Feminist Translation Theory: A Critical Review of Key Concepts and Developments

Feminist translation theory has emerged as a significant interdisciplinary field within translation studies, examining how translation practices interact with gender, ideology, and power structures in language and culture. The present study aims to provide a critical review of the key concepts, theoretical foundations, and major developments in feminist translation theory, with particular attention to contemporary scholarship published since ۰۲۰۲. The research seeks to explore how feminist translation studies has evolved from its early focus on women’s writing and translator visibility to a broader framework that incorporates intersectionality, transnational feminism, and digital activism. This study employs a qualitative review methodology combined with a descriptive–analytical approach. Relevant academic books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and scholarly chapters published mainly in the last decade were systematically examined in order to identify major theoretical debates and conceptual shifts within feminist translation studies. The analysis focused on several central themes, including the ideological nature of translation, the visibility and agency of translators, feminist translation strategies, intersectionality, the transnational circulation of feminist discourse, and the influence of digital media on feminist translation practices. The findings indicate that contemporary feminist translation theory conceptualizes translation as a socially and politically situated practice rather than a neutral linguistic transfer. Feminist scholars emphasize that translation plays an important role in shaping the representation of gender and in mediating the global circulation of feminist knowledge. The study also shows that recent developments in feminist translation studies have expanded the field beyond its early Western-centered models by incorporating intersectional and transnational perspectives. Furthermore, the increasing integration of queer theory and digital activism has broadened the analytical scope of feminist translation research, highlighting new challenges related to representation, ethics, and cultural difference. The study concludes that feminist translation theory provides an important critical framework for understanding how translation contributes to the construction, transformation, and dissemination of gendered meanings across cultures. By highlighting the ideological dimensions of translation and the role of translators as active cultural agents, feminist translation studies continues to enrich contemporary debates on language, power, and representation. Future research should further explore non-Western feminist translation practices, digital translation environments, and emerging forms of activist translation in order to develop a more inclusive and globally responsive theoretical framework.

کلیدواژه ها:

feminist translation ، gender and translation ، translator visibility ، intersectionality ، transnational feminism ، translation ideology