Feminism : A Social Movement

Early feminism was typically focused only on white women, likely because racism was still extremely prominent at the time feminism began emerging. It was not until Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced the term “intersectionality” in 1989 that feminism started to look at oppressed group’s needs (Nash, 2008, 2). Intersectionality is a way of thinking that acknowledges that when a person has identities that belong to more than one oppressed group, it impacts their quality of life more negatively. In this paper, I will argue that intersectionality is important in the discussion of feminist theories and activism because it ensures that feminism is for all women, not just a select group of them. Intersectionality has changed the way the feminist movement handles the overlapping of different identities, which has helped feminist theorists understand the experiences of women of colour much more clearly. While intersectionality has a very important role in the conversation and practice of feminism, there are certainly critiques of the concept that should be brought up. These critiques, however, can offer a way to improve the study of intersectionality.

The modern definition of feminism: “an ideology that, in its most basic form, directly opposes sexism by supporting gender equality and portraying women and men as equal.” (Finsterbusch 59). This definition was the early direction towards treating women like human beings rather than a housebound body, and this is why feminism should not be viewed as a harmful ideology. By exemplifying the importance of the ideology of feminism, by refuting those who claim that women have used feminism to exploit their personal wants and desires, and by presenting women’s first hand encounters of inequality, case studies, sound arguments and documented research one will be persuaded that the ideology of feminism is not discrimination towards men, but rather an encouragement for a woman’s rights and equality.

“Today, the average full-time working woman earns just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns…in 2014, that’s an embarrassment. It is wrong” (Kessler). Nearly every American has heard this claim, or at the very least, others like it. So widespread is the sentiment, that even President Obama himself has repeated it. Many contemporaries point to the widespread availability and acceptance of facts such as these as one of the major accomplishments of modern feminism. However, within the apparent shining bastion of social justice lies a dark shadow; a truth that many would prefer go ignored. Third wave feminism, as a movement, in contrast to first and second wave feminism, is a failure because of its lack of a central, uniform, well defined platform, its inability to win popular support, and its focus on social aspects rather than legal or political ones.

As Third Wave feminism is currently unfolding before us, and its aims encompass a wide array of complex issues, it is often hard to describe what Third Wave feminism is. The feminist theories, mainly associated with First and Second Wave feminism attempt to describe the power imbalances that are found in society, and while doing so expose other oppressions, such as discrimination based on race or sexual orientation. As this essay attempts to place a clear definition to Third Wave feminism, feminists are concurrently trying to deconstruct old definitions and open it up for women to determine what feminism means to them. In other words, no clear definition on what is meant to be a feminist is sufficient, as the Third Wave is about

The 1960s was a time of great challenges and changes for our nation. One movement that caused a lot of change was the Youth movement, which altered our views of the Cold War and changed our everyday lives. The Feminist movement was/is a long hard path, they won many rights, but lost many too. The Feminist movement has been a very difficult, but it got a big push during the Civil Right movement. During the 1960s, there was great confusion due to the Civil Right movement, the Cold War, and changing of laws and lives.

The challenging and discordant opinions regarding gender equality have origins in various schools of thought, across time and place. Modern feminism heavily borrow from these old ideas and expounds upon them. Feminist worldwide are renowned for the action they must continually take that challenges the negative societal and stereotypical norms

An anti-feminist is one who doesn’t consider the political, social, or economic equality of females. Some choice words to describe an anti-feminist are bigot, sexist, and male chauvinist.1 A feminist is just essentially the opposite of an anti-feminist. Feminists are advocates of women's rights in all areas. Before the early 1800s the word feminist was just defined as “being feminine.”2

Feminism is a critique of patriarchy, on the one hand, and an ideology committed to women’s emancipation on the other. The feminist movement can be see mainly in 3 stages in the UK. It can be argued that feminism had its day due to lack of momentum behind a third and fourth stage of its movement resulting in a decline of feminism in this generation. In this essay, I will be focusing more attention on the first and second waves of feminism compared to third stage of feminism.

