Sexual Difference and the Problem of Essentialism

Abstract

This chapter discusses the use a major dispute between feminist theorists—the debate between so-called feminisms of equality and feminisms of difference—to raise the question of the dual commitments of feminist theory and explains that the need to devise appropriate criteria for its assessment. Feminists have developed a range of terms and criteria of intellectual assessment that aim to affirm, consolidate, and explains the political goals and ambitions of feminist struggles. Essentialism, a term that is rarely defined or explained explicitly in feminist contexts, but which has a long and illustrious history within the development of Western philosophy, refers here to the attribution of a fixed essence to women. Feminists involved in the project of establishing women's sexual differences from men have been subjected to wide-ranging criticisms coming from both directions. They face the same general dilemma confronting any feminist position that remains critical of patriarchal knowledges yet must rely on their resources.

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