Essence of Culture and a Sense of History: A Feminist Critique of Cultural Essentialism

Abstract

Drawing parallels between gender essentialism and cultural essentialism, I point to some comnum features of essentialist pictures of culture. I argue that cultural essentialism is detrimental to feminist agendas and suggest strategies fur its avoidance. Contending that some forms of cultural relativism buy into essentialist notions of culture, I argue that postcolonial feminists need to be cautious about essentialist contrasts between "Western" and "Third World" cultures.In recent decades, feminists have stressed the need to think about issues of gender in conjunction with, and not in isolation from, issues of class, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, and have forcefully illustrated that differences among women must be understood and theorized in order to avoid essentialist generalizations about "women's problems" (Anzaldba 1987; hooks 1981;Lugones and Spelman 1983). The feminist critique of gender essentialism does not merely charge that essentialist claims about "women" are overgeneralizations, but points out that these generalizations are hegemonic in that they represent the problems of privileged women (most often white, Western, middle-class, heterosexual women) as paradigmatic "women's issues."Such essentialist generalizations result in theoretical perspectives and political agendas that efface the problems, perspectives, and political concerns of many women who are marginalized in terms of their class, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. For instance, analyses that trace women's subordination to their confinement to domestic roles and the private sphere can constitute problematic essentialist generalizations if they ignore that the links between femininity and the private sphere are not trans-historical but have arisen in particular historical contexts. Thus, while the ideology of domesticity may have immured many middle-class women in the home, it also sanctioned the Hypatia vol. 13, no. 2 (Spring 1998) 0 by Uma Narayan

Discursive managerial practices of diversity and homogeneity

“…The culture of ethnic minority men was seen as adding to the organizational image but was also seen as the source of their exclusion from the managerial ranks. Narrayan (1998) has called this cultural essentialism. Essentialist ideas based on 'nature' and on 'culture' are social constructions, however (Narrayan 1998).…”

“…Narrayan (1998) has called this cultural essentialism. Essentialist ideas based on 'nature' and on 'culture' are social constructions, however (Narrayan 1998). The use of essentialism fixes the characteristics of a group and ignores individual differences within the group.…”

Asia in International Relations

“…The present article builds on these points and presents a critical security perspective. 4 Also see, Pieterse (1992) and Narayan (2000).…”

Transnational Feminisms, Nonideal Theory, and “Other” Women’s Power

“…Transnational and postcolonial feminist scholars have identified many distinct mechanisms by which analytical frameworks that emphasize culture shield Westerners from genuinely morally grappling with imperialism. 3 Two key analytical approaches that participate in minimizing imperialism are what Lila Abu-Lughod calls "resort to the cultural" (Abu-Lughod 2002), and what Uma Narayan refers to as "cultural essentialism" (Narayan 1998). The resort to the cultural occurs when "other" women's oppression is only explained in an endogenous, ahistorical fashion.…”