The new feminist philosophy of the body - Haraway, Butler and Brennan

Journal/Book: Eur J Womens Stud. 1998; 5: 2455 Teller Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Sage Publications Inc. 9.

Abstract: Recent feminist theory, both dialectical and poststructuralist, challenges traditional dualistic portrayals of the body that naturalize women's oppression. Most accessible is Donna Haraway, who posits ironical implosions as a way of transcending the nature/culture binary. Judith Butler's radical constructivism is more sophisticated than Haraway, offering a rigorous deconstruction of the concept 'matter'. Teresa Brennan, the article argues, is still more complex. Her ideas reveal that certain elements of Butler's thought collude with the historically specific, subject-centered egoism that Butler claims to undermine. Brennan elaborates a historical, dialectical philosophy of the body; she provides a detailed account of how the human infant becomes the social, linguistic and gendered self. Her project is the beginning of a new feminist philosophy of the body that is constructivist, but that also boldly offers a theory of energetic relationality which includes the infant's in utero experience, defying Butler's refusal to signify various psychophysical processes.

Note: Article Matisons MR, Clark Univ, Womens Studies Program, Worcester,MA 01610 USA

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