On Female Culture an attempt to formulate a theory of women's solidarity and action

As time passes and our efforts to acquire equal status with men seem to deteriorate just when we think that we are on the road to success, women have begun to ask: Who are we, the women of the world? Where do we fit in? In time of crises and wars women are given responsibility and paid jobs. When peace and prosperity return we are thrown out of work and of political positions,' so we ask: Do not economic growth and normal conditions work in our favour? Does economic growth in our societies require a more uneven distribution of rights and duties among men and women? We have observed that aid from developed to developing countries seems to widen the gap between opportunities and salaries of men and women in those countries. How does this apply to women in developed countries? As the gap widens between the developed and developing countries, and between poor and rich in all countries, it also widens between men and women in almost every country of the world with respect to level of income and education. These contradictions work as contradictions usually do. The more inequality and differences are made visible, the more aware we all become of the gap we experience, and the more do we require an answer: Who are we? Should we become radicals, socialists, liberals or revolutionary women in order to fight most sucessfully for women's liberation? While we fight, is it possible to perceive ourselves as placed at any point from left to right on the traditional political scale? Could it be that we have not yet acquired a theory in politics or in social science which satisfactorily explains and predicts our behaviour? At this particular time in herstory, I wish to present the theory of female culture as a counter-culture.2 As such it represents a paradox: When fully comprehended, it will offer the feminist movement a tool for self-reliance, group understanding and a platform for further strategy; But at the same time the female culture serves as a necessary counterpart to the highly visible male culture, which suppresses and exploits the female culture for its own purposes. To make this female culture visible is the first step in women's common fight for freedom. To clarify my concept of female culture, my goal in this paper is to present a theoretical framework demonstrating the consistent pattern of happenings, behaviour, perceptions and ideas that women carry about themselves and the world. For all the helpless, bewildered and insecure women, many of whom feel themselves valueless and without lasting goals for action, it may function as a therapy in their present situation.