The Neutrality of Dasein and the Shame in the Female Experience: : A Feminist Philosophical Analysis

Abstract

In this paper I examine the convergence of gender neutrality and the gender binary through the philosophical framework of Martin Heidegger and the critical responses of prominent thinkers such as Jacques Derrida and Simone de Beauvoir. The focal point of this inquiry is the gender-neutral concept of Dasein, which has permeated and, in some ways, helped shape contemporary queer theory, particularly through the work of scholars like Judith Butler. While there is no singular or definitive approach to this issue, in this paper I explore the various factors that shape the existence of an individual within the world, especially in the context of Mitwelt (being-with-others). By situating Heidegger’s ontological arguments alongside social and biological dimensions of existence, I argue that the societal norms in conjunction with embodied experiences elucidate the ontology of Dasein as a being thrown into a preexisting world.