Becoming-Woman and Time: When is the Subject of Feminism?

This paper considers the use of Deleuze and Guattari's concept of "becoming-woman" for feminist theory. Since its first use, the concept has polarized feminist theory. For some, it presents the route out of masculinist logics that third-wave feminism has sought; for others, it denies the female expe...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Hypatia Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 827 - 842
Autor principal: Bowen, Charlie
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Cambridge University Press Fall2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        10.1017/hyp.2023.118
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        atl: Becoming-Woman and Time: When is the Subject of Feminism?
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        au: Bowen, Charlie
        affil: School of Politics and International Relations, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
      su:
        Feminist theory
        Feminists
        Essentialism (Philosophy)
        Logic
        Females
        Feminism
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          Feminist theory
          Feminists
          Essentialism (Philosophy)
          Logic
          Females
          Feminism
      ab: This paper considers the use of Deleuze and Guattari's concept of "becoming-woman" for feminist theory. Since its first use, the concept has polarized feminist theory. For some, it presents the route out of masculinist logics that third-wave feminism has sought; for others, it denies the female experience and returns "woman" to universalizing, implicitly masculine presuppositions. The paper argues that both are partly right, and that the disagreement stems from an underdeveloped consideration of how "being" and "becoming" coexist in time. Following Rosi Braidotti, the paper claims that "woman" must be understood not in essentialist terms, but as the "virtual feminine" who is the contested subject of sexual difference. Seen this way, woman's being is inseparable from her becoming. The paper therefore argues that we must understand the mutually constitutive relation of being and becoming that produces "woman" in this sense. Drawing on Deleuze's discussion of Aion and Chronos, the paper sees the subject of feminism as temporally dislocated, with both a being and a becoming, rooted in a present that she is always moving beyond. But it claims that this is central for reconciling the conflicting understandings of becoming-woman, and so for preserving the concept as a feminist tool.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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