Abstract

In contributions to the Concise Dictionary of Sexual Science, an Encyclopedia of Human Sexual and Cultural Science in 1923 and 1926, and to the Journal of Sexual Science in 1923, Voigtländer exposes a critical attitude towards the biologically determined gender theories at that time. With her strong approach towards the culturalization of gender she reached a level of reflection similar to that of Edith Stein, and even seems to anticipate the sex-gender-discourse of the 1970s. This essay analyses Voigtländer’s approach to the issue of sexual difference and the development of her gender-theory, in particular referring to her most important publications between 1923 and 1926, her productive research phase. Moreover, Voigtländer’s contributions are compared to the phenomenological perspectives on gender in writings of Stein. It becomes apparent that interdisciplinary research and criticism of essentialist constructions, as promoted and emphasized by both Voigtländer and Stein, remain among the significant methods for accessing the gender category these days.