Feminist Utopias

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Lena Wånggren (University of Edinburgh)
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1. Defining the Feminist Utopia

Feminist utopias have been envisaged in literature for centuries. Indeed, Annie K. Mellor has suggested that since a gender-free society has never existed historically, feminist thinking that posits a world of gender equality is inherently utopian. Usually specified as a sub-genre of speculative fiction or science fiction, feminist utopias in literature provide alternatives to patriarchal rule, or sometimes to the category of gender itself. Broadly, a feminist utopia can be defined as a “narrative about a society that is free from the patriarchal subordination of women” (Peel xv), or, even more broadly, as “feminist fabulation” (Donawerth and Kolmerten 1). Importantly, feminist utopias serve as vehicles for feminist thought: “No other genres so

3941 words

Citation: Wånggren, Lena. "Feminist Utopias". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 November 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19546, accessed 19 March 2024.]

19546 Feminist Utopias 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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