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{{Feminism}}
{{Feminism}}
'''Cultural feminism''' is the ideology of a female nature or female essence reappropriated by feminists themselves in an effort to revalidate undervalued female attributes <ref>Alcoff, Linda. "Cultural Feminism Versus Post-Structuralism: the Identity Crisis in Feminist Theory." Jstor. 1988. The University of Chicago Press. Oct.-Nov. 2006 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0097-9740%28198821%2913%3A3%3C405%3ACFVPTI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V>.</ref>. It is the theory that there are fundamental [[personality psychology|personality]] and [[psychological]] differences between men and women, and that women's differences are not only unique, but superior.{{cn}} This theory of [[feminism]] takes note of the biological differences between men and women - such as [[menstruation]] and [[childbirth]] - and extrapolates from this the idea of an inherent "women's culture." For example, the belief that "women are kinder and gentler than men," prompts cultural feminists to call for an infusion of women's culture into the male-dominated world, which would presumably result in less violence and fewer wars.{{cn}} At its core, the theory ascribes to a form of gendered [[essentialism]]. Cultural feminism seeks to improve the relationship between the sexes and often cultures at large by celebrating women's special qualities, ways, and experiences, often believing that the "woman's way" is the better way, or that the culture discussed is overly masculine and requires balance from feminine perspectives.{{cn}}
'''Cultural feminism''' is the ideology of a female nature or female essence reappropriated by feminists themselves in an effort to revalidate undervalued female attributes <ref>Alcoff, Linda. "Cultural Feminism Versus Post-Structuralism: the Identity Crisis in Feminist Theory." Jstor. 1988. The University of Chicago Press. Oct.-Nov. 2006 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0097-9740%28198821%2913%3A3%3C405%3ACFVPTI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V>.</ref>. It is the theory that there are fundamental [[personality psychology|personality]] and [[psychological]] differences between men and women, and that women's differences are not only unique, but superior.{{cn}} This theory of [[feminism]] takes note of the biological differences between men and women - such as [[menstruation]] and [[childbirth]] - and extrapolates from this the idea of an inherent "women's culture." For example, the belief that "women are kinder and gentler than men," prompts cultural feminists to call for an infusion of women's culture into the male-dominated world, which would presumably result in less violence and fewer wars.{{cn}} At its core, the theory ascribes to a form of gendered [[essentialism]]. Cultural feminism seeks to improve the relationship between the sexes and often cultures at large by celebrating women's special qualities, ways, and experiences, often believing that the "woman's way" is the better way, or that the culture discussed is overly masculine and requires balance from feminine perspectives.{{cn}}

Revision as of 12:44, 27 June 2008

Template:Totally-disputed

Cultural feminism is the ideology of a female nature or female essence reappropriated by feminists themselves in an effort to revalidate undervalued female attributes [1]. It is the theory that there are fundamental personality and psychological differences between men and women, and that women's differences are not only unique, but superior.[citation needed] This theory of feminism takes note of the biological differences between men and women - such as menstruation and childbirth - and extrapolates from this the idea of an inherent "women's culture." For example, the belief that "women are kinder and gentler than men," prompts cultural feminists to call for an infusion of women's culture into the male-dominated world, which would presumably result in less violence and fewer wars.[citation needed] At its core, the theory ascribes to a form of gendered essentialism. Cultural feminism seeks to improve the relationship between the sexes and often cultures at large by celebrating women's special qualities, ways, and experiences, often believing that the "woman's way" is the better way, or that the culture discussed is overly masculine and requires balance from feminine perspectives.[citation needed] Cultural feminism is a form of difference feminism.

Theorists of Cultural Feminism

Cultural feminism commends the positive aspects of what is seen as the female character or feminine personality. It is also a feminist theory of difference that praises the positive aspect of women. Early theorists like Jane Addams and Charlotte Perkins Gilman argued that in governing the state, cooperation, caring, and nonviolence in the settlement of conflicts society seem to be what was needed from women’s virtues[2]. Cultural feminism was a basic theme in all of Addams' writings.

Traditions of settlements of conflicts by women has continued to the present day in several arguments: women’s distinctive standards for ethical judgement, caring attention as a mode of women’s consciousness, different achievement motivation patterns, a female style of communication, women’s capacity for openness to emotional experience, women’s fantasies of sexuality and intimacy, and women’s lower levels of aggressive behaviour and greater capacity for creating peaceful coexistence[3].

In Jane Addams' On Cultural Feminism article, Addams frequently used women as the source of her ideas and topics of analysis. She wanted to expand the scope of women's activities, therefore changing the basic structure of values and relations throughout society. In addition to this generalized approach, Addams specifically studied prostitutes, women in the marketplace, especially working-class women, and pacifism. An intellectual stream feeding Addam’s cultural feminism was radical feminism.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland (1915) gives fictional expression to cultural feminism in her account of a society of strong women guided by female concerns of pacifism and cooperation[4]. Margaret Fuller, a journalist, critic and women's rights activist, was another who contributed to cultural feminism. Fuller’s Woman in the Nineteenth Century (1845) initiated the cultural feminist tradition. It stresses the emotional, intuitive side of knowledge and expresses an organic world view that is quite different from the mechanistic view of Enlightenment rationalists[5].

