Abstract
In Thinking Woman, Dragseth provides a well-structured and succinct introduction to feminist theory and gender studies. The text itself is composed of four core chapters, each focusing on a theory of gender in contemporary Western feminist discourse: Gender Essentialism, Gender Neutrality, Gender Existentialism, and Gender Fluidity. Each chapter begins with a description of the theory, then introduces a select number of thinkers illustrating the approach. For each thinker, a biography is provided before exploring their most important works and theoretical contributions. Each chapter concludes with a summary of the merits and limitations of the theory.
A great strength of this book is Dragseth’s refusal to restrict each theory of gender to a limited time frame. By selecting early thinkers such as Hildegard of Bingen (b. 1098) and Christine de Pizan (b. 1364), to contemporary thinkers such as bell hooks and Judith Butler, and by tracing queer theory back to its post-Enlightenment roots, Dragseth illustrates how feminist thought hasn’t only existed in the first, second, and third waves that have become prevalent in popular narratives of the development of feminist thought.
Although ‘Thinking Woman’ focuses almost entirely on European and North American feminist thinkers, Dragseth shows awareness of this limitation. Even so, further consideration of contemporary feminist thinkers could have added real value, particularly to the later chapters of the text. I find Dragseth’s failure to include any prominent Postcolonial feminists particularly striking; and although she covers the work of Angela Davis and bell hooks, contemporary Intersectional theory remains largely undiscussed. I see this as a missed opportunity to bring these developing theories into dialogue with thinkers introduced earlier in the text. Additionally, the division of the book into four distinct chapters requires that thinkers included in each section are generalised under the same broad category; perhaps more space could be devoted to highlighting tensions between theorists in each approach, thus adding further nuance. Further, the writer’s consistently balanced account of each theory leaves the reader urging Dragseth to go beyond providing summaries of each, to develop a more detailed and critical analysis.
To summarise, Dragseth is skilled in conveying these theories in clear and accessible terms. This is a concise and fairly wide-ranging text, which provides a useful introduction to gender studies and feminist theory.