postmodern feminism essay

Postmodern Feminism Theory in Sociology

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Postmodern feminism is a philosophical tendency within feminism that incorporates postmodern theory and thought into its analysis and critiques of gender, sexuality, culture, politics, power, identity, society, and social relations, arguing that reality and power dynamics are socially constructed rather than innate or essential.

Key Takeaways

• Postmodern feminism is a type of feminism that emerged in the late 20th century. It is marked by a rejection of traditional feminist ideas and an embrace of postmodern philosophy.
• Postmodern feminism is critical of essentialism, patriarchy, and binary thinking. Instead, it emphasizes the importance of social context and power relationships in understanding gender.
• Postmodern feminism has been criticized for being too theoretical and disconnected from real-world issues.

What is Postmodern Feminist Theory?

Postmodern feminist theory is a school of thought that emphasizes the importance of social and political factors in understanding gender.

Postmodern feminists believe that gender is not determined by biology, but rather by culture and society.

They argue that women have been oppressed not because they are biologically inferior to men, but because they have been socially and politically marginalized.

Postmodern feminism began in the 1970s as a reaction to second-wave feminism. Second-wave feminism was based on the belief that women were oppressed due to their biology (i.e., their sex). This led to a focus on issues like reproductive rights and equal access to education and employment.

However, postmodern feminists argued that these issues were not enough to liberate women from oppression. Instead, they believed that women’s oppression was the result of social and political factors (Waugh, 2012).

Postmodern feminism is associated with thinkers as diverse as Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, and Donna Haraway.

Post-modern feminists assume that the modernist conception of feminism emphasizes gender differences between women and men whilst ignoring the differences within each gender. For example,  while all women may be oppressed by patriarchy, not all women experience this oppression in the same way.

White, middle-class women, for example, may have more privilege than women of color or working-class women. Similarly, lesbians may experience different forms of oppression than heterosexual women (Waugh, 2012).

Postmodern feminists also critiqued the notion of a unified “sisterhood” among all women. They pointed out that there are many factors that divide women along lines of race, class, sexuality, and other categories. As such, they argued that it was important to focus on the unique experiences of each group of women.

Theoretical assumptions

The personal is political.

This means that the private experiences of women are shaped by larger social and political structures.

For example, if a woman is being abused by a male partner, postmodern feminists contend that the societal oppression of women is an important factor in explaining this abuse.

This term was popularized by Carol Hanisch”s 1970 essay, “The Person is Political.”

There is no one way to be a woman

This means that there is no universal experience of womanhood. Instead, each woman experiences gender in their own unique way.

Postmodern feminists also believe that gender is not something that people are born with, but rather something that they perform.

In the postmodernist view, feminism is for everyone. This means that feminism is not just for women. It is for anyone who experiences oppression due to their gender, including transgender and genderqueer people (Rossitier, 2000).

Knowledge is power

This means that women can empower themselves by acquiring knowledge about the social and political factors that shape their lives.

For example,  women can learn about sexism, racism, and other forms of oppression. This knowledge can then be used to challenge and resist these structures of oppression.

Postmodern feminism has been critiqued for its focus on individual experience and its lack of attention to structural issues.

However, it has also been praised for its inclusiveness and its emphasis on the diversity of women’s experiences (Rossitier, 2000).

What are Patriarchy and Sexism?

Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political authority. It occurs in both one’s personal life and within the workplace.

Sexism, meanwhile, is prejudice or discrimination based on sex; typically directed against women and girls. It manifests in subtle ways, such as through jokes or comments, as well as more overt forms of discrimination, such as denying women equal opportunities in education or employment.

Combined, patriarchy and sexism create a system in which women are oppressed both socially and economically. Patriarchy reinforces sexist attitudes and beliefs, and provides men with the power to act on them.

This can result in women being denied equal rights and opportunities, or experiencing violence and abuse.

Sexism, on its own, can also lead to discrimination and oppression. For example, women may be paid less than men for doing the same job, or be passed over for promotions because of their gender (Lerner, 1986).

What is the Difference Between Feminism and Postmodern Feminism?

Feminism is a political movement that aims to end gender inequality and oppression. It emerged in the 19th century in response to the Industrial Revolution, which led to new opportunities and challenges for women.

Postmodern feminism is a later form of feminism that critiqued some of the assumptions of earlier feminist thought by combining both post-modern and post-structuralist theory.

Postmodern feminists reject essentialism, which is the belief that there is necessarily an inherent difference between men and women. Postmodern feminists also put an emphasis on the theory of the symbolic order.

The Symbolic Order contends that when young children learn the language, they will have to submit to the Order so they can follow the linguistic patterns of society (Tong & Botts, 2018).

This symbolic order regulates society through individuals, who constantly use the language that perpetuates gender and other social roles (Ebert, 1991).

Examples of Postmodern Feminism Theory

Judith butler.

Judith Butler is an American philosopher and gender theorist whose work has been extremely influential within the field of postmodern feminism.

Butler”s most famous work is Gender Trouble , in which she challenges the idea that there is a natural, essential difference between men and women.

Instead, Butler argues that gender is something that is performed. This means that it is not something that people are born with, but something they do (Salih & Butler, 2004).

For Butler, the performativity of gender is related to power. She argues that gender is not simply imposed on by society; rather, people continually reproduce and reinforce it through their actions and words. In other words, people perform gender every time they speak or act in a gendered way.

In Gender Trouble (2002), Butler also argues that sex, or at least gender, is constructed through language. This draws on a critique of Simone de Beauvoir, Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, and Luce Irigary”s argument that what is conventionally feminine is a reflection of what is considered to be masculine.

