Essentially Speaking

Using a feminist, poststructuralist perspective, Diana Fuss addresses the 'nature v. culture' debate, asking whether femininity, race, or homosexuality have 'essential natures'. She examines critically both positions in the debate. In this brief and powerful book, Diana Fuss takes on the debate of pure essence versus social construct, engaging with the work of Luce Irigaray and Monique Wittig, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Houston Baker, and with the politics of gay identity.