ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the key feminist theories that have contributed to explanations about the experiences of being women as well as consideration of the sex/gender debate. It addresses key feminist theories that have informed women's thinking. The chapter seeks to relate the development of feminist theories from the modernist period to the contemporary postmodern period. It focuses on the structural issues concerning women and society and on the contribution of primarily radical and postmodernist feminist practice to midwifery. The chapter explores a number of different theories that attempt to explain the basis of particular socialisation difficulties women face in their lives. Pregnancy and childbirth are unique events in the lives of women. Midwives and health professionals need to have knowledge and understanding of the social and cultural context that influences women and their lives, and in which they give birth.