Butler also criticizes the distinction between biological sex and socially constructed gender. She argues that this distinction reinforces the idea that there is a natural, essential difference between men and women. This, in turn, justifies men”s dominance over women.

Yet, this argument implies that women’s subordination has no single cause or solution. In lieu of the criticism that postmodern feminism offers no clear path to action, Butler herself rejected the term postmodernism as too vague to be meaningful.

Instead, she advocated for a feminism that is more inclusive and attentive to the particularities of women”s lives (Salih & Butler, 2004).

Mary Joe Frug

Mary Joe Frug was an American lawyer and legal scholar. She was a professor at Harvard Law School and New York University School of Law. Frug’s work focused on gender and the law, as well as postmodern feminist theory.

Legal postmodern feminist theory is a theory that critiques the legal system from a feminist perspective. Frug’s work is significant because she was one of the first to bring postmodernism into the field of law (Frug, 2014).

Frug argued that the law is inherently patriarchal and that it therefore benefits men more than women. She critiqued the way that the law treats women as property, rather than autonomous individuals.

Frug also criticized the fact that the law often reinforces gender roles, such as women being expected to be wives and mothers, rather than workers or professionals.

In addition, Frug argued that the law is biased against women in divorce proceedings and child custody cases (Frug, 2014).

Frug’s work was groundbreaking in its application of postmodern feminist theory to the field of law.

She showed that the law is not neutral, but rather that it benefits those who are already in a position of power. Frug”s work has been highly influential in subsequent feminist legal scholarship, and her casebook, Women and the Law, is still in publication and used by legal scholars (Schneider, 1991).

Nonetheless, Frug”s work was controversial for its time. Eventually, Frug was murdered by who police believed to be an academic rival in an unsolved case.

French Feminism

French feminism is a branch of feminist thought that originated in France during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

French feminists typically draw on the work of thinkers such as Simone de Beauvoir, Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, and Luce Irigary.

Helen Cixous

Helen Cixous is a French-Algerian feminist writer, thinker, and literary critic. She is best known for her work in feminist theory and for her writing style, which she has termed “écriture féminine”.

Cixous” work often focuses on women” ‘s relationship to language and literature (Cixous & Derrida, 1994).

Cixous, most famous for her article, “the laugh of the Medusa,” is critical of the way that women have been excluded from the field of literature (Cixous, 2009). She argues that this exclusion is due to the fact that literature has been seen as a masculine activity.

Cixous also critiques the way that women have been portrayed in literature, arguing that they have typically been shown as objects or subordinate to men. In order to counter this, Cixous advocates for a “feminine ” writing style that would be more inclusive of women’s experiences and perspectives.

Cixous” work has been highly influential in feminist literary criticism. Her ideas about écriture féminine have been particularly influential, as they have allowed for a re-examination of the relationship between women and literature.

Cixous” work has also been significant in its application of postmodernist thought to feminist issues (Cixous & Derrida, 1994).

Luna Irigaray

Luna Irigaray is a Belgian-born French feminist thinker and philosopher. She is best known for her work “Speculum of the other woman,” and studies the uses and misuses of language in relation to women. Irigaray’s work often focuses on the ways that women have been marginalized by Western thought.

In Speculum of the Other Women (1974), Irigaray critiques Freud’s theory of the Oedipus complex, arguing that it relies on a masculine understanding of sexuality.

She also argued that Freud’s theories about women are based on stereotypes and that they serve to further marginalize women. In addition, Irigaray critiqued Lacan’s re-interpretation of Freud, arguing that it perpetuates the same problems with Freud’s theories.

Irigaray has also written about the ways that women have been excluded from the field of philosophy. She has argued that this exclusion is due to the fact that Western philosophy is based on a masculine understanding of reason.

Irigaray’s work has been highly influential in challenging traditional conceptions of psychoanalysis and philosophy.

Julia Kristeva

Julia Kristeva is a Bulgarian-born French thinker, writer, and psychoanalyst. She is best known for her work in feminist theory, psychoanalysis, and linguistics. Kristeva’s work often focuses on the ways that women have been marginalized by Western society.

In her most famous work, “Women’s time” (1996) Kristeva argues that women have been excluded from history because they have typically been associated with the private sphere of domestic life.

Kristeva also critiques the way that women have been portrayed in literature, arguing that they have typically been shown as objects or subordinate to men.

She also argues that Children undergo various stages in learning languages, where they learn to ascertain shared cultural meaning from language.

Postmodern Feminism Criticism

There have been numerous critiques of postmodern feminism since it originated in the 1990s. Most notably, postmodern feminism has been critiqued for its focus on deconstruction and its alleged rejection of the notion of “woman” as a coherent category.

Some feminists have argued that postmodern feminism’s focus on deconstruction leaves women without a stable identity or sense of self.

This critique is based on the belief that postmodernism, with its emphasis on instability and flux, is inherently anti-feminist.

Other feminists have argued that postmodern feminism’s rejection of the notion of “woman” as a coherent category further marginalizes women.

These critics argue that by denying the existence of a shared female identity, postmodern feminism essentially denies the very existence of women as a group (Ebert, 1991).

Despite these critiques, postmodern feminism has had a significant impact on feminist thought. In particular, its focus on deconstruction has allowed for a re-examination of the relationship between women and literature.

Additionally, its application of postmodernist thought to feminist issues has shed new light on familiar problems.

Modernists have also notably criticized postmodern feminism for its abandonment of the values of Enlightenment thought, which precludes the possibility that postmodernists can justify liberating political action.

By emphasizing its rejection of essentialism, critics claim that postmodern feminism has failed to provide a viable political program for women’s emancipation.

