Identity

Abstract

This chapter offers an account of central issues and themes in feminist philosophical reflections on identity, including examples of important contributions to this discussion, as well as current and future directions. The central questions are, what is the ground of our social identity categories, what function do they serve, and for whom? Are identity concepts inherently oppressive, or can they be transformed in liberatory ways? Feminist analyses of gender and sexuality overlap with general philosophical questions about the nominal nature of social kinds and the question of how pluralities can be represented as a unity. Because of the intersectional nature of identity, the analysis of gender and sexuality is also inevitably connected to the broader discussions in social theory about the historical formation and political importance of identity.