Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity Chapter Summary & Analysis - Chapter 1, Subjects of Sex/Gender/Desire, Section IV, Theorizing the Binary, The Unitary, and Beyond Summary

Chapter 1, Subjects of Sex/Gender/Desire, Section IV, Theorizing the Binary, The Unitary, and Beyond Summary and Analysis

Beauvoir and Irigaray disagree about how gender asymmetry is generated. Beauvoir believes it lies in a failure of reciprocity in an asymmetrical dialogue, whereas Irigaray argues that the dialogue itself is a manifestation of masculinism. Butler leans more towards Irigaray, holding that feminists ought to critique in a more totalizing way, including criticism of themselves.

It turns out that present-day feminist debates about the essentialism of sex and gender raises the question of how universal feminine identity is in a variety of ways, but some attempts to form political coalitions of women without assuming what a 'woman' is have been made. One cannot insist that the unity of a coalition requires a totalizing set of identity definitions because this will in fact undermine solidarity and representation. Unity is not necessary for political action to be effective. Instead, women must take an 'antifoundationalist' approach, where they don't use 'identity' as a...
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