Essentialism
(when in relation to gender)
Essentialism is basically the idea that there is some trait or characteristic that is shared by all and only women, and that this can be used to define what being a woman is. In other words, it’s the idea that there’s some essential thing that unites all women and their experiences. A lot of people have pointed out that the problem with this is that the trait or characteristic which people pick out tends to only apply to a very narrow category of women (normally cis-gendered and white).