Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology Online

Extract

Postmodern feminism is a body of scholarship that questions and rejects traditional essentialist practices, as established in and by modernity. The general premise of postmodern social theory is a rejection of the western ideal of establishing universal grand narratives as a means of understanding and explaining society. Postmodern theory directly challenges claims of a unified subject, which is then presented as representing an objective point of view, in essence, a “view from nowhere.” Postmodern theory and practices recognize differences, making room for all to contribute and thus having a “view from everywhere” and eliminating the practice of positing one way or one understanding as representing or being “truth.” The combination of postmodernist theory and feminism allows for a questioning of essentialist approaches within and outside of feminism, an expansion of feminist scholarship as well as contributing the lens of “gender” and other issues inherent to feminism to the body of postmodern scholarship. Postmodern thought follows early feminist challenges to dualistic concepts, such as modernist practices of objectivity being favored over subjectivity, belief in rational over irrational thought, and the strength of nature over cultural constructions. Generally, this body of scholarship can be divided into three areas, postmodernity , postmodernism , and postmodern social ... log in or subscribe to read full text