Redefining Our Identity, Recognizing Our Challenges: GPOW Becomes the Feminist Geographies Specialty Group

Abstract

Members of the Feminist Geographies Specialty Group (FGSG) of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) and affiliated geographers have engaged in ongoing debates around its mission and identity. Recent discussions within this specialty group precipitated the formation of an ad hoc committee to move this initiative forward, culminating in the name change of the specialty group from Geographic Perspectives on Women (GPOW) to Feminist Geographies. In this article, we document the process undertaken by the group toward deciding on a name change and examine the results of research into this question. We engage with the tensions around the use of women and feminist in the group name, particularly focused on the exclusionary nature—with respect to gender diversity, race, sexuality—of these labels that carry universalizing connotations. We share participants’ own thoughts and concerns regarding the specialty group name and highlight recommendations for exploring additional strategies for working toward the creation of more inclusive, intersectional, and impactful feminist spaces in the discipline.

美国地理学家协会(American Association of Geographers, AAG) 的女权主义地理学专业组(Feminist Geographies Specialty Group, FGSG) 成员及其所属的地理学者一直对该专业组的使命和归属进行辩论。近期的组内讨论, 促使我们组建一个临时委员会来推进这项事宜, 其成果是专业组的名称从地理角度对妇女的认知 (Geographic Perspectives on Women, GPOW) 变更为女权主义地理学(Feminist Geographies)。本文记录了专业组更名的过程, 审视了调研的成果, 介绍了专业组名称中使用妇女和女权主义这两个词存在的压力。特别的, 由于妇女和女权主义的内涵非常宽泛, 对性别多样化、种族和性具有排斥性。我们分享了参与人员对专业组名称的考虑和顾虑, 重点介绍了如何促进女权主义学科包容性、交叉性和影响力的措施。

Algunos miembros del Grupo Especializado en Geografías Feministas (FGSG) de la Asociación Americana de Geógrafos (AAG) y geógrafos afiliados se han involucrado en los debates corrientes acerca de su misión e identidad. Las discusiones recientes dentro de este grupo especializado llevaron a la formación de un comité ad hoc encargado de impulsar esta iniciativa, lo cual culminó con el cambio de nombre del grupo de Perspectivas Geográficas sobre las Mujeres (GPOW) por el de Geografías Feministas. En este artículo documentamos el proceso emprendido por el grupo para decidir sobre cambio de nombre y examinamos los resultados de la investigación al respecto. Nos involucramos con las tensiones alrededor del uso de los términos mujeres y feminista en el nombre del grupo, enfocándonos en particular sobre la naturaleza elitista de estas etiquetas—con respecto a la diversidad de género, raza, sexualidad—que implican connotaciones universalizantes. Compartimos los propios pensamientos y preocupaciones de los participantes en relación con el nombre del grupo de la especialidad y destacamos recomendaciones para explorar estrategias adicionales con las cuales trabajar para la creación de espacios feministas más incluyentes, interseccionales e impactantes en la disciplina.

Key Words:

• AAG Specialty Group, feminist geographies
• inclusivity
• whiteness
• women

关键词:

• AAG专业组
• 女权主义地理学
• 包容性
• 白度
• 妇女

Palabras clave:

• blancura de piel
• geografías feministas
• Grupo AAG de Especialidad
• inclusividad
• mujeres

Notes

1 This article was completed following the acceptance of a new name for GPOW, Feminist Geographies Specialty Group. Its new constitution and by-laws were ratified in a vote in October 2019.

2 The ad hoc committee included Ingrid Nelson, Ann Oberhauser, Laura Pascoe, Sara Smith, and Kelsey Hanrahan.

3 The survey and research process was reviewed and qualified for exempt status through an institutional review board application that was submitted to the Iowa State University Office of Responsible Research.

4 Survey respondent demographics: 29.3 percent (110/375) of respondents identified as holding GPOW membership; 15.2 percent were located in institutions in the United States and 9.3 percent were located internationally; 31.2 percent identified as femme, women, or female; 4.5 percent identified as masculine, men, or male; and 1.1 percent identified as nonbinary, gender, or queer.

5 All quotes that appear here are drawn directly from survey responses, which were analyzed anonymously.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kelsey B. Hanrahan

KELSEY B. HANRAHAN is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography & Environmental Planning at Towson University, Towson, MD 21252. E-mail: [email protected]. She was a member of the ad hoc committee on Name Change for GPOW and is the 2019–2020 Chair of the Feminist Geographies Specialty Group. Her research interests include intergenerational relationships as they relate to care and livelihood strategies and later life or end-of-life care in rural West Africa.

Ann M. Oberhauser

ANN M. OBERHAUSER is Director of Women’s and Gender Studies and Professor of Sociology at Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011. E-mail: [email protected]. She is a longtime member of GPOW/Feminist Geographies Specialty Group and was a member of the ad hoc committee on Name Change for GPOW. Her research focuses on feminist economic geography, gender and globalization, and critical development studies with an emphasis on rural economic strategies in Appalachia, sub-Saharan Africa, and, more recently, Iowa.

Darcy Besch

DARCY BESCH is a recent graduate of the MA program in the Department of Sociology at Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011. Her research focused on gendered power relations in the Black Lives Movement.