Does writing have a gender?

Abstract

In 1993, cultural critic Nelly Richards published a polemic article called “Does Writing Have a Sex?”. From this text I aim, on the one hand, to discuss the question that gives her article a name by stating that no, writing does not have a sex; it has a gender. On the other hand, I am interested in addressing Richards' non-separatist perspective, which refers to the consideration of female writing as counter-hegemonic, a fact shared with male writings. For Richards, being male is not decisive in the appraisal of writing. Moreover, she points out that feminism is at risk of becoming a ghetto if it does not include writing from counter-hegemonic males. From my vision, while it is true that there are different counter-hegemonic writings, it is not possible to de-gender writing; much less to put female and male writings in the same territory, whether they are heterosexual or homosexual, and even less, to catalogue their productions under “female writing”.