Moreover, because postmodernism is often associated with relativism, some modernists argue that it is impossible to make any claims about the oppression of women under patriarchy. In response, postmodern feminists have argued that their critique of essentialism does not mean that they are unable to make political claims.

They maintain that their approach simply takes into account the complex and intersectional nature of women”s experiences (Ebert, 1991).

Alison Assister, in her book Enlightened Women , critiqued postmodern feminism for its focus on deconstruction and its alleged rejection of the notion of “woman” as a coherent category.

Assister argued that postmodern feminism’s focus on deconstruction leaves women without a stable identity or sense of self. This critique is based on the belief that postmodernism, with its emphasis on instability and flux, is inherently anti-feminist.

Other feminists have argued that postmodern feminism’s rejection of the notion of “woman” as a coherent category further marginalizes women. These critics argue that by denying the existence of a shared female identity, postmodern feminism essentially denies the very existence of women as a group.

The field has additionally been criticized by others for its overly academic focus and inaccessibility to those unfamiliar with its jargon (Ebert, 1991).

Butler, J. (2002). Gender trouble . Routledge.

Cixous, H. (2009). The laugh of the Medusa. Feminisms Redux, 416-431.

Cixous, H., & Derrida, J. (1994). T he Hélène Cixous Reader. Psychology Press.

Ebert, T. L. (1991). The” difference” of postmodern feminism. College English, 5 3(8), 886-904.

Frug, M. J. (2014). Postmodern legal feminism . Routledge.

Hanisch, C. (1970). The Person is Political

Irigaray, L. (1974). Speculum of the other woman . Cornell University Press.

Kristeva, J. (1996). Women’s time. Women, Knowledge, and Reality: Explorations in Feminist Philosophy , 61-83.

Lerner, G. (1986). The creation of patriarchy (Vol. 1). Women and History; V. 1.

Rossiter, A. (2000). The postmodern feminist condition . B. Fawcett, B. Featherstone, J. Fook y A. Rossiter, Practice and research in social work , 24-38.

Salih, S., & Butler, J. (2004). The Judith Butler reader .

Schneider, E. M. (1991). Violence Against Women and Legal Education: An Essay for Mary Joe Frug . New Eng. L. Rev. , 26, 843.

Tong, R., & Botts, T. F. (2018). Feminist thought: A more comprehensive introduction . Routledge.

Waugh, P. (2012). Feminine fictions: Revisiting the postmodern. Routledge.

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Home › Post-Feminism: An Essay

Post-Feminism: An Essay

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on October 25, 2017 • ( 2 )

It must first be stated that there is no agreement about how postfeminism can be defined and consequently definitions essentially contradict each other in what they say about the term. At its most straightforward, the prefix ‘post’ in this context appears to mean ‘going beyond’ or ‘superseding’: it could therefore be seen as a confident announcement that feminism has achieved its key aims and that there is full equality for all women and a blurring of the boundaries between traditional ascriptions of gender. Given that a brief scrutiny of our current social formation does not support this view, we might, however, imagine that a post-feminist position is one formulated due to dissatisfaction with existing feminist politics and is to be located in an entirely new area or set of propositions altogether. Part of this dissatisfaction might be an awareness that even in its heyday, second wave feminism did not achieve its aim of speaking to the majority of women.

Either of these definitions seems possible and the notion of superseding or going beyond has been widely utilised in popular culture, and to some extent in academic discourse. Given that ‘feminism’ remains within the term post-feminism, albeit problematised by the prefix of ‘post’, this illustrates that ‘feminism is portrayed as a territory over which various women have to fight to gain their ground; it has become so unwieldy as a term that it threatens to implode under the weight of its own contradictions’ ( Whelehan 2000 : 78). The ‘post’ is not the end of feminism : actually feminism is constantly to be picked over only to be rapidly set aside again or dismissed as old hat. For Myra Macdonald , ‘post-feminism takes the sting out of feminism’ ( 1995 : 100); it removes the politics and claims the territory of self-empowerment.

There are some more complex and challenging definitions of the term and according to writers such as Sopia Phoca who co-produced an introductory guide to it, ‘post-feminism is considered as a different manifestation of feminism – not as being anti-feminist’ (quoted in Ashby 1999: 34) and as being associated with the development of post-Lacanian psychoanalysis , French feminism and post-structuralist theory , suggesting perhaps a permanent fracturation between second wave-style personal politics and ‘high’ theory. Ann Brooks (1997), however, would argue that it is not a question of depoliticising feminism, but of marking a conceptual shift between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ – from a model based on equality, to debates around the revivified and theorised concept of difference. For Brooks the term ‘post-feminism’ ‘is now understood as a useful conceptual frame of reference encompassing the intersection of feminism with a number of other anti-foundational movements including postmodernism, post-structuralism and post-colonialism’ ( Brooks 1997 : 1).

Other critics would argue that the ‘post’ prefix added to modernism , structuralism or colonialism seems to unproblematically connote the ‘going beyond’ both spatially and chronologically that has occurred in modern theory; yet Brooks asserts that post-feminism used in this theoretical context signifies feminism ’s maturity. She reflects that rather than ‘post’ meaning going beyond or breaking with, in these contexts it means ‘a process of ongoing transformation and change’ (Brooks 1997: 1). Other kinds of ‘rebranding’ for feminism of course include the use of ‘third wave’ feminism where again the prefix is used to imply key shifts in the meaning of ‘feminism’ itself and in this theoretically-informed definition of post-feminism there might be seen to be common ground between third wave and post-feminism, although third wavers would certainly reject any suggestion that feminism is over. Brooks herself acknowledges the way post-feminism is associated with a negative portrayal of feminism in the mass media – particularly in the way the rhetoric of post-feminism is summoned in the backlash against feminism (see also Faludi 1992 ).

