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María Lugones

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description María Lugones Overview

María Lugones (1944-2020) was an Argentine-American philosopher and feminist theorist whose work focused on issues of race, gender, and coloniality. As a professor at Carleton College and later Binghamton University, she developed influential concepts including the "coloniality of gender" and "world-traveling," which examined how marginalized people navigate different social spaces. Her book "Pilgrimages/Peregrinajes" (2003) collected her key essays on these topics, establishing her as a central figure in decolonial feminism alongside thinkers like Gloria Anzaldúa and Chandra Mohanty.

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What does María Lugones mean by the coloniality of gender?

Lugones used the concept to explain how colonial rule imposed racialized and hierarchical ideas of gender. Her work connected gender oppression to race, colonialism, and the organization of modern social institutions.

What is María Lugones's idea of world-traveling?

World-traveling describes the effort to understand how another person experiences the world from a different social position. Lugones presented it as a feminist practice based on empathy, cultural translation, and listening rather than assuming that all women share one experience.

Where did María Lugones teach?

Lugones taught at Carleton College and later at Binghamton University. Her academic career combined philosophy with feminist theory and studies of race and coloniality.

Why is María Lugones important to feminist philosophy?

She challenged feminist theories that treated gender as separate from race and colonial history. Lugones, who lived from 1944 to 2020, became especially influential for developing the concept of the coloniality of gender.