kristeva has been called an important leader of french feminism together with simone de beauvoir, hélène cixous, and luce irigaray. kristeva has had a strong influence on feminism and feminist literary studies in the us and the uk. she has also influenced thinking about contemporary art. but her relation to feminist groups and movements in france has been very controversial. kristeva made a famous statement about three types of feminism in "women's time" in "new maladies of the soul" (1993). she rejected the first two types, including that of beauvoir. some people think she completely rejects feminism. kristeva proposed an idea of multiple sexual identities against concepts of "unified feminine language".