Cultural feminism is the ideology of a female nature or female essence reappropriated by feminists themselves in an effort to revalidate undervalued female attributes. (Alcoff, 1988). It’s 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. 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 call for an infusion of women's culture into the male-dominated world, which would presumably result in less violence and fewer wars. 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. Cultural feminism is a form of difference feminism. Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual differences. ... Psychology (ancient Greek: psyche = soul and logos = word) is the study of mind, thought, and behaviour. ... Feminism is a number of social, cultural and political movements, theories and moral philosophies that are concerned with cultural, political and economic practices and inequalities that discriminate against women; some have argued that gendered and sexed identities, such as man and woman, are socially constructed. ... Menstrual cycle. ... Childbirth (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a human pregnancy with the emergence of a newborn infant/s from the mothers uterus. ... In philosophy, essentialism is the view, that, for any specific kind of entity it is at least theoretically possible to specify a finite list of characteristics —all of which any entity must have to belong to the group defined. ... Difference feminism is a branch of feminism that stresses that men and women are essentially very different beings, instead of past feminisms of equality that stress a fundamental sameness between men and women in some way. ...

Cultural feminism theorist

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 in women’s virtues.(Ritzer, 2006). Cultural feminism was a basic theme in all of Addams' writings. Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, or philosophical, ground. ... Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935) won the Nobel Peace Prize and was a founder of the U.S. Settlement House Movement. ... Charlotte Perkins Gilman (July 3, 1860 – August 17, 1935) was a prominent American non-fiction writer, short story writer, novelist, commercial artist, lecturer, and social reformer. ...

Traditions of settlements of conflicts of 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. (Ritzer, 2006).

According to 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. In particular, Addams’ was strongly influenced by her life-long friendship with Charlotte Perkins Gilman, another early feminist theoretician and sociologist. Gilman's writings were more materialist and aggressive than Addams', but they shared a deep interest in women's culture and emancipation. (www.womenhistory.about.com)^{[citation needed]}.

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. (Humm, 1990). Margaret Fuller was another who contributed to cultural feminism she was a journalist, critic and women's rights activist. 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. (Donovan, 2000). Herland is a utopian novel from 1915, written by feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. ... Margaret Fuller, by Marchioness Ossoli. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The term women’s rights typically refers to freedoms inherently possessed by women and girls of all ages, which may be institutionalized or ignored and/or illegitimately suppressed by law or custom in a particular society. ...

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". Marxism takes its name from the praxis (the synthesis of philosophy and political action) of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

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. Cultural feminists believe that because of these differences, if women ruled the world there would be no more war and it would be a better place. Essentially, a women's way is the right and better way for everyone. Western society values male thought and the ideas of independence, hierarchy, competition and domination. Females value ideas such as interdependence, cooperation, relationships, community, sharing, joy, trust and peace. Unfortunately, says the cultural feminist, these ideas are not valued in contemporary western societies.

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”. (Alcoff, 1988:406). Where man’s behaviour is underdetermined, free to construct its own future along the course of its rational choice, woman’s nature has overdetermined her behaviour, the limits of her intellectual endeavours, and the inevitabilities of her emotional journey through life.(Alcoff, 1988)

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. 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. 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. “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”. (Alcoff, 1988:407). Cultural feminists have not challenged the defining of woman but only that definition given by men.

Critics of cultural feminism, particularly those of the 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.” (Autumn, 1933:32). 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.(Autumn, 1933). This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Radical feminism is a branch of feminism that views womens oppression (which radical feminists refer to as patriarchy) as a basic system of power upon which human relationships in society are arranged. ...

See also

• Radical Feminism
• Liberal Feminism
• Socialist Feminism

Radical feminism is a branch of feminism that views womens oppression (which radical feminists refer to as patriarchy) as a basic system of power upon which human relationships in society are arranged. ... Liberal feminism is a form of feminism that argues that equality for women can be achieved through legal means and social reform, and that men as a group need not be challenged. ...

References

• 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

E-Journal Links

• 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>.

• 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>.

• "Jane Addams on Cultural Feminism." About. 1892. Oct.-Nov. 2006 <http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=womenshistory&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.pfeiffer.edu%2F%7Elridener%2FDSS%2FAddams%2FCULTFEM3.HTML>.

• ""I'm Not a Feminist, But..."" Two Peas, No Pods. 24 Oct. 2005. Oct.-Nov. 2006 <http://nopod.blogspot.com/2005/10/im-not-feminist-but.html>.

• Roseneil, Sasha. "The Coming of Age of Feminist Sociology: Some Issues Of." Jstor. 1995. Oct.-Nov. 2006 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0007-1315%28199506%2946%3A2%3C191%3ATCOAOF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-K>.