This affordable, compact edition, designed specially for use in university courses, consists of two of the most celebrated essays from Toril Moi's highly-acclaimed What Is a Woman? What is a woman? Does it make sense to think of a woman as the combination of sex and gender? Is "I am a woman" the same kind of declaration as "I am a man"? What does it mean to speak "as a woman"? In these essays Moi rethinks the contribution of Simone de Beauvoir to feminist theory, and shows that The Second Sex , properly read, offers inspiring solutions to urgent contemporary problems. By suggesting that we think of the body as a situation, the first essay offers a serious challenge to dominant poststructuralist theories of sex and gender. The second essay investigates the place of the personal in theory. What is the status of references to personal experiences, or to one's person (one's race, sex, sexuality, ethnicity, nationality) in theoretical debates? Both essays provide, in vivid and compelling detail, a third way for feminism, beyond the current stalemate between essentialism and constructionism. This is a major and truly original contribution to feminist theory. "In these two essays Moi goes beyond her previous writings and shows the reader in great detail how Beauvoir can help us get past the stagnation that has come to characterize feminist theory. They provide, in vivid and compelling detail, a 'third way' for feminism."--Nancy Bauer, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Tufts University "Each of the two chapters offers a very well-constructed argument that clarifies an important issue in contemporary feminism. Toril Moi has a very high public profile, and the quality of these essays shows her reputation is based on substance."--Emily R. Grosholz, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Pennsylvania State University "These two essays have the stature of classics, as theoretical contributions to feminist theory and women's studies more generally. The brilliance of these essays, and why they remain so inspirational, is that they offer not only a critique of the philosophical situation of women, but also offer a philosophical path forward out of that situation."--Carla A. Hesse, Professor of History, University of California, Berkeley "These essays have been very important in shaping my own thinking on a wide variety of subjects. Most importantly, they establish Simone de Beauvoir as a voice who engages the central questions of gender, culture, and society with which we wrestle today."--Linda K. Kerber, May Brodbeck Professor in the Liberal Arts and Professor of History, University of Iowa "These essays remain very timely and original interventions in two major problem areas of feminist theory, first the 'sex/gender' debate and second the place of the 'personal' in philosophical and theoretical thinking. Moi's work is important in its own right and her voice and theoretical positions entirely original; at the same time, because her writing is so rigorous and lucidly analytical, these interventions are immensely useful for students trying to find their way through feminist theory."--Diana Knight, Professor of French, University of Nottingham "Moi's two essays constitute major, original interventions into key debates in feminist theory. They are also accessibly and clearly written."--Sonia Kruks, Robert S. Danforth Professor of Politics, Oberlin College "Toril Moi's work is of central importance to the history of feminist theory and feminist literary criticism, and her thoughtful engagement with Simone de Beauvoir has been cited by scholars as the most important work on that founding feminist author to date."--Robyn Wiegman, Margaret Taylor Smith Director of Women's Studies, Duke University Praise for What Is a Woman? : "[Moi is] one of the most astute and lucid critics writing today. [She] points a way forward, both for literary critics and other feminists.... [This book] could serve as a lucid introduction to recent theoretical debates, and also as a farewell to them.... [Moi proceeds] through careful close readings, sensitive to both historical context and textual nuance.... She offers the views of even those she disagrees with refreshing clarity."-- Women's Review of Books "[Rewards readers] with a cutting-edge view of contemporary feminist critique."-- Kirkus Reviews "Moi's long-awaited re-entry into the lists of mainstream feminist debate will not be perceived as a reopening of hostilities. Moi shows herself extraordinarily attentive to the work of American feminists.... A bold rehabilitation of the theoretical importance of Beauvoir's feminism.... [Issues] an explicit challenge to American feminist orthodoxy. But it is a challenge issued only at the end of a sustained and immensely careful labor of thought."-- Modern Language Notes Takes two key chapters to create an affordable, compact classroom edition of Toril Moi's highly-acclaimed What is a Women Toril Moi is James B. Duke Professor of Literature