One of the reasons it is argued that the move to post-feminism is essential is because of the influence of postmodern thinking which refuses the ‘grand narrative’ of gender difference, so that it becomes increasingly impossible to lay claim to the identity ‘woman’, because of the impact of ‘difference’ theories and the contestation of knowledges about how ‘woman’ is constructed. Ann Brooks ’s version of post-feminism puts ‘woman’ under erasure; of course one could argue that this denies any political agency to a feminist who cannot lay claim to that identity, ‘modernist’ as it is, suggesting as it does a retreat to the self and ultimately the individualist framing of identity so favoured by enlightenment liberalism. The category ‘woman’, no matter how unsatisfactory as a means to summon up the wealth and diversity of women’s experiences and identities, allows at least a space to lay claim to a wealth of shared experiences (gendered pay differentials, the impact of sexual violence, the relationship of nation to gender for instance) which permits a collective oppositional response to injustices against women.

For critics who are still happy to call themselves ‘feminist’ without any prefixes, such a model of feminism does not readily allow for an acknowledgement of some highly productive shifts in feminism since the 1970s. Feminist politics has not remained static, and many of the central issues, so radical in the 1970s, are now accepted as part of mainstream politics. As Sylvia Walby notes, ‘Who would now call someone who believes in equal pay feminist? Yet before 1975 this was not law and was controversial’ ( 1997 : 163). Rene Denfeld , in her critique of second wave feminism, The New Victorians , bears this out when she points out that while the next generation has problems with the epithet ‘feminist’, they have no problem supporting the principles of equal pay and educational opportunities (Denfeld 1995: 4). For Denfeld this change from broad support of feminism to scepticism and alienation is a response to a change in the terms of second wave feminism itself: ‘It has become bogged down in an extremist moral and spiritual crusade that has little to do with women’s lives. It has climbed out on a limb of academic theory that is all but inaccessible to the uninitiated . . . feminism has become as confining as what it pretends to combat’ (Denfeld 1995: 5). Denfeld is pointing to widely aired anxieties that feminism has become just one more arcane theory – stemming from what she perceives to be a majority of cultural feminist writers creating and delivering women’s studies curricula in American universities, containing an alleged anti-male agenda. It is as if she actually doesn’t want to dismiss feminism but rather to take it ‘back’ from whoever she feels has stolen it. The irony is that ‘post-feminism’ from both Phoca and Wright’s and Brooks’s perspective is in many ways just such another ‘inaccessible’ theory for the uninitiated.

Tania Modleski is more concerned that while ‘woman’ is being put under erasure in the debates about difference, conceptual shifts such as the ‘men in feminism’ debate (a debate about whether men should call themselves feminists or be feminist critics independently of women) might make women disappear from feminism altogether. Talking about one particular anthology of ‘male feminist’ criticism she observes that ‘[i]n an unusually strong post-feminist irony, the final essay of this volume which banishes women from its list of contributors is a complaint about the way heterosexual men have become invisible within feminism!’ ( Modleski, 1991: 12). Modleski’s dissection of post-feminism in the critical sphere in many ways anticipates Susan Faludi ’s arguments in Backlash where it is the appropriation of the language of feminism which is seen to be used against itself in popular culture. Modleski’s combination of questioning theory and using examples of popular film, television and news, suggests that this appropriation goes much deeper and, she would argue, drives us straight back to male-centred discourse and critical authority.

There is still the accusation that second wave feminism failed to cede the hegemony of white middle-class heterosexual women to other groups of women, and there is clearly some truth in this claim. But nonetheless it is clear that many feminists (particularly at the level of grassroots politics) did acknowledge the common links between different sites of oppression; and the growth in political and critical perspectives by women of colour, working-class women and lesbians suggests that for them the struggle is not over. One can think of key voices in black American feminism, such as bell hooks and Patricia Hill Collins who emphatically lay claim to ‘feminism’ as a term which still has political resonance, and this suggests that not all proponents of feminist discourse are ready yet to cede the ground to post-feminism, but would rather address the gaps, in the belief that there might be some consensus about what feminism can do.

Source: Fifty Key Concepts in Gender Studies Jane Pilcher and Imelda Whelehan Sage Publications, 2004.

FURTHER READING Ann Brooks (1997) gives a fairly comprehensive account of what ‘postfeminism’ means in a theoretical context; for those still struggling with French feminism, post-structuralism and Lacan. Phoca and Wright (1999) offer a crisp and concise account, liberally using illustrations and graphic narrative. Modleski (1991) and Faludi (1992) offer challenges which provide illuminating comparison.

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Tags: Ann Brooks , Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women , Feminism , Feminism without women , Imelda Whelehan , Introducing Postfeminism , Literary Theory , Myra Macdonald , Overloaded: Popular Culture and the Future of Feminism , Patricia Hill Collins , postfeminism , Rene Denfeld , Representing Women: Myths of Femininity in the Popular Media , second wave feminism , Susan Faludi , Sylvia Walby , Tania Modleski , The New Victorians , The New Victorians: A Young Woman's Challenge to the Old Feminist Order

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• Third Wave Feminism – Literary Theory and Criticism Notes
• Postfeminism and Its Entanglement with the Fourth Wave – Literary Theory and Criticism

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Essay 1 Feminism and Postmodernism

• Published: September 2015
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The essay considers the meaning of ‘postmodernism’ in a philosophical (as distinct e.g. from artistic) context. This work of informal analysis is intended to facilitate discussion of what attitude a feminist, i.e. someone hoping to see an end to female subordination, might reasonably adopt towards ‘postmodern’ tendencies. The selected postmodern phenomena all display some negativity towards the unifying impulse (both ethical and epistemological) of Enlightenment ideology, and of the rationalist or universalist politics inspired by it. These phenomena are organized under the headings ‘dynamic pluralism’, ‘quiet pluralism’, and ‘pluralism of inclination’, focusing respectively on questions of legitimation, tradition, and the ethical status of pleasure. Under each heading, reasons are suggested why feminists should be wary of assuming that postmodernist thinking will be helpful to their cause.

