Cultural feminism

Representatives of cultural feminism share a matriarchal view of a society in which a strong woman is at the head, but all the changes under her leadership are exclusively non-violent and harmonious, excluding any possibility of creating a conflict situation. In this theory, all female power and sensuality are directed toward changing the world and changing the position of women and men. The positioning of men as primarily a strong beginning, ready to fight and dominate on the path to achieving the goal, is changing, thanks to the willingness of women to solve basic problems without violence and oppression of others.

Some radical feminists believe that in society there is a male-based structure of power and submission, and this structure is the cause of oppression and inequality, and as long as the whole system and its values ​​continue to exist - no significant social reforms are possible, and they see no other alternative , except for the complete demolition and reconstruction of society to achieve its goals. A woman serves as the basis for “sisterhood”, unity, solidarity and common identity.

The main ideas of this direction, formed from radical feminism, is the special role of women, precisely because of their biological nature, as well as due to women's historical experience, women are endowed with special feminine qualities. They are absolutely opposite to masculine ones. Among the key qualities that women are endowed with are the relationship with others, physicality, empathy, trust, the desire to give, the lack of hierarchy in relationships, the desire for joy, peace and life. The main masculine qualities according to the approach of cultural feminism are independence, rationalism, aggressiveness, the desire for domination and management, the desire to suppress, militancy. It is women who have the ethic of caring. This phenomenon is associated with the experience of women's life in oppression. The ability to pregnancy and breastfeeding (that is, the role in the reproductive process) caused women to be oppressed and exploited ^[1] and experienced violence: both in heterosexual marriage and in the practice of prostitution, pornography, rape, sexual harassment beatings, forced contraception, abortion and sterilization, or forced pregnancy. Women fear not alienation from others, but occupation by others. The ethics of care acted as a defense against the threat of public censure and hatred. Women are forced to live by certain standards, otherwise they are criticized. It was men, in their opinion, who decided that the main function of women is motherhood, as well as serving men's interests. Theorists of cultural feminism agree that a non-patriarchal world will allow people to take care of each other and live as everyone wants. Creating an alternative female culture is one of the steps towards creating a new world.

Many early cultural feminists were the first radical feminists, and some continue to use this name, although they go beyond the model of social transformation. A kind of separatism or avant-garde orientation, that is, the creation of alternative communities and institutions, increased during the reaction to social changes. Early theorists, such as Jane Addams and Charlotte Perkins Gilman , argued that in government, cooperation, concern and the absence of violence in resolving social conflicts requires female virtue.

The journalist Margaret Fuller actively fought for the rights and freedoms of women, in her book "Women of the 19th Century" (1945) laid a certain tradition for the entire direction of cultural feminism ^[2] . A woman must reveal her potential, it is thanks to the bright female energy that it is possible to transform the world. She talked a lot about how society could change if women were allowed to influence the political, economic and social sphere. Harmonious management can be concentrated only in female hands.

Cultural feminists argue that traditional male behavior is determined by aggressiveness, competitiveness, and dominance, which harm society, as well as business and politics. Instead, representatives of this theory emphasize that care, cooperation and egalitarian policies would make the world a better place ^[3] .

Cultural feminists advocate for:

1. equal assessment of "female" professions
2. payroll so that staying at home would be cost-effective;
3. respect for the “feminine” values ​​of care and education
4. balance a culture that overestimates the “masculine” values ​​of aggression and underestimates the “feminine” values ​​of kindness and meekness
5. the creation of crisis centers and shelters for women who have been abused by men in collaboration with other feminist movements
6. emphasis on the common values ​​of women, regardless of social status, nationality or cultural diversity
   

The three main aspects of cultural feminism that are criticized by other types of feminism were essentialism (the idea that differences between men and women are part of the essence of male and female), separatism and the idea of ​​feminist avant-garde, the creation of a new culture instead of transforming an existing one through political and social problems ^[4] . While radical feminists criticize the traditional way of the family, representatives of cultural feminism talk about the possibility of changing the family structure, focusing on upbringing and care, thereby proving that, being in the center, a woman will be able to ensure the normal functioning of the family. Radical feminism was a political movement aimed at eliminating the traditional system of women, while cultural feminism was a counter-cultural movement aimed at reducing the cultural assessment of male and women's devaluation ^[5] . Liberal feminists oppose the depoliticization of feminism, which is embodied in cultural feminism. Liberal feminists also criticize the separatism of cultural feminism, preferring to work "in the system." Cultural feminists criticize liberal feminism, arguing that liberal feminists accept masculine values ​​and behavior as the norm. Socialist feminists emphasize the economic basis of inequality, while cultural feminists see the root of social problems in the depreciation of women in the “natural” tendency. Cultural feminists reject the idea that oppression of women is dependent on the class in which the man plays the dominant role ^[5] .

• Radical feminism
  
• Feminism
  
• Gender differences