ABSTRACT
Theories of psychological development and psychopathology have been notorious for their neglect of cultural variability as well as gender issues. Most psychological theory is literally Anglo-Saxon in its perspectives and conceptions of human nature. This chapter discusses weaknesses in feminist psychological theory that are derived from its inception in Western psychological theory. It seeks to make explicit the connections between white middle-class culture in the United States and feminist psychological theory. The chapter demonstrates the feminist psychological theory is encumbered by a scientific paradigm of psychology and presents a case for a feminist theory in psychology that would truly encompass the diversity of female experience. It describes how a critique of theories of personality development will benefit from incorporating ethnicity race, and class, as well as gender, at the core of its understanding of human development. The chapter illustrates the tasks involved in theorizing about human psychological development with an inclusive perspective and with a social constructionist theoretical frame.
