Since the late 1970s “French feminism” in the anglophone academic world has signified the particular kind of thought and writing produced by certain French intellectuals, especially Julia Kristeva, Hélène Cixous and Luce Irigaray. These writers do not in fact work together and their work does not comprise a coherent intellectual movement: Kristeva and Cixous would distance themselves from what they understand “feminism” to mean, especially in Anglo-American discourses, and Irigaray is wary of the term, requiring its definition before considering her allegiance. That said, they have all been associated in different ways with sections of the French feminist movement during their intellectual careers, and the intellectual work of Kristeva and Irigaray in particular continues to…
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Citation: Martin, Alison. "French Feminism". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 December 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1357, accessed 31 October 2024.]
