Feminism and the politics of becoming
By: Michaele L Ferguson
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This essay critically analyzes Hans Asenbaum treatment of feminist political theory in Chapter 3 of The Politics of Becoming, using his own concept of the ‘dilemma of difference’ to evaluate how feminists become ‘present’ in his work. While Asenbaum commendably centers feminism, he reproduces problematic dynamics in political theory by focusing almost exclusively on an older generation of white, Western, Anglophone feminists. This reinforces the marginalization of newer, more diverse feminist voices in the field, and collapses the rich disagreements within feminist thought into a singular, essentialized perspective. The chapter thereby enacts a scholarly form of what Iris Young calls ‘internal exclusion’: feminists are cited but not truly heard. In response, the essay proposes a ‘Feminist Citation Bechdel Test’ to guide more transformative citation practices. The essay not only critiques Asenbaum but also builds on his work by reflecting on how to make present marginalized perspectives without reproducing the very hierarchies and exclusions they seek to challenge.