The essay analyses the approach towards feminism and problematic gender labels in in the writing of the American poet Elizabeth Bishop (1911–1979) and a contemporary British writer Jeanette Winterson (b. 1959). Both writers strive to divert the critical attention from their privacy and their refusal to be categorized and classified even as women writers shows their awareness of the potential negative impact it could have on the reception of their output, as their works are not dedicated to a limited audience or special interest groups.