The Convergence of Foucault and Feminist Psychiatry: Exploring emancipatory knowledge-building

This paper considers the possibility of an emancipatory stance toward knowledge-building which can emerge from the convergence of Foucault's theories concerning power/knowledge and resistance, and feminist theories concerning the discipline of psychiatry. Three components of this stance are outlined (integrating the localized and the collective; redefining expertise; and subverting power differentials). These components are illustrated through the example of feminist conceptualizations of women's experiences of eating disorders.