What Is Feminism?

There are many, feminist and non-feminist alike, for whom the question &s;what is feminism?&s; has little meaning. The content of terms like &s;feminism&s; and &s;feminist&s; seems self-evident, something that can be taken for granted. It has become an obstacle to understanding feminism, in its diversity and in its differences, and in its specificity as well. Histories of feminism which treat feminism as social movement tend to concentrate on chronicling the vicissitudes of that movement and subordinate any exploration of the intellectual content of feminism to that main purpose. The exploration of feminist history is severely limited if the appearance of the social movement is assumed to be feminism&s;s apotheosis and privileged form. Feminism&s;s fascination with women is also the condition of the easy slippage from &s;feminist&s; to &s;woman&s; and back: the feminist becomes the representative of &s;woman&s;, just as &s;feminist history&s; becomes the same as &s;women&s;s history&s; and so on.