Abstract

The whole notion of the Superwoman came from the second-wave feminist movement which brought in sexuality, family, work, and reproductive rights. This gave women opportunities they never had before. It opened doors that had been shut to them for years. For some women, this whole new world included more options than they knew what to do with, the pressure to do it all while matching up to male standards and the belief that they could. The Superwomen Syndrome is the result of societal changes that allowed women to explore having a career, however did not redelegate the responsibilities of managing their personal and family life. Beyond that, women have had to excel at levels higher than men to get the same recognition at the workplace, which has caused us to aspire to a level of perfectionism that is not attainable. This has caused women to be supressed under a double burden. Cultural feminists note that many institutions, such as workplace, follow rules based heavily on male-dominated experiences, which can disadvantage women. Gender- neutral laws can keep women down if they do not acknowledge women’s different experiences and perspectives. Cultural feminists urge the concept of legal equality in which laws accommodate the biological and cultural differences between men and women. They advocate a female-centric standard of law. This article explores how the current scenario where choices of young adults and working women are influenced due to the anticipation of the double burden and whether the application of the culturist feminist model will help them overcome this Superwoman Syndrome and lower this burden on women.. It will also go on to talk about how this theory may have been applied in India and what improvements can be brought about in its implementation. In its essence, the article uses feminist legal theories to establish the root cause of the double burden and try and come up with a solution to deal with it. It further tries to understand the concept of a superwoman and workplace laws through the lens of a cultural feminist.

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