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Feminism and Postmodernism

Editor(s): Margaret Ferguson , Jennifer Wicke

Contributor(s): Jennifer Wicke , Mary Poovey , David Simpson , Linda Nicholson , Toril Moi , Anne McClintock , Kathryn Bond Stockton , Salwa Bakr , Freccero, Carla , Claire Detels , Andrew Ross , Marjorie Garber , Laura Lyons , Margaret Ferguson

Subjects Gender and Sexuality > Feminism and Women’s Studies , Theory and Philosophy > Feminist Theory

• Author/Editor Bios
• Table of Contents
• Additional Information

Margaret Ferguson is Professor of English at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Jennifer Wicke is Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at New York University.

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POSTMODERN FEMINISM

Relevant for UPSC Sociology Syllabus – Topic Major Theoretical Strands of Research Methodology

Feminism has been a powerful force in shaping society’s views on gender equality, challenging stereotypes, and advocating for women’s rights. However, postmodern feminism takes this a step further by questioning the very foundation of feminist theory, arguing that gender is not a fixed category but a social construct that varies across cultures and time. This blog will provide a brief overview of postmodern feminism, its core ideas, and the implications of its approach.

The Origins of Postmodern Feminism

Postmodern feminism emerged in the 1980s as a reaction to the limitations of second-wave feminism, which focused on women’s liberation and sought to establish a universal identity for women based on shared experiences of oppression. Postmodern feminists, on the other hand, argued that the idea of a universal, essentialized womanhood was problematic, as it ignored the diversity of women’s experiences and perspectives.

Postmodern feminism drew inspiration from postmodern philosophy, which emphasized the contingency and multiplicity of meaning. According to postmodern philosophy, there is no objective truth or fixed meaning, but rather multiple and competing interpretations that are shaped by social, cultural, and historical contexts.

The Core Ideas of Postmodern Feminism

Postmodern feminists reject the idea that gender is a natural and immutable category, arguing instead that it is a social construct that is produced and reproduced through cultural practices, discourses, and institutions. This means that gender norms and expectations are not universal but vary across cultures and time, and are therefore subject to change.

Postmodern feminists also challenge the idea of a unified and essentialized female identity, arguing that women’s experiences and identities are shaped by multiple and intersecting factors, such as race, class, sexuality, and nationality. This means that there is no single feminist agenda or strategy that can address the diversity of women’s experiences and needs.

Instead of seeking to establish a universal identity for women, postmodern feminists advocate for a politics of difference, which recognizes and values the diversity of women’s experiences and perspectives. This means that feminist activism should focus on destabilizing gender norms and categories, rather than on establishing a fixed and universal identity for women.

The Implications of Postmodern Feminism

Postmodern feminism has had a profound impact on feminist theory and activism, challenging the dominant narratives and assumptions of second-wave feminism and opening up new avenues for feminist inquiry and practice.

One of the key implications of postmodern feminism is the recognition of the diversity of women’s experiences and perspectives. This has led to the emergence of intersectional feminism, which seeks

to address the intersecting forms of oppression and privilege that shape women’s lives, such as racism, classism, ableism, and homophobia.

Postmodern feminism has also led to a critical rethinking of feminist methodology, encouraging feminist researchers to question their assumptions and biases, and to adopt more reflexive and self-critical approaches to their work.

However, postmodern feminism has also been criticized for its tendency towards relativism and its rejection of universal values and principles. Critics argue that this can lead to a fragmentation of feminist politics and a lack of clarity and coherence in feminist activism.

Conclusion: Postmodern feminism is a theory that challenges the idea of a universal, essentialized womanhood, arguing that gender is a social construct that varies across time and place. Postmodern feminists advocate for a politics of difference that recognizes and values the diversity of women’s experiences and perspectives, and seek to destabilize gender norms and categories. While postmodern feminism has had a profound impact on feminist theory and activism, it has also been subject to criticism for its relativism and lack of clarity in its political objectives. Nevertheless, postmodern feminism remains a powerful force in shaping contemporary feminist discourse and practice.

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Communications in Humanities Research

- The Open Access Proceedings Series for Conferences

Vol. 7, 31 October 2023

The Idea of Postmodern Feminism: An Attempt at Postmodern Feminism to Face a Dilemma

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

As the guiding idea of the third wave of feminist thought, postmodernism has offered a new mode of thinking for the development of feminism. This essay uses the idea of postmodern feminism as an introduction to the dilemma that postmodern feminism faces in not being able to provide practical help in the practical sense of the women’s political movement. At the same time, an attempt is made to find a way out of the dilemma. The essay uses references and analysis of previous literature to conduct the research. It is concluded that one way in which postmodern feminism faces a dilemma is through the interpretation of postmodern feminist theory in different contexts. Postmodern feminism plays a varying role in different social contexts. In other words, postmodern feminism has a real role to play in achieving real ‘equality’ between men and women when most women have already acquired equal political and social status with men.

postmodernism, feminism, discourse, dilemma, equality

1. Owens, C. (2018). The discourse of others: Feminists and postmodernism. In The Expanding Discourse (pp. 486-502): Routledge.

