A matter of sex: A woman's experience of gender and knowin

Reflecting critically on my experience of being a woman knower has led me to assert with feminist scholars that gender and knowing are profoundly linked. Feminist theory has identified that the lack of women's voices, the absence of women's stories and the devaluing of their experience is a critical concern in the generation, articulation and ownership of knowledge. In the hope of continuing to change such reality, this thesis claimed and reflected decisively the voice of one woman's experience--in conversation with feminist theories, the stories of other women and the on-going reflection of the reader.;Part One dealt with deconstruction in order to identify and understand the implications of gender biases against women in this time and in this particular cultural experience. Fundamental to this understanding was the development of a feminist consciousness. This new way of seeing was then directed toward two important sites of knowing: the celebration of liturgy in the Roman Catholic tradition and graduate school education.;Part Two dealt with issues of re-construction to show where the church and academy are in process of becoming more inclusive sites of knowing for women. Signs and seed of hope in terms of concrete experience were explored.;The Conclusion linked the church and the academy in terms of their view of women. A strong call was given for more conscious attentiveness to the inclusion of women and their experience in both realms.