Reflections on imagination and embodiment in the work of Moira Gatens, 1983-2008

In 1983 Moira Gatens published ‘A Critique of the Sex/Gender Distinction’ (hereafter, ‘Critique’). Subsequently reprinted in a variety of feminist anthologies and in her own Imaginary Bodies, this article questioned the uncritical adoption of ‘gender’ as the preferred conceptual category of feminist analysis. Whilst scholars were eagerly abandoning discussions of sexual difference, Gatens sought to interrogate this move. At the time, ‘gender’ (following Robert Stoller) was seen to have “psychological and cultural rather than biological connotations,” and was thought to have deep explanatory power by extension, providing the best avenue for understanding women’s oppression.