Feminist Literary Criticism As a pragmatic critical endeavor, most forms of feminist literary criticism share the fundamental assumption that the historical subjugation of women has definite and deleterious effects on both women than on men. The critical project of feminist criticism is therefore concerned with “uncovering the contingencies of gender” as a cultural, social, and political construct and tool of domination (Jehlen 265). Whether by focusing on the evolution of literature written by women or by reevaluating or reinterpreting earlier works by men, feminist criticism challenges "the eternal opposition between biological and aesthetic creativity" promoted by past and present notions of gender (Showalter 1105). The first step in attempting to change such deeply ingrained cultural assumptions is to recognize and identify their existence and impact. "One must read by genre; unless it figures explicitly in a story or poem, he will rarely read for himself" (Jehlen 273). Feminist literary criticism, however, is not exclusive. Gender is one of several long-neglected salient critical terms, “an additional lens, or a way of lifting the curtain on an invisible recess of self and society” (Jehlen 265). By allowing feminist critics to see “both more deeply and more widely” into a text, genre investigations aspire to produce more meaningful interpretations and a generation of more discerning interpreters (Jehlen 272). Works Cited Jehlen, Myra. Critical “genre” terms for literary study. Ed. Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.