Thinking and Acting from the Paradox: Equality, Difference and Identity in Feminist Political Theory

This essay intends to submit the equality-difference dilemma —understood as one of the central cleavages of feminist theory— to critical examination. In order to do so this article adopts the concept of paradox as a potentially destabilizing effect and claims it as a space and opportunity for thought and action. The article explores the dangers of essentialist positions and addresses some of the reflections made by feminist theory on identity and on the problematic constitution of the collective subject named “women”.