The body as crowbar : transcending or stretching sex?

A. van Lenning

Can paradoxical or ambiguous sexual identities and practices change, or even go beyond, the meanings of masculinity and femininity? In other words: can the body be a source of social change? To answer this question I turn to the work of two theorists: Luce Irigaray and Judith Butler. After an account of their ideas, various sexual practices and identities will be described. The question is whether these practices and identities affect the meanings of masculinity and femininity. It will be concluded that, even in our postmodern world with its technological opportunities the division into the two sexes is extraordinarily persistent. However, we can expect some change from the extension of the categories of masculinity and femininity, rather than from attempts to break free from them altogether.