In this work, I explore Emmanuel Levinas’s idea of the feminine. While I focus on the feminine in particular, some of Levinas’s other gendered terms—such as fecundity and paternity—are also addressed. I endeavor to answer the following questions: What does Levinas mean by “the feminine”? Why does Levinas choose to use gendered language? And, finally, are the existing feminist censures of the feminine warranted? To answer these questions, I show how Levinas’s view of the feminine changed over time: the feminine in Totality and Infinity (1961) is a far cry from the feminine as “the other par excellence” in Existence and Existents (1947). I conclude that the feminine is a way of being and not an outright reference to empirical women. While the feminine may indicate gender to an extent, it is not limited to biological sex. The second question remains largely unanswered, primarily because Levinas never answers it himself. However, I offer a few possible explanations for the origin of the feminine.
