demands, with Africa centralised not through psychological discourse, but via decolonising engagements.…”