1 The voices in this text can be distinguished along gender lines: there is only one male voice, representing written and verbal statements by a contemporary American philosopher. To avoid basic misunderstandings concerning the issues, the male voice is printed in Roman type and the female voices in italics throughout. The quotes are taken nearly verbatim from a seminar I attended. Occasionally 1 have taken the liberty of bringing into one sequence several utterances made at different times during the seminar. In the cases where the quotes are not verbatim, they render the meaning of the utterances used, but in an abbreviated and hence modulated form. The female voices are in some cases direct quotes from seminar members and include my own voice which I have inserted at times to pinpoint issues that were not addressed in as direct a manner in the interactions which formed the basis of this text. In other cases they are quotes from feminist scholars made verbally during lectures, discussions, or in their written texts.