The Gender of Critical Theory

Abstract

uirgen Habermas conceives of his theory of modernity as a critical and comprehensive analysis of contemporary social and political life. Given the intended range and scope of the project, one might reasonably have expected some attention to sex and gender issues. Yet, as Nancy Fraser notes, except for a few words on-feminism as a new social movement, his two-volume work The Theory of Communicative Action has virtually nothing to say about gender.' Despite this insensitivity to questions of particular concern to women, Habermas's work has nevertheless begun to generate interest among some feminists. Indeed, Seyla Benhabib and Drucilla Cornell have claimed that feminist theorists have