ABSTRACT
It is probably from within medical sociology that one of the strongest critiques of postmodern feminist projects can be mounted. In this chapter I will be arguing that, while the tools of postmodernist discourse have often deepened and enriched debates around issues of gender and the subordination of women under patriarchy, the postmodern feminist project itself is fundamentally flawed. It is logically flawed in negating the concept of grand narratives whilst postulating its own, namely, that only ‘petit’ narratives are now possible. The postmodern standpoint also undermines the concept of patriarchy, although this has not allayed feminist interest and, for some, an all-embracing adoption of its key tenets. Lyotard’s condemnation of metanarratives, for example, is typically presented not only as necessary, but also as desirable:
big stories are bad, little stories are good…. Narratives are bad when they become philosophies of history. Grand narratives have become associated with a political programme or party while little narratives are associated with localized creativity.
