ABSTRACT
Feminists argue that developmental psychology is an overwhelmingly gendered, androcentric undertaking, which have illustrated through examples from the literature and personal experience. This chapter outlines a variety of feminist theories, which in recent years have influenced theory, research and practice in developmental and family psychology, though this influence is not always explicit. There has been success in shifting psychology away from the male as norm and creating a greater interest in sex role socialization though the shift from explicit mother-blaming may have been replaced by a more hidden agenda of regulating women's lives. Some varieties of feminism, such as liberal feminism, are more easily accommodated by traditional developmental psychology than others, such as radical feminism. All, however, have some common aims and issues, such as the adoption of a social justice perspective. In this respect, links with sociocultural theories of development are especially apparent. The field of developmental psychology in turn has the potential to inform feminist theory.
