Spatial Metaphors and Speaking Positions

The task of writing an editorial has been, for me, vaguely embarrassing and difficult; ‘editorialising’ conjures an image of intellectual centrality seemingly at odds with the times. Although it is now accepted as an ethical and political responsibility to position oneself so as to betray the partiality of one's perspective, establishing the grounds for taking a position and the right to speak—for oneself and certainly about others—is by no means unproblematic. The stakes surrounding the politics of presence are high. They offer the potential for more democratic, inclusive public discussions and institutions. Donna Haraway (1991) argues that ‘situated knowledge’ also comprises a middle course between relativism and objectivism (a type of limited objectivity). At the same time, a commitment to positioning each speaker can be used to put people in their place, to shut them down. In practice, the diversification of perspectives opens up the possibility of a pluralisation of antagonisms, an essentialising of some differences (for example, within feminism, the subtlety of the theorising of the category of gender is frequently attended by a remarkably static treatment of other social categories, such as race or sexual orientation), and a trivialisation of intellectual debate to ad femina/hominem insults.