Monique's Tarot

Monique Wittig (1935–2003) was a French author, philosopher, and feminist theorist whose work critically examined societal structures, particularly the concept of sex and heterosexuality as a political system. Born in France, she moved to Paris to study and later became a founding member of the Women's Liberation Movement (MLF). Her early novels, including the award-winning "L'Opoponax" (1964) and the influential "Les Guérillères" (1969), gained international recognition and became significant texts in feminist and lesbian thought.

Wittig's theoretical contributions, particularly her concept of the "heterosexual contract" and her analysis of "woman" as a social construct created by oppression, aimed to dismantle the sex-class system. She argued for the abolition of gender categories, viewing them as products of a political regime. Her work often employed innovative literary techniques, such as split pronouns, to challenge binary logic. She co-authored "Lesbian Peoples: Material for a Dictionary" with her partner Sande Zeig and taught at various U.S. universities, continuing her exploration of gender theory until her death.

Monique Wittig's philosophical work centered on the deconstruction of the sex-class system, which she argued is fundamentally established through heterosexuality. She coined the term "heterosexual contract" to describe the underlying political and social structure that defines and oppresses women. Wittig posited that the categories of "man" and "woman" are not natural but are instead political and economic constructs that exist solely within a heterosexual framework. Her materialist feminist perspective emphasized that women, as a class, exist in relation to men as a class, and the abolition of the heterosexual system would lead to the disappearance of these categories, liberating individuals from imposed social norms and behaviors. This radical rethinking challenged contemporary feminist discourse by advocating for the elimination of these foundational categories rather than their rearrangement.

Wittig's literary output was deeply intertwined with her theoretical explorations. Her novels, such as "Les Guérillères" and "Le Corps lesbien," utilized innovative linguistic and narrative strategies to challenge conventional gender and sexual binaries. For instance, "Le Corps lesbien" employed split pronouns like 'j/e' to disrupt grammatical norms and create new possibilities for subjectivity. Wittig's writing style was characterized by a materialist and critical theoretical approach, as seen in essays like "One Is Not Born a Woman." She resisted categorization as a "women's writer," asserting that in the realm of literature, sex should not be a determining factor, and advocating for a "neutral" space that transcends sexuality. Her work positioned her within a lineage of avant-garde literature and feminist thought, engaging with concepts of women's experience while critically examining biological essentialism.

Wittig identified herself as a "radical lesbian" and was a prominent figure in lesbian and feminist movements. She co-founded the Gouines rouges ("Red Dykes"), Paris's first lesbian group, and was involved with the Féministes Révolutionnaires. Her theoretical stance on radical lesbianism proposed that heterosexuality functions as a political regime that must be overthrown. This perspective distinguished her from some forms of American lesbian separatism, which focused on building distinct communities within an essentialist framework. Wittig's critique extended to feminism itself, which she believed often failed to adequately challenge the foundational role of heterosexuality. Due to resistance and conflict within the MLF, Wittig and her partner Sande Zeig relocated to the United States, where Wittig continued to develop her theories on gender and lesbianism.

“There is no such thing as women literature for me, that does not exist. In literature, I do not separate women and men. One is a writer, or one is not. This is a mental space where sex is not determining. One has to have some space for freedom. Language allows this. This is about building an idea of the neutral which could escape sexuality.”

“For there is no sex. There is but sex that is oppressed and sex that oppresses. It is oppression that creates sex and not the contrary. The contrary would be to say that sex creates oppression, or to say that the cause (origin) of oppression is to be found in sex itself, in a natural division of the sexes preexisting (or outside of) society.”

“The category of sex is the political category that founds society as heterosexual. The category of "man" and "woman" exists only in a heterosexual system, and to destroy the heterosexual system will end the categories of men and women.”

“...and it would be incorrect to say that lesbians associate, make love, live with women, for 'woman' has meaning only in heterosexual systems of thought and heterosexual economic systems. Lesbians are not women (1978).”