Knowledge is always from somewhere. Those at the margins can see how power works more clearly than those it serves.
Key thinkers: Sandra Harding, Patricia Hill Collins, Nancy Hartsock
The longer story
Standpoint epistemology makes a counterintuitive claim: marginalised perspectives see more, not less. Born from feminist theory (Harding, Hartsock) but now applied across critical race theory, disability studies, and postcolonial thought. Collins' 'outsider within' perceives what insiders take for granted. Those on top have an interest in not seeing how systems work; those below need to understand them to survive. This isn't relativism—it's claiming some social positions offer epistemic advantage for certain questions. The marginalisation can be gendered, racialised, classed, or otherwise. The challenge is taking seriously what gets dismissed as 'merely subjective.'