A social scientist's perception of subject matter is similar to an individual's perception of reality in that both are set within a cultural context composed of factors such as common sense and scientific fact. Variations in ways of thinking have particular ramifications for feminist scholarship. For example, understanding the importance of irrationality in the conduct of science and social science can increase concern with consciousness as a factor in social research and can encourage comparison between competing social science paradigms. To counteract the prevalence of theories which create models for man which in turn generate and verify knowledge about man and male society, women researchers are attempting to reverse the male-is-normal thesis. Feminist scholarship has evolved from an initial stage of imitation of male scholarship through a stage of protest and has arrived at a stage of exploring the feminist experience through innovative methodologies. The conclusion is that thorough analysis of the consequences of gender class membership and its effects by feminist scholars may well result in a more universal and more integrated social science. (DB)