2. Eagleton, T. (2013). The illusions of postmodernism: John Wiley & Sons.

3. Frost, N., & Elichaoff, F. (2014). Feminist postmodernism, poststructuralism, and critical theory. Feminist research practice: A primer, 2, 14-42.

4. McHoul, A., & Grace, W. (2015). A Foucault primer: Discourse, power and the subject: Routledge.

5. Foucault, M. (2019). The history of sexuality: 1: the will to knowledge: Penguin UK.

6. Butler, J. (2009). Performativity, precarity and sexual politics. AIBR. Revista de Antropología Iberoamericana, 4(3).

7. Williams, F. (2002). Postmodernism, feminism and the question of difference. In Social theory, social change and social work (pp. 61-76): Routledge.

8. Fricker, M. (2000). Feminism in epistemology: Pluralism without postmodernism. The Cambridge companion to feminism in philosophy, 146-165.

9. Karim, M. H. A., & Azlan, A. A. (2019). Modernism and postmodernism in feminism: A conceptual study on the developments of its definition, waves and school of thought. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 4(1), 1-14.

10. Schmertz, J. (1999). Constructing essences: Ethos and the postmodern subject of feminism. Rhetoric Review, 18(1), 82-91.

11. Lorber, J. (2001). Gender inequality. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury.

12. MacKinnon, C. A. (1983). Feminism, Marxism, method, and the state: Toward feminist jurisprudence. Signs: Journal of women in culture and society, 8(4), 635-658.

13. Alcoff, L. M. (1997). The Politics of Postmodern Feminism, Revisited. Cultural Critique(36), 5-27. doi:10.2307/1354498.

14. Boucher, G. (2006). The politics of performativity: A critique of Judith Butler. Parrhesia, 1(1), 112-141.

15. Salih, S. (2007). On Judith butler and performativity. Sexualities and communication in everyday life: A reader, 55-68.

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Copyright © 2023 EWA Publishing. Unless Otherwise Stated

• DOI: 10.2307/377692
• Corpus ID: 151788949

The “Difference” of Postmodern Feminism

• Teresa L. Ebert
• Published in College English 1 December 1991
• Philosophy, Sociology

67 Citations

Postmodern feminist theory and future prospects, the heterosexual imaginary: feminist sociology and theories of gender*, dominant, passive, and recessive feminism: a postfeminist reading of taiwanese cinema, a view from elsewhere: locating difference and the politics of representation from a transnational feminist perspective, an identity of one’s own: feminist ideology and identity crisis of an academic woman in a postmodern feminist fiction, un-settling sex: researcher self-reflexivity, queer theory and settler colonial studies, contingency plans for the feminist revolution, islamic feminism: a discourse of gender justice and equality, queer theory: a review of the "differences" special issue and wittig's "the straight mind", learning to ask: philanthropic struggles and rewards of women forging the path toward transformation 1865 -- 1920.

• Highly Influenced
• 10 Excerpts

18 References

Social criticism without philosophy: an encounter between feminism and postmodernism, deconstructing equality-versus-difference : or, the uses of poststructuralist theory for feminism, women and equality., sexual/textual politics : feminist literary theory, in other worlds: essays in cultural politics, patriarchy and accumulation on a world scale: women in the international division of labour, the laugh of the medusa, gynesis: configurations of woman and modernity, am i that name: feminism and the category of "women" in history, a manifesto for cyborgs: science, technology, and socialist feminism in the 1980s, related papers.

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Marxist feminism and postmodernism

Arguing that it is too easy to release postmodernism as just another example of Western intellectual's separation from activism, this essay considers the connection between feminism and postmodernism as a largely anti-Marxist endeavour. The type of post-modern feminist theory that has blossomed, has presented distinct and well-documented challenges. It has destabilised previously secured categories and encouraged theorists to analyse meaning and relationships of power in a way that has called into question unitary, universal concepts and radically opened discussions concerning subjectivity, sex and gender. Taking into consideration postmodernism as a historically-situated occurrence rather than an intellectual abstraction or movement, the author contends that feminists and their allies need the fragmentation of identities not as a cause for celebration or an oppositional strategy, but rather as an effect of oppressive structures that must be analyzed within the context of their historical, political and economic specificity. It is this tension in postmodernism (between what is expressed and its expression between the latent and manifest) and its parallelism in feminist theory that is the interest of the study. It is the contention of the study that feminist postmodernism, like any other system of thought, has internalised contradictions that heightened during the 1980s and are now becoming self-evident.

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Rosemary Hennessy

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In this paper, I propose to engage in formal theorizing of feminism thereby transcending its localized contexts. The postmodern anti-foundationalism stemming from the theses of death of man, history and metaphysics decentres feminism and threatens to flatten all experience as celebration as the disembodied 'view from everywhere'. is nihilistic and ultra-relativist position rejects the concept of a rational coherent subject and thus the enlightenment ideal of a rational pursuit of knowledge as no such knowledge is achievable; making the political project of universal emancipation an utopia. Feminism and postmodernism need not, however, be at loggerheads always as I try to argue hereby a process of strategic selection that suggests common grounds for the two to reconcile differences and certain theoretical stances that rather than deconstruct offer a reconstruction of new realities while acknowledging the need to accommodate alterity. This will include real time differences in ground realities and warrant the presence of feminisms rather than a monolithic tradition of Western feminism.

