What do you think of this radical feminist celebration of womanhood?

Question

"The whole idea of womanculture is based on the radical feminist celebration of womanhood, especially woman's ability to gestate new life, which many radical feminists see as woman's ultimate source of power. The radical feminist Adrienne Rich speaks of a 'female consciousness' as innately linked to the female body. She writes, "I have come to believe that female biology - the diffuse, intense sensuality radiating out from clitoris, breasts, uterus, vagina; the lunar cycles of menstruation; the gestation and fruition of life which can take place in the female body - has far more radical implications than we have come to appreciate"."

"Radical feminists relish their amazing bodies, their miraculous ability to grow human beings of either sex from their own flesh, to bleed in rhythm with the phases of the moon, to sustain the life of an infant with their own breastmilk."

:-)

Additional Details

This is in response to this question, suggesting feminists should celebrate womahood more...

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind…

wendy g - you hit the nail on the head. Both radical feminists and many anti-feminists agree on many things - such as essentialism, or biological reductionism. Or the importance of power and money (rather than men) in women's oppression (Marxist feminism). They just don't agree with the solutions (separatism / communism) and who can blame them?! :-)

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

I generally do not like radical feminism, the antithesis of temperance, as per their usual reductionist superiority motif... but I don't see anything wrong with this statement. It seems to be about having pride in being a women--nothing wrong with that.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Well said - it is a reductionist superiority. Even this apparently celebratory piece is merely transferring the accomplishments of nature onto women. Thanks to everyone for their answers, very interesting :-)

Answer 2

Wow.. just wow. They really do rate themselves, what happened to equality? Women who think they are superior are just as bad as the sexist arseholes that caused women to revolt in the first place.

Answer 3

I think it's lovely. We do have quite amazing bodies. Americans in general are just body-phobic and would rather make fun others' appearances than appreciate how beautiful we actually are.

Source(s):

P.S. Adrienne Rich was not always a "radical" feminist. She went through many phases of feminism.

Answer 4

I kind of agree with the first poster, sounds like she's saying women are vastly superior due to the fact that they have and I quote...

"their miraculous ability to grow human beings of either sex from their own flesh, to bleed in rhythm with the phases of the moon, to sustain the life of an infant with their own breastmilk."

It IS possible to be proud of your femininity and your womanhood without coming across like a diva.

Answer 5

What's it called when men celebrate their testicles?

Answer 6

yea ok as a woman and a mother i can see how important it is to appreciate our womanhood but the fact is that without sperm that can only be provided from a man there would be no children. and As it happens it is man's sperm that predestines the sex of a child, not a woman's egg. with out man woman would not do well in the reproduction area at all. women place to much importance in the ability to bear children. woman cannot survive without men anymore than men can survive without woman. there is a point to yin and yang. you need one for the other. neither one is more important than the other.


That's right people thumbs down me! God forbid that any of you "feminists" learn to appreciate the part men play in our existence!

Answer 7

Its laughable that they call it radical feminism....I wonder who came up with the name "radical" for it? They're just all mere FACTS about womanhood that we cant really change. And its very powerful, no man made incubator is gonna grow human beings. What could be more powerful than being the ones to bear every single human being on this earth.
:-)

Source(s):

:-) My body.

Answer 8

I don't think I'm spiritual enough for that. I like celebration and respect and so forth, and I found pregnancy and birth and breastfeeding amazing and all, but I get a little impatient with the New Age aura. Just my personal temperament.

Answer 9

titty-the answer to your question is -normal. lol

Answer 10

I don't think tha t radicles. I think it make the truth. wimmins's's's are superior, cos they can amek babies. Y
That is they are superior at making babies.

The "... ability to grow human beings of either sex" part makes me think she really is full of supremacist bullshit though.

aas aposeed to just one sex??????

It pretty much accounts for everything i love about wimmins's's's bpdies though doesn't tit?

she seems to love how strong, resilient, brilliant my body is,

Answer 11

I think it truely is radical..and excellent that we should actually Like our bodies and appreciate what they do instead of being ashamed. This is something we need more of.


I don't feel mystical or even poetic about female body functions because "womanhood" to me is as much between the ears as between the legs but the biological aspects of being a woman are natural not dirty and shameful and we should be aware of that and teach that and reject the messages from religion or the media that try to say they are.

Answer 12

Wow, sounds exactly like what the anti-feminists believe about women...


Who knew the radical feminists and anti-feminists had so much in common? Lol...

Answer 13

I've yet to see an "anti feminist" wallowing in or promoting such delusional self worship.

I see that piece or writing as no different from a piece celebrating a blond haired, blue eyed race. Unfortunately female supremacist conditioning seeps down and into normal society, the idea of belonging to a superior group is very seductive to sheep and the greater majority of the public are followers, sheep conditioned not to think for themselves.

I think most rational/normal/"anti feminist" people are some where in between radical feminists and the "PC everything is socialised and nothing is natural" people (who are the largest threat to our civil liberties).


There are biological differences, they are not necessarily deterministic but more often than not, they are.

Answer 14

Id have to agree with Wendy G and you. Its telling about the similarities between antifeminism and radicals.Even the way they both use arguments of 'useful idiots' or false conciousness. I think it is the standard argument of any cultural supremacist really. To tell people they are living incorrectly. Its as if they've been read directly from the tomes of the Frankfurt School. I disagree with the interpretation of Marxist Feminism(but i suppose there a few varieties of it) given here! lol. I think it does believe in patriarchy, its just that how patriarchy organizes gender is contingent on changes in the economic system.

Answer 15

Why celebrate womanhood in those terms? Simply because before those women outlined the fact that we were amazingly complex, sexual, natural exciting creatures we had had a very poor 'press' Mostly men had described us, patronised us, written about us, pathologised us and toldus how we feel or should behave. From medicl tracts to Holy books men have described what and who we should be, iting essentialist anthropoloical/pseudo scientific explanations to scripture purportedly from divine sources.
So, no perhaps I don't want to get in touch with my womanliness in a sweat lodge, finger painting with menstrual blood but I do appreciate those 'radicals for talking about 'my body' in language I can relate to and accept or move away from in a frame of reference I recognise.