The Birth Metaphor in Anna Lesznai’s Difference Feminism

Abstract

Anna Lesznai (1895-1966), a Hungarian artist and writer of Jewish descent, was a well-known figure of the Hungarian avant-garde. Lesznai’s view of womanhood that is contained in the unstructured writings of her diary, addresses one of the major questions of the time: What makes women feminine and how do women construct their female identity? Her view of gender as founded in biological sex reflects her era when women’s birthing capability was the focal point of their role and identity. Lesznai’s view of the female self is constructed through two kinds of birthing—biological and creative. She asserts that birthing is an action in which women actively and voluntarily participate, giving agency to women and empowering them more than men who are barren. Lesznai redefined the role of women as a birth-giver, rather than a mother.