ABSTRACT

In this chapter I pick up on the notion of self-creation, focusing particularly on the concepts of autonomy and independence. I use the experience of women to investigate the concept of autonomy by looking at how it enters both into gender stereotypes and into mainstream philosophy. Focusing on personal autonomy in the first half of the chapter, and on public autonomy in the second, I consider how autonomy and independence appear in the subjective experience of women and in the way they live their lives, going on to draw implications for politics.