Dear Amy,

I am studying visual art at a university in Australia, and in a few of my lectures we have briefly discussed feminism, the major theme being nature vs nurture. A lot of the work we study suggests that women aren't determined by their sex, but rather that "feminine" is a gendered and culturally determined position that should be challenged. I was wondering if you could suggest a few interesting feminist theorists or artists that deal with this topic in particular. Thank you for your help.

-Ang

Dear Ang,

I certainly fall on the nurture side of the nature vs. nuture debate, so I agree with everything you have been exploring in your class. Most recently, the most interesting stuff I have read on this topic comes from Natalie Angier and her book Woman: An Intimate Geography. Angier is a science writer for The New York Times and many of her articles come from this perspective as well. I hope you can get your hands on this book as I think it does a good job of breaking this all down. I hope that helps. Enjoy!

Amy