ABSTRACT
D. Elan, Feminism and Deconstruction, London, Routledge, 1994. lucy sargisson argues for a similarity between deconstruction and utopianism in that they both go further than reversing binary oppositions, but rather 'subverts and undermines the system which constructs those hierarchical relations'. The feminine economy could be described as a theoretical construct or poetic Utopia that can inform practice, masculine economies make exchanges to accumulate profit, feminine economies operate differently, deferring profit in order to continue the exchange of giving, giving is not a means of exchange transacted in order to demand something in return, giving is an affirmation of generosity. Feminism makes it very clear that the relation of theory and practice depends on history and geography there are no universal rules, historically, it is only by acknowledging the work of earlier feminists that we can operate from 'behind', rather than having to work in direct reaction to dominant male models.
