Lay, Mary M. “Feminist Theory and the Redefintion of Technical Communication.” Central Works in Technical Communciation.” Eds. Johndan Johnson-Eilola and Stuart A. Selber. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 146-59.

_____________________________________________________________

Summary: Explores intersections between work in feminist theory and ethnographic studies of collaborative writing in technical communication to illustrate contributions a feminist framework could bring to the field. Argues that feminism’s critique of scientific positivism, the myth of objectivity, and the androcentric bias of science and technology calls for a critical redefinition of the field of technical communication.

Notes:

• Lay notes in her introduction to the piece that when it was originally published in 1991, it represented both the beginning of her own engagement with feminist theory and the first time that feminism had been brought to bear on technical communication, making the piece simultaneously naive and brave
• Defines feminist theory according to three overarching characteristics: the celebration…