ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the place of feminism and postmodernism in social theory and, in particular, the influence of the latter on the former. It begins by looking at the changing nature of feminist social theory. Second-wave feminist theory was initially concerned with the structured nature of relationships between men and women. This is followed by a discussion of postmodern ideas, indicating that they might usefully be viewed in terms of few formulations. The first and earliest formulation of postmodernism is to be found in the fields of architecture and art, where it refers to the ways in which elements of past styles are borrowed and reassembled to create new designs and forms. The chapter then considers the implications of postmodernism for social theory, feminists' responses to this and their attempts to grapple with aspects of postmodernism within feminist theory itself. It ends by questioning the extent to which postmodernism should be regarded as synonymous with social theory.
