I am an Associate Professor in Spanish Language and Literature and Gender Studies at University College London and I recently led a session on feminist translation in response to the interests of postgraduate students. SPAN0097 Advanced Translation from and into Spanish, part of UCL’s MA in Translation and Culture, is designed to foster a highly interactive environment. This year’s cohort of nine female students was particularly engaged and reflective. Toward the end of the term, they requested a session on feminist translation, sparked by their work on the film Suffragette in another module. Although none had formal training in Gender Studies, they all identified as feminists. However, it soon became clear that their interpretations of feminism varied, reflecting its complex, evolving nature. This led to a lively, student-driven session combining theory, practice, and personal reflection.
The session began by introducing students to key concepts in feminist theory and literary criticism. We explored how universal stereotypes of “man” and “woman” have shaped cultural perceptions. This was enriched by the diverse backgrounds of students, who came from countries like the UK, China, Portugal, and Argentina. We traced the history of feminist thought across its four waves—starting with the fight for legal equality, exploring gendered difference and lived experience, and addressing intersectionality and gender fluidity.
A central focus was Toril Moi’s (1988) distinction between female, feminine, and feminist. In a lively discussion, students reflected on how public figures—such as politicians, actors, and singers—can embody different combinations of these identities. This conversation expanded into queer theory, notably the idea, championed by theorists like Judith Butler and Michel Foucault, that gender and identity are socially constructed and performative, not biologically fixed.
We then shifted focus to literature’s intersection with feminist theory. Drawing on Elaine Showalter’s concept of gynocriticism, we examined how women’s roles as readers and writers differ from those of men. Students considered four main perspectives: one asserting that women’s writing is inferior to men’s, another suggesting they are indistinguishable, a third arguing that women’s writing reflects distinct lived experiences, and a fourth noting that differences lie in both themes and writing structures.
The second part of the session focused on feminist translation theory and practice. We contrasted the traditional translator’s goal of fidelity and invisibility with the feminist translator’s aim of visibility and resistance. We introduced the Canadian School of Feminist Translation and explored feminist translation strategies outlined by theorists such as Luise von Flotow and Susanne de Lotbinière-Harwood, including footnotes, lexical creativity, and departures from patriarchal language norms.
Given the module’s focus on Spanish, the session included a case study on María Lejárraga, a Spanish writer whose works were published under her husband’s name. Students analysed the translation of Montero’s biography of Lejárraga, highlighting how grammatical choices—such as the suffix “-ette” or distinctions between “suffragist” and “suffragette”—carry ideological significance.
The final exercise involved a comparative analysis of original and translated excerpts from Trifonia Melibea Obono’s La bastarda and Bernardine Evaristo’s Blonde Roots and Girl, Woman, Other. Students analysed translation techniques, such as the handling of gendered elements and cultural references, and suggested alternative feminist solutions.
In their end-of-term questionnaires, students commented that the session was both intellectually enriching and personally impactful. Several students shared their plans to focus their final MA dissertations on feminist translation, marking the session as a transformative experience in their academic journey.
Mazal Oaknín, University College London