French feminism

In Continental philosophy, feminism, and feminist theory, "French feminism" (which is a phrase mostly used in English-speaking countries) refers to the work of a group of feminists in France from the 1970s to the early 1990s. The writers most commonly associated with the "French feminist" label include:

• Julia Kristeva
• Hélène Cixous
• Luce Irigaray
• Monique Wittig
• Catherine Clément

Simone de Beauvoir is a clear forerunner of French feminism, as is Marguerite Duras.

Common themes of this work include at least some degree of anti-essentialism, écriture féminine, and a critique of phallogocentrism informed by contemporary developments in Continental philosophy. Compared to Anglophone feminism, especially of the 1970s, French feminism is distinguished by an approach which is at once more philosophical and more literary. Its texts are effusive, metaphorical, and conceptually rich, rather than pragmatic; they are not as concerned with pragmatism, immediate political doctrine, or a "materialism" which is not of the body.