Female Public Intellectuals

Female public intellectuals refers to female intellectuals active within the public sphere. Though the term 'public intellectual' has traditionally remained non gender specific it continues historically to be a role predominantly occupied by men, and consequently the intellectual history of women has tended to remain undervalued and discredited. There are a number of explanations for the lack of female public intellectuals as compared to their male counterparts. These explanations address issues such as institutionalized discrimination within the academy, the problems which arise from female intellectuals who strongly advocate feminist ideology and theory and the impact of the media and academy in the conceptualization of 'woman as her body'.