Anna Kostikova

Sasha Roseneil

As discussions of`postmodernism' continue to rage within feminist thought, this question has come to occupy centre stage in the collective conscience of academic feminism. Numerous books and articles have been devoted, more or less explicitly, to this question, and the issue has dominated conversations in formal and informal gatherings of feminist scholars for several years. The question strikes at the heart for so many of us, because ultimately feminist scholars share a commitment to social transformation which demands that we return to the question of the relationship between our theory and feminist practice. 1 Yet what is remarkable about this debate is that it has been conducted at such a level of abstraction that concrete discussions of feminist practice have been almost entirely absent. 2 The question has been approached as if it were purely a philosophical one, which could be answered at the level of theory, without recourse to exploration of actual instances of feminist politics. For the past decade feminist theory has been presided over by feminist philosophy, and the status of feminist sociology, with its concern to theorize from the analysis of social, cultural, political and economic relations, has plummeted. 3 It is beyond the scope of this article to explore how and why this particular hierarchy of feminist knowledges has been established, but it is part of my task to reassert the relevance of a

Rosi Braidotti

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Alice Nelson

ΚΡΙΣΗ / KRISI

Angela Dimitrakaki

Opening with a discussion of the relationship and tension between Marxism and feminism, the article argues for the specificity of Marxist feminist analysis in relation to other currents of feminism on the left. Drawing on Susan Watkins, the article contends that capitalist strategy has contributed to shaping the intellectual trajectory of feminism as known today. This trajectory developed under a complex hegemony that entailed, among other things, the Cold War and the end of Bretton Woods in relation to postmodernism and cultural imperialism, ideological uses of the 'middle class' , and technologies that increasingly challenge the clear distinction between production and reproduction. The analysis is specifically concerned with (a) how histories of reactionary but also progressive ideas formed under this hegemony (b) the pull of/ to immateriality in a perceived 'post-industrial' society, and the relevance of both to feminism. The article revisits the debate of Judith Butler and Nancy Fraser from 1997 as encapsulating the roots of a divide within left feminism-one related to understandings of intersectionality, a popular concept also in Marxist feminism. Intersectionality brings together salient political categories (such as gender, race, class), the question for Marxist feminism being: how? It is argued that intersectionality, coined at a specific moment of American cultural history and in relation to postmodernism's spatialising imaginary, is not always and necessarily compatible with Marxist feminism's focus on a social totality forming out of a mode of production and reproduction. To demonstrate this, the article concludes by considering Ashley Bohrer's influential interpretation of intersectionality. Overall, the article argues for a Marxist feminism that attends closely to the key tendencies, possibilities and contradictions of 21st-century capitalism and what hegemony consists of-as a first step towards re/thinking the priorities and specificity of struggle. Reference: Κρίση 13-2023/1, 9-44 Journal: ΚΡΙΣΗ - Εξαμηνιαία Επιστημονική Επιθεώρηση / KRISI - Biannual Scientific Review

The Routledge Companion to Postmodernism

Sue Thornham

Recherches féministes

TaMrin El-zHyrazy

Cuestiones Políticas

inna zavaruieva

The aim of the article is considered the conceptual reconstruction of the relationship between postmodern feminism and the notional field of contemporary neoliberalism. The analytical methods used were based on the assertion that the complexity of textual interventions requires interdisciplinary approaches. The findings and results of the research carried out accentuate that COVID-19 has contributed greatly to the contradictions of the current global landscape in the contexts of neoliberalism and feminism. Feminism asserts as a discourse that the conceptual apparatus of neoliberalism has not served its goals; in fact, postfeminism has not yet chosen its route in the neoliberal context. The assumption that women cannot win their “vindication battle” in the world where &quot;the game is fixed&quot; continues to be taken as an axiom, even though the coronavirus pandemic causes some observers to proclaim the return of influential governments and social contracts. The latter accentuates ...

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Postmodern Feminism: A Critique of Liberal and Radical Feminism

            Postmodern feminism is a prominent feminist theory that espouses the belief that there is no single way of being a woman. It strongly criticizes and opposes the male-dominated setup of the society which places women into the role of—in the words of Simone de Beauvoir—the Other (Agge, 1993, p. 84). Like other postmodern beliefs, postmodern feminism generally accepts diversity in many things, from truths to roles of individuals. As a result, postmodern feminism does not limit the definition of a woman to a few or some perceptions. On the contrary, postmodern feminism supports the idea that there are many ways to become a woman, not only in the ways which were previously taught into the minds of the people in earlier times.

On the other hand, liberal feminism seeks to uphold the perceived equality between men and women either through legal or political ways. This feminist theory generally asserts the importance of the actions and choices of the people, especially the choices and actions of women in order to create equality between men and women. Liberal feminism believes that there is no need to restructure the society primarily because women by themselves can pursue the changes needed in the society, particularly the change towards the attainment of equality. The attainment of equality can be met through the participation of women into legal and political resolutions which support social equality among the genders (Tong, 1998, p.10).

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Meanwhile, radical feminism shares the same regard for the importance of realizing the worth of women in the society. However, radical feminism demands for the overthrow of the patriarchal setting of the society, and even changing it into a society dominated by women. The supremacy of the male gender is seen by radical feminists as the biggest reason for radically reorganizing the structure of the society. The mere concept of “radical” in radical feminism obviously gives the impression that radical feminism pushes for a big change in the setting of the society given that the society is largely dominated by men (Whittier, 1995, p. 55).

