Democracy Begins between Two

In "Democracy Begins Between Two," Luce Irigaray calls for a radical reconsideration of the relation between sex and democracy. In order to look on ourselves as fully democratic, she argues, we must first grant full recognition to both genders, male and female, that contribute to the functioning of society. This recognition must take the form of specific civil rights guaranteeing women a separate civil identity of their own equivalent to--though not simply the same as--that enjoyed by men.