Form of feminism
New feminism is a form of feminism that emphasizes the integral complementarity of women and men, rather than the superiority of men over women or women over men, and advocates for respecting persons from conception to natural death.
New feminism, as a form of difference feminism, supports the idea that men and women have different strengths, perspectives, and roles, while advocating for the equal worth and dignity of both sexes. Among its basic concepts are that biological differences are significant and do not compromise sexual equality. New feminism holds that women should be valued in their role as child bearers, that women and men are individuals equal in worth, and that in social, economic, and legal senses they should be equal, while accepting the differences between the sexes.
History.
The term was originally used in Britain in the 1920s to distinguish "new feminists" from traditional mainstream suffragist feminism. These women, also referred to as "welfare feminists", were particularly concerned with motherhood, like their opposite numbers in Germany at the time, Helene Stöcker and her Bund für Mutterschutz. New feminists campaigned strongly in favour of such measures as family allowances paid directly to mothers. They were also largely supportive of protective legislation in industry. A major proponent of this was Eleanor Rathbone of the suffragist-successor society, the "National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship".
"New feminists" were opposed mainly by young women, especially those in the Six Point Group, particularly Winifred Holtby, Vera Brittain, and Dorothy Evans, who saw this as a retrograde step towards the separate spheres ideology of the 19th century. They were particularly opposed to protective legislation, which they saw as being in practice restrictive legislation, which kept women out of better-paid jobs on the pretext of health and welfare considerations.
Recent use.
In recent years, the term has been revived by feminists responding to Pope John Paul II's call for a "'new feminism' which rejects the temptation of imitating models of 'male domination' in order to acknowledge and affirm the true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society and overcome all discrimination, violence and exploitation . . . 'Reconcile people with life'". John Paul II links the new feminism of pro-life, pro-person advocacy to the feminine genius identified in his 1988 apostolic letter "Mulieris Dignitatem", or, "On the Dignity and Vocation of Women". In section 30 of this letter, John Paul II identified women as having a "genius that belongs" to them and called on them to use it to restore "sensitivity for human beings in every circumstance. Women are mothers and caregivers as well as participants in every realm of human endeavor. He describes the 'feminine genius' as including empathy, interpersonal relations, emotive capacity, subjectivity, communication, intuition and personalization. In the controversial section 24 of this letter, John Paul II defends the equality of women and argues that husbands and wives are to be mutually submissive to each other.
John Paul II had begun his theologically-based affirmation of integral gender complementarity in his Wednesday audiences between 1979 and 1984, in what is now compiled as the Theology of the Body. In this work, he describes his belief that men and women are formed as complementary human beings for the sake of loving and being loved.
John Paul II continued his call for women to become advocates of humanity in his "Apostolic Letter to Women" prior to the 1995 Beijing Women's conference.
Since then, women interested in advocating for the person--along with their male collaborators--have been developing personalist feminism. "Personalist feminism" was a term first coined by Prudence Allen to describe the feminism called for by John Paul II. Women have also been developing new feminism as a philosophical theory about sexual complementarity. They agree that being the equal to men in their professional and social capacities does not require denying their physical differences as women nor the importance of being a mother whether physically or spiritually.
Theory.
Integral sex complementarity.
While the Greeks acknowledged the possibility of sex complementarity, systematic developments into this philosophy of the person did not begin until Augustine of Hippo, who recognized the implications of the Christian doctrine of the resurrection. The first western philosopher to articulate a complete theory of sex complementarity was Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-century Benedictine nun. Her advances were soon buried by the 13th century Aristotelian Revolution, and the lack of higher education for women in the following centuries.
Philosophical developments in the concept of integral gender complementarity were popularized in the early 20th century by two students of Edmund Husserl: Dietrich von Hildebrand and Edith Stein. Von Hildebrand argued against the "terrible anti-personalism" of his age, stating that it is the "general dissimilarity in the nature of both which enables... a real complementary relationship". Stein revived the metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas to argue that a difference in bodies constitutes a difference in spirit, that the soul is not unisex. Stein's argument has been criticized for not realizing that the immateriality of the human soul transcends the limitations of the body as Aquinas argues. New feminist theories were also influenced by the Personalist and Phenomenology movements of the early 20th century.
