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
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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 23 November 2024.]
