many of the debates surrounding postmodern feminism are predicated on an essentialist/anti-essentialist divide, characterized by donna haraway as 'goddesses and cyborgs'. to suggest, as pomofem does, that there is no 'natural woman' is to shake the bedrock of most feminist discourse. further, many feminist theories (ecofeminism, radical feminism) are explicitly critical of technology as a tool that oppresses women. unfortunately, their ! justified concerns sometimes become manifest as a technophobic rejection of science altogether, preventing necessary discussion and analysis of this cultural dominant. in response to this phenomenon, haraway insists that "taking responsibility for the social relations of science and technology means refusing an anti-science metaphysics, a demonology of technology" [halberstam 476]. this also serves as a partial response to several feminist critics' claims that the postmodern erases history [stabile], that it does not take account of the material conditions of contemporary society. still, critical questions remain as to the usefulness of postmodernism at a moment where marginalized voices are emerging. why now is the notion of subjectivity dissolving?
halberstam responds: "s! ubjecthood becomes problematic, fragmented and stratified because marginalized Others are beginning to speak" [475]. however, if Meaning has vanished, why would Other meanings be granted credence? many opponents of postmodernism (e.g. critical race feminism) point to its slippery slope quality whereby every meaning, and therefore, all meanings, have the potential to be rendered into nothingness. does this help or hinder the feminist project?
another criticism of postmodernism is that it is simply a wolf in sheep's clothing: how different is this new postmodern self from the self-reflexive [hu]man of the enlightenment? is the pomo splintered self just a reinscription of the western white male? pomofeminists would argue that it is not, and need not be, that thi! s is the opportunity feminists have been seeking all along. in practice, however, many critics draw attention to postmodernism's hegemonizing gestures that attempt to subsume feminism and "minority" discourses under its rubric, taking the glory for their hard-won gains [ahmed].

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