Sacrificial Logics: Feminist Theory and the Critique of Identity (Thinking Gender) [Paperback]

Allison Weir (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 14, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0415908639 | ISBN-13: 978-0415908634

Allison Weir sets forth a concept of identity which depends on an acceptance of nonidentity, difference, and connection to others, defined as a capacity to participate in a social world. Weir argues that the equation of identity with repression and domination links "relational feminists" like Nancy Chodorow, who equate self-identity with the repression of connection to others, and poststructuralist feminists like Judith Butler, who view any identity as a repression of nonidentity or difference. Weir traces this conception of identity as domination back to Simone de Beauvoir's theories of the relation of self and other.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Weir's thesis is elegant and compelling. . .what is fascinating is that we can easily extend Weir's insights to many other theorists who are equally afflicted with the desire to cling on to a sacrificial logic..
– Mechthild Nagel, Mankato State University

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (December 14, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415908639
• ISBN-13: 978-0415908634
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,291,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Reader for Feminists, July 6, 1999

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This review is from: Sacrificial Logics: Feminist Theory and the Critique of Identity (Thinking Gender) (Paperback)

Allison Weir's book outlines the close ties between Psychoanalysis, Feminism and Philosophy, and enlarges on the theories of De Beauvoir, Derrida, Chodorow, Lacan, Irigaray and bell hooks. What has long puzzled critics is the question of how identity is defined. White middle-class feminism has failed to be inclusive of different perspectives, black, gay, proletarian, thereby halting the search for identity. In her book, not only does Weir examine all the diverse critic's viewpoints, but also provides her own analysis which points to new directions in the path of progress for feminism, that is always "subject to change." it mean to be identified as a woman, to identify with women, and to identify a category of women?" Woman's self-definition, as we see, is tied up with all these questions of identity and by examining the viewpoints of various theorists and philosophers, and pointing out the strengths and weaknessses of their arguments, she moves toward her own conclusions. The book begins with an introduction to Simon De Beauvoir's The Second Sex. De Beauvoir has argued that women do not engage with men in the struggle for sovereign subjectivity and thus is assigned the position of Other. However, Weir critiques this definition of human subjectivity by showing that it needs revision and that there is no movement in Beauvoir's study "from the original position, wherein the subject is the essential and the object the 'inessential' (20)." In the next chapter, entitled, "Separation and Domination" Weir comments on Chodorow's seminal work, The Reproduction of Mothering that points out that the child develops a sense of separate self only through a repudiation of the primary caretaker, the mother. The boy child does it by realizing his difference with the mother and the girl does it by adopting the mother's role, when she herself becomes a mother. Chodorow argues that male dominance is produced by associating the mother with the state of dependence, which must be rejected. However, as Weir points out, Chodorow cannot explain why that primary connection comes to be perceived as dependence, and why it poses such a threat to separation. She claims that the argument seems to be circular. Weir then moves on to Irigaray and points out how her poststructuralist theory is strongly opposed to the ego psychology of Chodorow. Irigaray also, like Chodorow, locates the origins of the separate male self in a denial of connection with the mother. The unified self, she argues, is a defense against relationship to the mother and others like her. However, in her Speculum of the Other Woman, the focus is on the female body, unlike in Chodorow's book. Man represses his origin in the female body in his search for the ideal truth. Weir is especially lucid in explaining Irigaray's problematic theory. Irigaray uses Hegel's theory of Antigone to show that "Woman is forced to be mediation, to unify human and divine law, individual and community, the male self with himself and the universal (97)." However, as Weir comments, Irigaray cannot come up with any principle to eliminate domination other than doing away with distinction, and this is where the weakness in her argument lies, as in Chodorow's. In the last part of the book, Weir examines the theory of Julia Kristeva, who wants to differentiate between the experience of separation and the violence of domination. "For Kristeva, this can only be achieved through analysis--through a development of our understanding of the sacrificial logic, and with the need to replace it with the logic of inclusion (150)." Kristeva, examining the cult of the Virgin Mary, points out that we have the image of a fantasied mother that must be reformulated, in the sense that we must recognize our mothers as separate selves, and thus understand our own difference. However, as Weir comments, Kristeva seems to reaffirm the dichotomy between the father and mother by warning us not to identify with the phallic mother. In the concluding chapter, Weir urges contemporary feminist theorists to face the task of reformulating and reconstructing concepts of the self which could include difference, connection and heterogeneity. And that best expresses the purpose of the book. It is only in recognizing and including multiplicity that feminism can become successful as a movement. To sum up, the book is well-documented, coherent and methodical in its approach. It could serve as a useful guide for those who want to learn about contemporary feminist theory. --Bansari Mitr