[net.women] womanhood/sisterhood

pc@hplabsb.UUCP (Patricia Collins) (02/15/84)

	In response to the request for clarification of these terms, I
would say that they evoke a FEELING in some people (different feelings
in different people).  Since both terms are powerful ones for me, I can
share my usage; I wish I could describe my feelings.

	SISTERHOOD:  a bond between women who share a common set of
	beliefs and experiences related to their being women

	There is a sense of common purpose within a sisterhood, of
	emotional/psychological support, and of mutual understanding.
	There may be some political coloring to a sisterhood, some
	sense of social purpose, but that (for me) takes a back seat
	to that wonderful experience of shared feelings.

	WOMANHOOD: qualities related specifically to being a woman

	This feeling is more physical (than sisterhood).  Awareness of
	my "womanhood" seems to be tied tightly to my hormones.  It
	is distinguishable from manhood, but also from childhood.  I
	don't tend to associate it with all "womanly" qualities, but
	rather with sex-specific experiences (menstruation, pregnancy,
	childbirth, the-feelings-only-a-woman-can-have in making love).



I decided to see what Webster's came up with and was discouraged to see
the following:

	woman: ...qualities conventionally regarded as feminine, such as
	weakness, timidity, inclination to gossip, etc.

	man: ...qualities conventionally regarded as masculine, such as
	strength, courage, etc.

from Webster's NEW WORLD DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN USAGE, 1979

[What about sensitivity? non-verbal communication? patience? understanding?
gentility? intuition?... or any of the other "conventionally" ascribed
qualities?]

Obviously, we don't all define these terms the same way.


					Patricia Collins
					hplabs