Alarmed by the domination inherent in the patriarchal idea of truth, the author sketches principles that allow her to develop accounts of reality-to "do theory"-without implying that others should agree. This epistemological setting supports differences among wimmin that are expressed in different understandings of the world; it also supports agreement.

In response to a commentary by Jacquelyn N. Zita on the essay "Dyke Methods," the three principles of that work-"I speak only for myself," "I do not try to get other wimmin to accept my beliefs in place of their own," and "There is no given," are further clarified and developed.

Presenting reasoned rejections of the hierarchical implications of "philosopher" and the sexual implications of "lesbian," the author's method leads her to indicate that her resistance to these names is motivated partly by particular facts of her early life.