The contradiction of cultural feminism, the same as for such other utopian movements as Marxism, is that, despite its intention, the women it has liberated and infused into the public world of production are women exactly like men, who are termed "The Mass Women".[citation needed]

Cultural feminists believe that there are fundamental, biological differences between men and women, and that women should celebrate these differences. Women are inherently more kind and gentle.[citation needed] Cultural feminists believe that because of these differences, if women ruled the world there would be fewer wars and it would be a more just place.[citation needed] Western society values male thought and the ideas of independence, hierarchy, competition and domination.[citation needed] Females value ideas such as interdependence, cooperation, relationships, community, sharing, joy, trust and peace.[citation needed] Unfortunately, says the cultural feminist, these ideas are not valued in contemporary western societies.[citation needed]

Problems with cultural feminism

According to Linda Alcoff, “Man has said that woman can be defined, delineated, captured, understood, explained, and diagnosed to a level of determination never accorded to man himself, who is conceived as a rational animal with free will”[6]. Where men's behaviour is underdetermined, free to construct its own future along the course of its rational choice, the nature of women has overdetermined her behaviour, the limits of her intellectual endeavours, and the inevitabilities of her emotional journey through life.[7]

Cultural feminists today believe that the traditional realm of women provides the bases for the articulation of a humane world view, one which can operate to change the destructive masculine ideologies that govern the public world.[citation needed] However, contemporary feminists do not believe that this transformation will happen automatically. They do not believe that the differences between women and men are principally biological(Donovan, 2000).

Thus cultural feminists argue that the problem of male supremacist culture is the problem of a process in which women are defined by men, that is, by a group who has a contrasting point of view and set of interest from women, not to mention a possible fear and hatred of women.[citation needed] The result of this has been a distortion and devaluation of feminine characteristics, which now can be corrected by a more accurate feminist description and appraisal.[citation needed] “Thus the cultural feminist reappraisal construes woman’s passivity as her peacefulness, her sentimentality as her proclivity to nurture, her subjectiveness as her advanced self-awareness” [8]. Cultural feminists have not challenged the defining of woman but only that definition given by men.

Critics of cultural feminism, particularly those belonging to men's rights groups, assert that cultural feminism is misandric in nature, and also claim that there is no evidence to support that a woman's way is any better than a man's. Because cultural feminism is based on an essentialist view of the differences between women and men and advocates independence and institution building, it has, say its critics, led feminists to retreat from politics to “life-style”[9]. Alice Echols, the most prominent critic of cultural feminism, credits Redstockings member Brooke Williams with introducing the term cultural feminism in 1975 to describe the depoliticisation of radical feminism[10].

See also

References

  1. ^ Alcoff, Linda. "Cultural Feminism Versus Post-Structuralism: the Identity Crisis in Feminist Theory." Jstor. 1988. The University of Chicago Press. Oct.-Nov. 2006 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0097-9740%28198821%2913%3A3%3C405%3ACFVPTI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V>.
  2. ^ Ritzer, George. Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. ISBN 978-0-07-299759-0
  3. ^ Ritzer, George. Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. ISBN 978-0-07-299759-0
  4. ^ Humm, Maggie. The Dictionary of Feminist Theory. Great Britain: Ohio State UP., 1990. ISBN 0-**8142-0506-2
  5. ^ Donovan, Josefine. Feminist Theory. 3rd ed. New York: The Continuum International Group, 1985.
  6. ^ Alcoff, Linda. "Cultural Feminism Versus Post-Structuralism: the Identity Crisis in Feminist Theory." Jstor. 1988. The University of Chicago Press. Oct.-Nov. 2006 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0097-9740%28198821%2913%3A3%3C405%3ACFVPTI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V>. 406
  7. ^ Alcoff, Linda. "Cultural Feminism Versus Post-Structuralism: the Identity Crisis in Feminist Theory." Jstor. 1988. The University of Chicago Press. Oct.-Nov. 2006 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0097-9740%28198821%2913%3A3%3C405%3ACFVPTI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V>.
  8. ^ Alcoff, Linda. "Cultural Feminism Versus Post-Structuralism: the Identity Crisis in Feminist Theory." Jstor. 1988. The University of Chicago Press. Oct.-Nov. 2006 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0097-9740%28198821%2913%3A3%3C405%3ACFVPTI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V>. 407
  9. ^ Autumn and Taylor, Verta, and Leila Verta. "Women's Culture and Lesbian Feminist Activism: a Reconsideration of Cultural Feminism." Taylor, Verta; Rupp, Leila J. 1933. The University of Chicago Press. Oct.-Nov. 2006 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0097-9740%28199323%2919%3A1%3C32%3AWCALFA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D>. 32
  10. ^ Autumn and Taylor, Verta, and Leila Verta. "Women's Culture and Lesbian Feminist Activism: a Reconsideration of Cultural Feminism." Taylor, Verta; Rupp, Leila J. 1933. The University of Chicago Press. Oct.-Nov. 2006 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0097-9740%28199323%2919%3A1%3C32%3AWCALFA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D>.
  • Balbert, Peter. D.H. Lawrence and the Phallic Imagination. Hong Kong: The Macmillan P, 1989. ISBN 0-333-43964-3
  • Donovan, Josefine. Feminist Theory. 3rd ed. New York: The Continuum International Group, 1985.
  • Gerhard, Jane F. Desiring Revolution. New York: Columbia UP, 2001. ISBN 023111205X
  • Humm, Maggie. The Dictionary of Feminist Theory. Great Britain: Ohio State UP., 1990. ISBN 0-**8142-0506-2
  • Ritzer, George. Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. ISBN 978-0-07-299759-0
  • Verta Taylor, Leila J. Rupp "Women's Culture and Lesbian Feminist Activism: A Reconsideration of Cultural Feminism" Signs, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Autumn, 1993), pp. 32-61

<http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0097-9740%28199323%2919%3A1%3C32%3AWCALFA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D>.

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