Value of Feminist Rage : Epistemic and Affective Injustice

An innovative philosophical study using the lens of epistemic injustice to demonstrate the threefold value of feminist rage in noticing, understanding, and combatting injustice.

The #MeToo movement has come and gone, but women are still angry. What kind of anger is this exactly? Is it dangerous—or could it perhaps be valuable? This through philosophical exploration of anger brings conceptual clarity to the concept of ‘feminist rage’, theorizing its origins in a so-called ‘anger turn.’ Using the theoretical framework of Miranda Fricker’s ‘epistemic injustice’, as well as the new and related concept of affective injustice, Sigrid Wallaert argues that feminist rage is routinely silenced and, moreover, that this silencing is nefarious.

More than just a theoretical contribution, Wallaert brings a wake-up call to the field of social epistemology and beyond. Emotions are routinely kept outside of academic methodology, especially ‘negative’ emotions like anger. Wallaert shows the value to be gained from bringing emotion into our research, both as an object of study and as a methodological approach. The Value of Feminist Rage goes beyond everyday testimony—it reaches into academia too.