The Role of Difference in the Production of Identity. Feminist Theories and Gender Difference

Abstract

This paper discusses the allotropies of difference in the complex process of identity production, focusing on the specific case of gender identity. The paper considers recent feminist theories as well as postmodern criticism in order to identify the various implications of difference in the construction of the self. A decisive evolution of the concept of difference from unproductively intrinsic to binary oppositions to its more productive acceptance as diversity is identified as crucial to the understanding of gender identity by contemporary theoretical discourse.