Gynocentrism

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Gynocentrism called a feminist theory , the patriarchal philosophy deconstruct and wants to create a feminine philosophy of experience. The concept has been assigned to the second women's movement since the 1970s. This early, gynocentric women's research was a counter-movement to the androcentrism prevalent in science . Gynocentrism is a specific variant of differential feminism , but cannot be equated with it.

Approaches to gynocentrism

At the beginning of women's research there was the concern to make women “visible”, to criticize their exclusion from the political process and to analyze the consequences for the living conditions of women. In the 1980s, a plurality of feminist perspectives developed. Since then, various currents of the feminist debate can be assigned.

The American political scientist Iris Marion Young that the term gynocentrism ( Gynocentrism coined) 1985, is the dominant in the 1970s, liberal, radical and socialist feminisms as humanistic feminism in the tradition of modern humanism , which aims to have in the First Women's Movement Equality for women in society was. Humanist feminism or feminist humanism is based on the fact that women, like men, make “human potential” the norm of their identity. In contrast, gynocentrism emphasizes the natural differences between the sexes and their equality. He starts from the criticism that the emphasis on “human potential” leads to the devaluation or suppression of female experiences. Gynocentric feminism tries to establish the normative identity of women as “feminine”. Some feminist theories of the Second Women's Movement are forms of gynocentrism. Susan Griffin's book Woman and Nature (1978) is one of the earliest documents of this approach. Young also assigns the theories of Carol Gilligan and the French thinkers Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva to gynocentrism. She criticizes that the concentration of gynocentrism on language (Irigaray, Kristeva) and values ​​(Gilligan, Griffin et al.) "As a target of criticism weakens the political clout" of the women's movement.

In her Sociology by Women for Women (1987), the British sociologist Dorothy Smith advocated a female-centered feminism that is based on the common experiences of all women in a male-dominated world.

Unlike the classic patriarchal position of the natural superiority of the man who founded his social claim to power, was based, according to Barbara Holland-Cunz the radical gynozentrische position on the natural superiority of women and going real historical ancient Amazons states and matriarchal clan structures assumed that Mary Daly referred to as "gynocentric civilizations".

However, some authors of feminist matriarchal theories , such as Cäcilia Rentmeister and Heide Göttner-Abendroth , reject the essentialist gender image on which gynocentrism is based. They emphasize the social advantages and the “socio-ecological intelligence” of matriarchal or matrilineal societies, which should therefore be striven for again.

In the German feminist debate, the concept of gynocentrism only exists in a few radical feminist statements of the 1970s and 1980s of the Second Women's Movement.

See also

literature

  • Iris Marion Young : On Female Body Experience: "Throwing Like a Girl" and Other Essays (Studies in Feminist Philosophy). Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-516193-9 .
  • Iris Marion Young: Humanism, Gynocentrism and Feminist Politics. In: Herlinde Pauer-Studer et al. (Hrsg.): Thoughts - Feminism and Criticism . Edition Suhrkamp, ​​1989, ISBN 3-518-11407-7 , pp. 37-66.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The term is derived from the ancient Greek γυνη gyne = woman and the Latin centrum = center .
  2. ↑ Yvanka B. Raynova: feminist philosophy in the European context. Böhlau Verlag, Vienna et al. 2010, ISBN 978-3-205-78498-2 , p. 22 f.
  3. ↑ Ina Kerner: Differences and Power. Campus Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-593-38595-2 , p. 245 f.
  4. ^ A b Eva Kreisky , Birgit Sauer : Feminist standpoints in political science: an introduction. Campus Verlag, 1995, ISBN 3-593-35304-0 , p. 15.
  5. ↑ Iris Marion Young: Humanism, Gynocentrism and Feministic Politics. In: Women's Studies International Forum. Vol. 8, No. 3, Great Britanian; Pergamon Press, 1985, p. 173.
  6. ^ Hyun-Jae Lee: Identity Concepts from a "Feminist" Perspective. (= Feminist Research. Volume 3). Peter Lang Verlag, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2003, ISBN 3-631-53579-1 , p. 14.
  7. ↑ Iris Marion Young: Humanism, Gynocentrism and Feminist Politics. In: Herlinde Pauer-Studer, Elisabeth List (ed.): Thoughts - Feminism and Criticism . Edition Suhrkamp, ​​1989, ISBN 3-518-11407-7 , pp. 51-63 f.
  8. ↑ Pamela Abbott, Melissa Tyler, Claire Wallace: An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspectives. 3. Edition. Routledge, 2003, ISBN 0-415-31259-0 , p. 365.
  9. ^ A b Barbara-Holland-Cunz: The old new question of women. Edition Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-518-12335-1 , p. 124.
  10. ↑ Ursula I. Meyer: Introduction to Feminist Philosophy. 3. revised Edition. Ein-Fach-Verlag, Aachen 2004, ISBN 3-928089-37-4 , p. 89.
  11. ↑ See Heide Göttner-Abendroth: The way to an egalitarian society . Klein Jasedow 2008.
  12. ↑ See already 1985 Cillie Rentmeister: Frauenwelten - Herrenwelten . Opladen 1985. Book and more recent articles in full texts at www.cillie-rentmeister.de ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cillie-rentmeister.de