Arguing that traditional feminism is wrong to look to a natural notion of the female, or indeed of sex or gender, this book questions the category 'woman' and continues in this vein with examinations of 'the masculine' and 'the feminine'. It considers gender as a reiterated social "performance" rather than the expression of a prior reality.

This volume brings together 11 essays which consider three main issues in the study of women and gender in early modern Germany: religion, law and work.