FEMINISM, SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND POSTMODERNISM - POLITICS, THEORY AND ME

Is postmodernism debilitating for feminists approaching science? is th e actor-network approach, which rejects dualisms and universalism, pol itically impotent Or is such a critique epistemologically conservative ? I explore these questions by drawing on empirical research examining the UK Cervical Screening Programme (CSP). Specifically, I attempt to answer the question of whether or not women should participate in the CSP and undertake a cervical smear test Because the CSP is constantly changing as participants' identities multiply in negotiation, I propo se that there is no stable paint from which a single decision about la y participation can be made, however politically useful it may be to d o so, I demonstrate my discomfort with talking about whether women sho uld or should not participate. Given the dynamic nature of the Program me, a 'should' discourse is inappropriate, and can also be guilt-induc ing and oppressive to women. My preference is for a discourse which em phasizes that women could participate.