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An Invitation to Dialogue: Clarifying the Position of Feminist Gender Theory in Relation toSexual Difference TheoryAuthor(s): Johanna FosterSource:

Gender and Society,

Vol. 13, No. 4 (Aug., 1999), pp. 431-456Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.Stable URL:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/190308

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ANINVITATIONTO DIALOGUEClarifyingthePositionofFeministGenderTheoryinRelationto SexualDifferenceTheory

JOHANNAFOSTERRutgers,TheStateUniversityofNewJersey

Thecentralargumentofthis article istwofold.First,contemporaryfeministender theory,particularlyas ithasbeen usedbyfeministsociologistsinrecentyears,has beenmisinterpretedysexualdifferencetheorynwaysthatmaypreventscholarsromfully appreciatingcurrentfeministworknthe social sci-ences.Second,gender theoryand sexualdifferenceheoryrelyondifferentonceptualizations ffunda-mentalconceptsinfeminist theory,includingnotionsof "gender,""sexuality,"nd"symbolic."Ananalysis ofthreekeytexts thatcritiquetheturnto"gender"navorofanallegoricalnotionof"sexualdifference"suggeststhateministgendertheoryisa moreusefulperspectiveorfeminist theoryandresearch.The articleconcludesthatgender theoryallowsfeministscholarstoask a widerrange ofempiricalquestionsthat are morereadilyofuseforpoliticalaction than does asexualdifferenceparadigm.

tensionbetween feminists who advocate"gender"s ausefulanalyticcategoryand feminists whoadvocate heusefulnessofthe notion of "sexualdifference"hassurfacednrecentyearsinscholarlydebatesnthe socialsciences and the humani-ties. Isuggestthat thispersistentension inwomen's studies andfeministtheorysnotjustaninconsequentialonflationoftermsbutthe resultof a lack ofattentiononthepartof sexual differencetheoristsandgendertheoriststowaysin whicheachpositionmakes differentuse of somefundamentalonceptsinfeministtheory.Thepurposeofthisarticle,however,s not toaddto thisconfusionbuttomove towardadialoguebetween feministgendertheorists and sexualdifferencetheorists.Byclarifyingthepositionofrecent feministgendertheorynthesocialsciences,andmakingmoreexplicitsomeunderlying assumptionsof asexualdifference

AUTHOR'S NOTE:IwouldliketothankGender&Societyeditor BethE.Schneider,reviewerSarahFenstermaker,nd ananonymous eviewerforhemanyhelpfuluggestionsforrevision receivedonanearlierdraftofthis article.Ihave alsobenefitedgreatly romthecommentsandsuggestions ofJudyGerson,LeslieMcCall,TomRudel,MaryGatta,SylviaFuller,andTaraJethwani. IamparticularlygratefultoCourtneyBangertJackson,PatriciaMcDaniel,andKeumjaeParkforgraciously takingimeawayfromtheirownwork toread andcommenton mine.REPRINTREQUESTS:JohannaFoster,7627WestwindLane,Houston,TX77071;e-mail:JohanFost@aol.com.GENDER&SOCIETY,ol.13 No.4,August999431-456? 1999SociologistsorWomennSociety431

432GENDER & SOCIETY/August1999

perspectiveforfeministsociologists,Ihopetocontribute o more informed andproductivedebatesnfeministtheory.Thecentralargumentstwofold.First,someoftheobstacles o moremeaningfuldiscussion take the formofmisguidedcritiquesof current eministgendertheorybysexual differencetheorists.Thesecritiquesaremisguidednpartbecausesuchclaims do not considerrecent work in thesocial sciences. Irespondo threemajorcritiquesofgendertheorists;namely,thatgender theoryreifiesasex/genderdis-tinction,thatgender heoryseeks to erasethecategory"woman"nd therefore en-dersgenderpoliticallymeaningless,andthatgender heorysoverlyfocused on thematerialand thus failsto be as useful as sexual differenceheorynunderstandingwomen'sexperiences.Addressinghesemisunderstandingsfrecentfeministgen-dertheorys animportantaskgiventhatsuchmisconceptionsmay preventemi-nist scholars fromfullyappreciatinghe contributionsof current heoretical andempiricalworkconductedbysocial scientistsand, thus,missimportant pportuni-ties forinterdisciplinarywork.Second,itis notjustsome sexual differencetheo-rists'misconceptionsofgender scholarshiphatshould be of interest to sociolo-gists.Evenwhen themisconceptionsofgender heoryareclarified,hose who findfeministsocial science useful should also beinterestednthewaysthat a"sexualdifference"perspectiveand a"gender"perspectiverelyondifferent undamentaldefinitionsof thesymbolicandsubjectivity,as well asgender,sex,sexuality,andthe role oftheimaginarynliberation.suggestthat some of thesemajorassump-tionsofsexual difference heoristsnotonlydivergeromtheassumptionsofgendertheorybutareproblematicnandof themselves.Despiteclaims tobe antiessential-ist,sexualdifference heoristsmplythatmen do nothavegendersbut nsteadcarrythePhallus(whichisthoughttobedifferentfromgender),thatbiologicalsex isfixedandbinary,and thatsexualityshouldbeprivilegedoverothertypesof differ-ences ascentral towomen'ssubjectivity.Sexualdifferencetheoryimpliesthatsexualityshouldbe theprimaryocus indismantlingpatriarchyandnot,say,thecompoundingeffects ofsexuality,gender,race,and/ornation)and that liberationdependsonmobilizingwomen on the basis ofashared-sexeddentityratherhanpolitics.For feministsociologiststobetterarticulatehecontributions,both theo-retical andempirical,thatsociologycan make to feministstudies,weoughttobeclear abouttheseimplicitandsometimesexplicitpositionsof sexualdifferencetheoristsvis-a-visgender theory.I concludeby summarizingsomepreliminarysuggestionsfor how anapproacho thestudyofwomenandgenderhatuses"gen-dertheory"atherhan"sexualdifference"pensmoredoorsforempiricalresearchandpoliticalaction.My analysisexaggeratesorheuristicpurposeshe distinctivenessofgenderhe-oryandsexual differencetheoryastheyarepresentedprimarilyn threeprovoca-tivefeministtexts;namely,philosopherRosiBraidotti'sNomadicSubjects:Embodimentand SexualDifferencein FeministTheory(1994),philosopherandlegalscholar DrucillaCornell'sTransformations:RecollectiveImaginationandSexualDifference(1994),andliterarycritic TaniaModleski'sFeminismwithoutWomen:Cultureand Criticism n a"PostfeministAge"(1991).Althoughquite

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An Invitation to Dialogue - Clarifying the Position of Feminist Gender Theory in Relation to Sexual Difference Theory

Johanna Foster argues that "gender" perspectives and theorists are politically more useful than sexual difference theory.

"..sexual difference theory as they are... (More)

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