Blackwell Reference Online

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Cultural feminism seeks to understand women's social locations in society by concentrating on gender differences between women and men. This type of feminism focuses on the liberation of women through individual change, the recognition and creation of “women-centered” culture, and the redefinition of femininity and masculinity. Cultural feminism utilizes essentialist understandings of male and female differences as the foundation of women's subordination in society. Early cultural feminists sought to reclaim and redefine definitions of femininity and masculinity through recognizing and celebrating women's unique characteristics. Cultural feminists believe that women are inherently nurturing, kind, gentle, egalitarian, and non-violent. These tenets can be traced back to the first wave of feminism. During this time, scholars such as Jane Addams and Charlotte Perkins Gilman stressed the superiority of women's values, particularly compassion and pacifism, believing that these would conquer masculine qualities of selfishness, violence, and lack of self-control in relation to sexual behavior. This was also a means to challenge the dominant cultural discourse that women were inferior and subservient to men. Efforts at fighting women's subordination included working for women's suffrage, women's right to free expression, and women's culture as well as outreach to poor and working-class ... log in or subscribe to read full text