The Weaker Sex & the Better Half: The Idea of Women's Moral Superiority in the American Feminist Movement

Abstract

The question as to why so few women hold positions of power in American government leads the authors of this article to examine the sources and implications of one of the major arguments of American feminists: that woman's nature is morally superior to and mysteriously different from the nature of man. Although this claim has produced certain political benefits, it is argued here that the overall effect has been to limit women's role in politics as well as to perpetuate their psychological weaknesses.