ABSTRACT
Feminism is an expansive, multifaceted discursive field of action that takes different forms at different times, in various economic, political and social contexts, and among women of diverse class and racial groups. There is a multiplicity of places and spaces in which individuals who identify as feminists act, and wherein feminist discourses circulate, from raising consciousness in the community to engaging state apparatus and international aid and development establishments, from producing ‘women’s culture’ (art, literature) for internal consumption to providing services to the community (health, lodging, welfare), from giving priority to research on the self and individual differences to those that emphasize ‘sisterhood’ (Morgan 1984; Jayawardena 1986; Katzenstein 1987; Mohanty 1991;Margolis 1993;Basu 1995;Melucci 1995;Walker 1995;Heywood and Drake 1997; Alvarez 1999). It is possible to appreciate these different representations of feminisms when we look at women’s movements, for they vary in intent and form in complex, multiple ways.
