heranalyses

Heranalyses is a term used in scholarly and informal discourse to denote analytical work conducted from a female-centered or gender-aware perspective. It signals that gender, and particularly women's representation and experiences, are central to the inquiry.

The term blends "her" with "analyses" and has appeared in discussions of feminist methodology, critical discourse analysis, and qualitative data interpretation. It is used in the humanities and social sciences when gender is a primary analytic category, and can encompass literary criticism, media studies, and even data-oriented research that examines bias or representation.

Methodologically, heranalyses emphasizes clearly stated research questions about gender, transparent sampling or source selection, and explicit reflexivity about the analyst's positionality. Analyses may use coding schemes, discourse-analytic techniques, or quantitative measures, all oriented to foreground gendered meanings and experiences. Triangulation, peer review, and, where possible, member or stakeholder validation are often recommended to bolster reliability.

Applications include examination of female representation in literature or film, analysis of gender in news or online discourse, and evaluation of datasets or algorithms for gender bias. The approach is valued for making gender a central analytic lens, but it faces criticism for potential vagueness, risk of essentializing gender, or overgeneralization if not carefully operationalized.

Notable use remains limited and informal, with the term most common in feminist scholarly communities and critical-methodology discussions. It serves as a shorthand for a family of practices rather than a single, standardized methodology.