Integral complementarity differs from fractional complementarity, in that it argues that men and women are each whole persons in and of themselves, and, together, equal more than the sum of their parts. The concept of fractional complementarity argues that a man and woman each make up a part of a person. By this theory, when they are joined together, they then comprise one, composite being.
Meaning of the body.
New feminists promote an understanding of the human person as one who is made in the image and likeness of God ("imago Dei") for the purpose of union and communion. They see distinct differences in the ways in which men and women make a sincere gift of themselves through the 'nuptial meaning of the body', and see these gifts as shedding light on the mysteries of God and their own vocation, mission and dignity.
Other ideas promoted by new feminists include:
The feminine genius.
The phrase "the feminine genius" is used to describe the genius that John Paul II identified as belonging to women, “which can ensure sensitivity for human beings in every circumstance.” He argues that this sensitivity is linked to maternity. Work on unpacking the nature of this link can be found in various anthologies, such as "Women in Christ: Toward a New Feminism" (2004) and "Woman as Prophet in the Home and the World" (2016). The characteristics of these feminine genius-maternity links raise many open questions. For example:
There is controversy as not all new feminists accept John Paul II's argument in sections 23-24 of Mulieris Dignitatem that due to Genesis 1:27 and Ephesians 5:21, husband and wives are to be mutually submissive. For example, in Eastern Orthodoxy, spiritual fatherhood means spiritual priesthood – the offering of a man's body and blood for the sanctification of the world. It was because Jesus gave his body and blood away both as a sacrifice for his Church and as a gift to the Church in the form of the Eucharist that new spiritual life could be conceived. "A man is 'head' of his wife not to stroke his own ego, but in order to give up his body for her" and thus create new life. As keepers of the Eucharist, men are entrusted with the body and blood of Christ. All men, whether single or married, are entrusted with woman – the body of the Church. "She is their Eucharist."
Proponents.
Contemporary proponents include Pia de Solenni, Janet E. Smith, Katrina Zeno, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, R. Mary Lemmons, Colleen Carroll Campbell, Mary Beth Bonacci, Sister Prudence Allen, Alice von Hildebrand, Kimberly Hahn, Helen Alvare, Dorinda C. Bordlee, Erika Bachiochi, and Mary Ellen Bork. The work of earlier Catholic thinkers on masculinity and femininity, such as Hildegard of Bingen, Edith Stein and G. E. M. Anscombe, has also become recently influential in the development of new feminism. Though primarily originally in the thought of John Paul II, the movement also includes prominent non-Catholics, like Jewish author Wendy Shalit and Protestant activist Enola Aird.
Critiques.
Critics of the movement argue that it was created by a patriarchal structure for its own maintenance. As commented by Sister of Mercy Mary Aquin O'Neill, director of the Mount Agnes Theological Center for Women in Baltimore, "[i]t will always mean that men are defining women and telling women what it is like to be a woman." According to this view, until women are members of this higher authority, they can never make authoritative decisions about their perspectives because they are excluded from the vote. Those critics maintain that no movement that opposes abortion and birth control in the form of artificial contraception can be positive for women, and that new feminism is a form of gender or biological determinism, which may be seen as old prejudices in a new guise.
This modern use of new feminism by the Catholic Church attempts to stray away from the traditional sentiments of the 1912 "Catholic Encyclopedia" that women and men do not belong together in the political, economic, and social spheres. It was never clarified as to why these changes were made, and the Holy See still followed many premises that shared the same anthropological arguments of the 1912 "Catholic Encyclopedia". Another critique of new feminism is that Pope John Paul II's positions can too easily be tied to more traditional Catholic teachings. This could cause the continuation of a worldview that negates the ability for men and women to successfully work together in a professional and/or social setting.
References.
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