Feminists around the world fight for one thing: the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes. However, depending on a number of factors, the path which a feminist must take to accomplish this goal changes drastically. These variations further complicate discussions of feminism because they may seem like sticking points, when, in reality, they are able to enrich the conversation of what . By virtue of the word “women” being so broad, it’s difficult to have a unified feminist movement throughout the world fighting for the same goal. Every woman needs something different out of feminism, therefore, it’s counterproductive for feminists to ignore these differences while pursuing equality. Admittedly, all feminists have the same objective, however, the path to this goal is different for every feminist, and the movement requires closer attention to differing desires.

Feminism was once a movement understood to focus on the rights of women. Feminism today involves a countless range of other human right affairs aiming to defend a state of equality and legal protection for men, women, and everyone in between. Throughout American history feminism has been associated with negative, false images that devour the efforts of activist who strive to bring justice to widely ignored issues. The theory of feminism has existed since the nineteenth century and has since evolved over generations to fit modern society, yet the label “feminist” continues to bring up controversy and criticism. Feminism has a stigma attached to it brought on by opposition and misconceptions which make it difficult to be taken seriously.

Controversy has surrounded the Women’s Movement since its very beginnings at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York in 1848. This opposition to feminism is still apparent today. Throughout American history, many have debated over the definition of feminism. Even now, historians and politicians are unsure of what it means to be a feminist. In 1913, activist Rebecca West explained, “I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.” West was not exactly sure what feminism was, similarly to many other women and men at the time. Additionally, the definition of feminism became skewed as it was shaped by stereotypes and misconceptions. At the 1992 Republican National Convention,

Feminism originated in Europe and North-America after the 1800’s, as in these parts of the world industrial growth, capitalism, and democracy converged. Until the feminist movements, women did not have the same rights as men did: they could not vote or have good jobs. That is why women began to agitate for equal treatment: they demanded equal educational, economic, and political opportunities. (Freedman, 2002) Feminist women reached their goals in 3 waves: in the first wave, they achieved educational and voting rights, followed by the second wave (approximately from 1960-1980), when the focus point was on sexuality, working life, family, and inequalities between women and men – to conclude, the second wave aimed to find out where women are ignored. In the

This paper primarily focuses on the history and development of Feminism. Feminism can be defined as a set of ideologies and movements which are aimed at the identification and establishment of women rights in all aspects of our lifes. Feminism’s history and development is a set of events, movements and discussions which lead to several successful reforms in favour of women. As centuries passed by, developments in Feminism took place; this is also the reason why women in today’s world have so many rights and have freedom. Thus, Feminism is a very integral part of world history as it played a role in defining women’s right and their position in this world.

In today’s world, women can now do many things that at one time were considered taboo, or even illegal. Because of the many amazing women and their fight to be treated as equal, women now have a lot of opportunities that weren’t available before. Women would not be where they are today if it were not for the Feminist Movement. “Feminism is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” (Merriam-Webster.com)

America has seen numerous movements that have come and gone, and all of them had an agenda for which they stood for. Even in modern times, many rights and activists groups are often pushing for amendments and reforms for certain issues for which they feel upset about. These movements have been particularly important over the course of years in the manner of America’s social, economic and political affairs have developed. The three waves of feminism are some of the well renowned feministic movements that have fought for different rights for women populations over the years. The three waves of feminism advocate for gender equality and recognition of women’s rights by fronting political and sociological principles through public campaigns. Feminism traces its roots in ancient Greece but has since spread to all parts of the world. In the modern day, the world is experiencing the third wave of feminism that is continuing to bear fruits in a variety of ways, and for this reason, it 's hard to pinpoint the achievements it takes. However, while it remains to be seen as to what the third wave achieves, the first and second wave of feminism have accomplished numerous achievements in the past.