On how women never were individuals, and are now supposed to stop being such

Abstract

The notion of the individual, conceived during the Enlightenment, overlooked women. This paper briefly analyzes the evolution of said notion and what the author considers to be two spurious developments: neoliberal individualism and postmodern individualism; both accomplish a fragmentation of women’s body. Currently the notion of the individual is strongly criticized by communitarianisms. But communitarianism also represents a danger for women, as it dilutes them into identities or collective struggles. From this point of view, multiculturalism, intersectionality, postcolonial feminism, Black feminism, Islamic feminism, the philosophies of the common, populism, etc. are analyzed, to conclude that feminism demands a strong subject, the «we, women» and their vindication as free and autonomous individuals.