Feminism, Postmodernism, and the Critique of Modernity

T his paper examines some points of connection and contradiction between contemporary feminism and the influential if elusive concept of the postmodern. It does not attempt to survey the extensive body of writing on postmodernism or to deliver a conclusive judgment on the ultimate value of the term as an analytical category. Instead, the example of feminism, as an oppositional ideology and a social movement which comprises a wide diversity of political positions and cultural practices, will provide a specific standpoint from which to address some of the most prevalent hypotheses regarding the existence of a postmodern condition. I will suggest that feminism cannot