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    The History of Feminism

    The History of Feminism

    The History of Feminism

    What is Feminism?

    Feminism is a range of social movements, political movements, and ideologies that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that societies prioritize the male point of view, and that women are treated unfairly within those societies. Efforts to change that include fighting gender stereotypes, and seeking to establish educational and professional opportunities for women that are equal to those for men.

    What are Feminist Movements?

    Feminist movements have campaigned and continue to campaign for women’s rights. This includes the right to vote, to hold public office, to work, to earn fair wages, equal pay and eliminate the gender pay gap. To own property, to receive education, to enter contracts, to have equal rights within marriage, and to have maternity leave. Feminists have also worked to ensure access to legal abortions and social integration, and to protect women and girls from rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence. Changes in dress and acceptable physical activity have often been part of feminist movements.

    Some scholars consider feminist campaigns to be the main force behind major historical, societal changes for women’s rights, particularly in the West, where they are near-universally credited with achieving women’s suffrage, gender-neutral language, reproductive rights for women, and the right to enter into contracts and own property. Although feminist advocacy is, and has been, mainly focused on women’s rights, some feminists, including bell hooks, argue for the inclusion of men’s liberation within its aims. This is because they believe that men are also harmed by traditional gender roles.

    Numerous feminist movements and ideologies have developed over the years and represent different viewpoints and aims. Some forms of feminism have been criticized for taking into account only white, middle class, and college-educated perspectives. This criticism led to the creation of ethnically specific or multicultural forms of feminism, including black feminism and intersectional feminism. 

    The Origin of Feminism

    The words “féminisme”  and “féministe” first appeared in France and the Netherlands in 1872, Great Britain in the 1890s, and the United States in 1910. The Oxford English Dictionary lists 1852 as the year of the first appearance of “feminist” and 1895 for “feminism”. Depending on the historical moment, culture and country, feminists around the world have had different causes and goals. Most western feminist historians contend that all movements working to obtain women’s rights should be considered feminist movements, even when they did not apply the term to themselves. Other historians assert that the term should be limited to the modern feminist movement and its descendants. Those historians use the label “protofeminist” to describe earlier movements.

    The Four Waves of Feminism

    The history of the modern western feminist movement is divided into four “waves”. The first comprised of women’s suffrage movements of the 19th and early-20th centuries, promoting women’s right to vote. The second wave, the women’s liberation movement, began in the 1960s and campaigned for legal and social equality for women. In or around 1992, a third wave was identified, characterized by a focus on individuality and diversity. The fourth wave, from around 2012, used social media to combat sexual harassment, violence against women and rape culture; it is best known for the Me Too movement. The history of feminism is certainly a complicated one, that continues to form as our society grows.

     

    Interested in learning more about the history of feminism, check out this article Different Waves of Feminism!