ABSTRACT
Across all cultures women share some basic experiences that separate their lives from those of men. Certain common themes emerge when we look at the literature, the myths, the expressions and proverbs of different cultures concerning women, their role and the culture’s expectation of them. The difference between how men perceive women and how women perceive themselves can usually be explained by the fact that men see women as they would have them be in order to meet male needs and expectations, or as women respond to those expectations. When women are grounded in a firm sense of themselves, are strongly identified with women rather than men, and have respect for who they are, they usually can and want to effect change in their own behalf. In exploring the notion of a woman’s culture, we will be referring to the characteristics attributed to women and positively interpreted as ‘female values’.
