As a feminist herself, the author challenges her movement to set as its main goal the transformation of society and the achievement of social justice for all women, whatever their race, culture, or condition. In focusing on the current debate on race and essentialism, the author argues that legal feminists must reconceptualize gender to acknowledge the plurality of the experiences of women, including women of the third world. Even if legal feminism could accommodate all the demands of pluralism, it still lacks a theory of social transformation. Instead of endlessly debating whether they are essentialists or not, legal feminists must articulate how these visions can be translated into institutional commitments. The knowledge of what needs to be done or changed must be obtained from the experiences of all women, not only from those who happen to be articulate and in a position to claim privilege for their experiences and knowledge. 56 footnotes