Evaluating Feminist Theories of Gender

When considering what defines a woman, Feminist theorists have generally subscribed to one of two theories of gender: that of biological essentialism – i.e. that there are (biological) properties that all women must share, and social constructionism – i.e. that woman is a product of interpretation shaped by historical and cultural context. The former theory is often criticised for privileging specific forms of femininity and excluding others – which I call the normativity problem, whereas the latter theory suffers from what I call the representation problem – that there are no commonalities by which women may be united. This essay provides a selective exposition of different feminist theorists, and how they navigate the normativity and representation problems.