Forman and Sowton (ed.), "Taking our Time: Feminist Perspectives on Temporality" (Book Note)

 

"Taking Our Time" presents an intriguing collection of essays and poems exploring the concept of time from a feminist perspective, drawing on various disciplines such as philosophy, sociology, history, and literature. The contributors collectively express skepticism toward "patriarchal time," characterized by its linearity and objectivity, which has traditionally excluded women's cyclical, subjective, and relative experiences of time.

 

Among the essays, Heide Gottner-Abendroth's contribution titled "Urania — Time and Space of the Stars: The Matriarchal Cosmos through the Lens of Modern Physics" stands out as one of the most insightful. Gottner-Abendroth meticulously explains the patriarchal concept of time and how it became widely accepted as a universal norm. She emphasizes that before the patriarchalization of time, it was deeply intertwined with women's experiences, even considered to be inherently female. In matriarchal societies, time was intricately linked to women's bodily processes related to fertility, such as menstruation cycles synchronizing with lunar phases and pregnancy cycles aligned with the mythical year from Easter to Yule.

 

Moreover, Gottner-Abendroth highlights the public recognition of women's "inner clock" evident in dance rituals and ceremonies aligned with celestial calendars like Stonehenge and Avebury. She asserts that matriarchal societies were pioneers in conducting precise astronomical observations and conceived of time not as a linear progression but as a spiraling cyclical movement intertwined with the rhythms of planets and stars.

 

However, the cyclical concept of time prevalent in matriarchal societies was dismantled by patriarchal warrior societies in antiquity. These patriarchal societies championed a rational-linear, historical concept of time, glorified through genealogical lists and succession narratives of ruling dynasties. The emergence of mathematical sciences further reinforced the metricalization of time, emphasizing precision and quantifiability over historical context and qualitative experiences.

 

The split between historical and metrical time persists today, with historical sciences often criticized for their perceived imprecision and lack of metricization. This division reflects broader societal attitudes towards knowledge production, where metrical time is prioritized as more rational and valuable compared to historical narratives.

"Taking Our Time" explores the pervasive influence of science and technology in imposing a quantifiable and artificial order upon life processes, particularly impacting women's experiences of time. The collection of essays seeks to challenge the notion that women's time can be neatly measured or quantified, highlighting the subjective, mystical, and timeless nature of their experiences.

 

In her essay titled "Unreliable Allies: Subjective and Objective Time in Childbirth," Meg Fox delves into the ways in which male-dominated obstetrics has reduced the profound and unique experience of childbirth to a mechanical process governed by objective clock-time. The medicalization of childbirth, with its emphasis on precise chronology and rigid protocols, diminishes the subjective and intuitive rhythm of labor, depriving women of agency and personal autonomy in the birthing process.

 

Fox emphasizes that childbirth is inherently subjective and timeless, transcending the confines of objective clock-time. The rhythmic contractions experienced by women during labor symbolize a connection to a deeper, more primal reality beyond the constraints of linear time. To interfere with this natural rhythm is to objectify labor and deny women their inherent power and agency in the birthing experience.

 

While Fox's critique of the medicalization of childbirth within orthodox medical practices is not novel, it remains a crucial issue within contemporary obstetrics. Since the 1960s, feminist literature has extensively documented the objectification of labor and the loss of women's control and creativity in childbirth. However, there is a growing awareness and shift within the medical community towards more woman-centered approaches to childbirth.

 

Responsible women are increasingly asserting their preferences for childbirth conditions that honor their autonomy and bodily autonomy. Hospitals and healthcare providers are responding to this demand by creating birthing rooms and centers that prioritize women's comfort and agency during labor and delivery. These changes reflect a recognition of the importance of allowing labor to unfold according to the inner rhythm of a woman's body, free from unnecessary medical intervention.

"Taking Our Time" offers a captivating exploration of the diverse perspectives of women on the concept of time. Through a collection of essays and poems, contributors challenge patriarchal notions of time, highlighting the subjective and cyclical experiences often overlooked in traditional, linear understandings of time.

 

Jerilyn Fisher's essay, "Teaching Time: Women's Responses to Adult Development," delves into the experiences of mature women returning to college, shedding light on their struggles with patriarchal assumptions about timing and progress in adult development. Fisher reveals how women often feel "off-time" or developmentally delayed when measured against male-biased standards of maturity. By validating women's personal sense of time, Fisher empowers them to reclaim agency over their life decisions and reject external pressures to conform to societal expectations.

 

However, Fisher's exploration of male-defined "maturational signposts" such as menstruation, motherhood, and menopause raises questions about the contradictory nature of separation and autonomy as both masculine goals and aspirations for women returning to college. While Fisher acknowledges the need for women to define maturity on their own terms, the ambiguity surrounding these concepts leaves room for further clarification.

 

Other contributors to "Taking Our Time" offer unique perspectives on women's experiences with time. Mary O'Brien reflects on childhood experiences of linear time, while Robbie Pfeuffer Kahn examines the impositions of linear time on pregnancy, birth, and lactation. Elizabeth Deeds Ermath provides a thought-provoking analysis of woman's time through literary works, revealing contradictions inherent in historical time as experienced by female characters in novels. Cheryl Walker explores the poetry of H.D. as a model for understanding women's changes in historical time, and Patricia Mills reexamines myths of Antigone, Circe, and Medea to trace the creation of the female self.

 

Marie-Luise Gaettens delves into the relationship between patriarchy, authority, and Nazism in German women's reexaminations of Nazi Germany, while Mair Verthuy and Irma Garcia uncover feminine temporal sensibilities in the writings of various authors, including Nin, Duras, Collette, and Woolf. Margaret Davis offers a personal account of her mother's studies of time and synchronicity, accompanied by intriguing personal experiences.

 

The book is interspersed with poems by various authors, adding depth and richness to the exploration of women's experiences with time. It opens with an introduction by Frieda Johles Forman and concludes with selections from the Agape Feminist Conference on "Women's Time" held in Italy in 198.