Postmodern feminism challenges both the liberal and radical feminist theories in the sense that postmodern feminism rejects the idea of a single way of identifying the essence of a woman. It rejects a singular view of what women should do and how they can establish a society without gender bias. One thing about postmodern feminism is that it challenges liberal feminism by attacking the very core of liberal feminism—the presumption that legal and political actions are the ultimate ways towards the liberation of women from the oppression they experience in the society. Postmodern feminists would argue that the way to attaining the equality between men and women is not to limit their actions in terms of what is legal or what is political. The same holds true for realizing the needs of women. Legal and political actions should not be the only ways for attaining social recognition of women’s needs. Rather, postmodern feminism argues that even the options beyond legal and political ways can also result to meeting that goal.

Postmodern feminism also criticizes radical feminism for its focus on its goal of radically changing the structure of the society. As far as radical feminism is concerned, the effect of putting women above men thereby is that it creates another form of inequality among the genders. Since radical feminism aims at shifting the advantage towards women and placing men below women, postmodern feminism would counter such claim by arguing that there is no single, widely accepted and unifying view about what is needed to be done. Radically changing the structure of the society from patriarchal to matriarchal is one way to liberate women; however, it is not the only way. In effect, other steps can also be considered. The goal to give various women the opportunity to participate in social affairs, and the goal to achieve gender equality can also coexist with the views of radical feminists. As a result, the liberal and radical approaches to feminism tend to create many approaches in realizing the essence of a woman and her needs with respect to her status in the society.

Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the most prominent feminists during her time, argued that women are not inherently lesser than men. The lack of education of women was the main reason why women were seen as lesser than men, most especially in Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women. However, the observations of Wollstonecraft were made during the time when women were not given the right to education. It was a time when the roles of most women, if not all, were confined within the house, roles such as caring for children and doing the rest of the household chores. It was a time when women were seen as individuals whose primary gender roles were like that of a mothering individual to her children at home (Johnson, 2002, p. 4). Postmodern feminism would criticize the argument of Wollstonecraft about what she sees as the need to educate women in order to free them from their bondage from limited gender roles. Since postmodern feminism maintains that education is not the only way to free women, the theory would suggest that there can be other ways to meet that end. Apparently, it can also be said that education is still one of the ways to free women and give them an equal standing with men. The fact that Wollstonecraft’s generation was a generation that still had to become aware of the rights of women regarding education suggests that, perhaps, the need to educate women was the most immediate need during their time.

Harriet Taylor is also one of the prominent feminists during the nineteenth century. She has radical views about the status of women in the society they live in. Taylor suggests that the economic dependence of women on men degrades women in the process. Moreover, Taylor was also fully supportive of women’s right to vote and of their right to actively participate in the local government. Her feminist views are more concerned with giving women their political, legal and other social capacities rather than addressing their educational needs, which was what Wollstonecraft primarily advocated. Obviously, Harriet Taylor and Mary Wollstonecraft advocated different ideas although it can also be said that both of them share the same goal of giving women the attention and rights that they deserve. Moreover, the difference between the ideas of the two feminists supports the position of postmodern feminism that there is no single way to truly define the essence of women. In order for a woman to truly become a woman, does she only need education, or does she only need political and legal rights? Apparently, one may argue that women need both, which all the more strengthens the claim of postmodern feminism that there can be many ways to realize the essence of a woman, including the attainment of their political and legal rights and their right to education.

Liberal and radical feminism are in conflict with one another. Liberal feminism seeks to establish the equality between men and women. That idea of equality of the genders is based on the assumption that women are socially subordinated to men. On the other hand, radical feminism aims at putting women above men in the society. By removing the bias against women in legal and political aspects, liberal feminists would then obtain the equality long sought among the male and female genders. On the other hand, by removing the nature and causes of the very structure of the society itself—the patriarchal origins of the society—radical feminists would then obtain the supremacy of women since standard gender roles are eradicated. Yet postmodern feminist thought will suggest that the deepest concern should be about how the concepts of “sex” and “gender” are defined.

Mary Joe Frug, another prominent figure in the postmodern feminism movement, suggests that “sex” is not something that is naturally given. On the contrary, the very concept of “sex” depends on how we use language because language shapes our perception of concepts including “sex.” Language can change our present understanding of many different concepts. Since human experience according to postmodern thought is always within the limits of language, the concepts of “sex” and “gender” can be explained through human experiences; these concepts can be analyzed in the context of language. Liberal feminism’s view that women are oppressed and should be given legal and political rights to attain an equal position with men in the society must be missing the point. Feminists should first concern themselves with how we reached our understanding of what “gender” is. The same criticism can also apply to radical feminism. Basically, postmodern feminism suggests that before we take actions on what to do about the inequalities between the genders and how to engage them, there should first be an understanding of the origins of the concepts. There also should first be an understanding of human experiences in the context of language.

Postmodern feminism nevertheless has also been criticized for being unable to suggest a way to address the gender inequalities, especially the perceived bias against women in favor of men in the society. What postmodern feminism does is to criticize the other forms of feminism for being too focused on their own individual ways to address the inequalities. Nonetheless, postmodern feminism provides a critical insight into the previous feminist movements in history, giving us a different perspective that offers new ways to understand the long-standing problems that beset the genders.

Agge, B. (1993). Producing Reproduction: the Logic of Feminist Postmodern Critical Theory. In Gender, Culture, and Power: Toward a Feminist Postmodern Critical Theory (p. 84). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

Johnson, C. L. (2002). Introduction. In The Cambridge Companion to Mary Wollstonecraft (p. 4). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Tong, R. P. (1998). Liberal Feminism. In Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction (p. 10). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Whittier, N. (1995). The Evolution of Radical Feminist Identity. In Feminist Generations: The Persistence of the Radical Women’s Movement (p. 55). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

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