Women, feminism and biology: The feminist challenge

Lynda Birke’s book was an important step toward the development of a “feminist science”. It provoked controversy and considerable debate for both feminists and non-feminists alike. WOMEN, FEMINISM AND BIOLOGY focuses on human development, since theories of development incorporate ideas of how we acquire a sense of gender; and the way we view our relationship to nature, a topic of increasing concern within feminism. Since earlier feminist literature was dominated by a critique of determinist ideas in biology, this book marks a significant advance in that it presented a new vision of biology in the context of feminist theory. In contrast to determinist and reductionist approaches, Birke argued that a person’s biology is continually and dynamically interacting with the environment, including the social and political constraints existing at any point in time. This process of interaction can itself affect changes in a person’s biology. She presented a holistic view of nature and put forward challenging ideas for a more progressive, liberatory biology.