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The Sex of Nature: A Reinterpretation of Irigaray's Metaphysics and Political Thought

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2020

Alison Stone
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Abstract

I argue that Irigaray's recent work develops a theoretically cogent and politically radical form of realist essentialism. I suggest that she identifies sexual difference with a fundamental difference between the rhythms of percipient fluids constituting women's and men's bodies, supporting this with a philosophy of nature that she justifies phenomenologically and ethically. I explore the politics higaray derives from this philosophy, which affirms the sexes’ rights to realize the possibilities of their rhythmically diverse bodies.

Type
Research Article
Information
Hypatia , Volume 18 , Issue 3: Special Issue: Women, Art, and Aesthetics , Fall 2003 , pp. 60 - 84
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 by Hypatia, Inc.

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