This research focuses on the concepts of female
freedom, independence, liberty, and a feminine ideal
within Western-European, American, and Ukrainian
traditions. The study explores the works of Friedan,
Elshtain, Steinem, de Beauvoir, Kobrynska,
Kobylianska, and Ukrainka. While Western
women-centered thinkers prioritized economic, social,
and political issues with regard to woman s position
in the public and private realms, Ukrainian female
writers, in contrast, drew extensively from their
national stories, ancient and modern. Christianity
and spiritual ideals had a much stronger influence on
Ukrainian writers than political or economic
theories. Feminists despite themselves, these
Ukrainian authors embodied the characters that they
created in their radical and transformational beliefs
and actions. Both traditions share similar concerns
with the dilemmas facing contemporary women in their
respective societies. Common dangers and costs
threaten woman s full liberation under a global
market economy where male privilege remains
entrenched. Without full participation of women in
decision-making processes, democracy for women can be
eroded in the West and stifled in Ukraine.
freedom, independence, liberty, and a feminine ideal
within Western-European, American, and Ukrainian
traditions. The study explores the works of Friedan,
Elshtain, Steinem, de Beauvoir, Kobrynska,
Kobylianska, and Ukrainka. While Western
women-centered thinkers prioritized economic, social,
and political issues with regard to woman s position
in the public and private realms, Ukrainian female
writers, in contrast, drew extensively from their
national stories, ancient and modern. Christianity
and spiritual ideals had a much stronger influence on
Ukrainian writers than political or economic
theories. Feminists despite themselves, these
Ukrainian authors embodied the characters that they
created in their radical and transformational beliefs
and actions. Both traditions share similar concerns
with the dilemmas facing contemporary women in their
respective societies. Common dangers and costs
threaten woman s full liberation under a global
market economy where male privilege remains
entrenched. Without full participation of women in
decision-making processes, democracy for women can be
eroded in the West and stifled in Ukraine.