This Sex Which Is Not One Today

Irigaray builds upon and critiques Jacques Derrida's concept of phallogocentrism (the prioritization of the masculine phallus and the spoken word/logic). She argues that the entire history of Western thought is built on a masculine subject. Women are viewed as the "not-male."

The book is a collection of essays that deconstructs the male-dominated history of Western philosophy and psychoanalysis. Irigaray argues that Western culture is "monosexual," meaning it recognizes only one sex—the male—and defines woman not as her own distinct entity, but merely as a "negative" or a lack of the male. This Sex Which Is Not One

Female sexuality is viewed as an incomplete version of male sexuality. Irigaray builds upon and critiques Jacques Derrida's concept

(originally published in French as Ce sexe qui n'en est pas un in 1977) is a foundational text in French feminist theory and continental philosophy written by psychoanalyst and philosopher Luce Irigaray. It provided a revolutionary vocabulary for women to

It provided a revolutionary vocabulary for women to conceptualize their own bodies and desires outside of the male gaze.

Irigaray uses the imagery of the of the vulva. They are always in contact with each other, constantly touching without a subject/object division.

Women serve as "commodities" (mothers, virgins, or prostitutes).