Introduction

We have already seen how the cultural turn in translation studies helped to make the boundaries of the area more porous and open to various cultural influences. Feminism was one such influence that attempted to question established concepts in translation theory, and formulate new ones that agreed with notions of gender equality. This ‘gendered’ interest in translation theory coincided with the renewed spurt in feminist theory that was evident in the 1980s and 90s. Feminist theory prompted translation theorists to analyze and evaluate the role of women in the field of translation. In the chronicling of the history of translation, for instance, how visible are the women translators? What about the nature of the technical language used in translation theory – is it gender neutral? Questions like these were raised, and the answers helped to alter perspectives on the activity of translation. It was a fresh new look at an activity that was hitherto considered to be innocent of hidden agendas. The feminist viewpoint revealed the overt and covert biases that motivated the process of translation, the formulation of its theories and the way in which it was perceived. Feminist theory also helped translation theorists to look differently at the nature of language itself, and the way in which gender differences are expressed in language.