women's literature

Women's literature refers to writing by women, about women, or addressing women's experiences and perspectives.

The term emerged from feminist scholarship that sought to recover neglected female authors and examine how gender shapes literary production and reception.

It can describe works across genres—novels, poetry, essays—unified by attention to women's lives, voices, and concerns: Her dissertation focused on nineteenth-century women's literature.

The category remains debated: some find it useful for highlighting overlooked traditions, others argue it marginalizes women's writing as a special interest rather than part of the general canon.