Abstract

This paper will focus on the ways in which white feminist academics commit epistemic injustice in their approach to the work of women of color. Drawing from feminist epistemology, particularly the works of Miranda Fricker, Gaile Pohlhaus, and Kristie Dotson, I aim to show that white feminist academics’ treatment of WOC’s work takes the form of willful hermeneutical ignorance that results in contributory injustice. Among the objections I address is the concern that attempts to solve the problem of contributory injustice may lead to the epistemic exploitation of WOC, as well as the fact that WFAs themselves face a second-class status within academic philosophy.