In Our World Today, The Living Generations Seem To Be Incredibly

The word feminism is defined as referring to political, cultural, and economic movements seeking greater rights and participation in society for women and girls. This word goes hand in hand with the feminist movement, which is aimed at equal rights for women. The feminist movement has had three distinct waves. The first wave took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and granted women the right to vote and practice birth control. The second wave achieved legal equality for women and began in the 1960’s and continued into the 90’s . The third wave of the feminist movement strove for social reform and began in the mid-90’s and some say it is still continuing today, or perhaps it died out

The second-wave feminism has been the driving force behind the Women’s Liberation Movement, which is synonymous within the twenty years in the later part of the twentieth century, beginning in 1960 and ending in 1980. The movement, in the past, had an impact on various aspects of social life to men and women; and this impact is still showcased in areas including, but not limited to; women’s health, fertility trends, laws and legislations, personal believes and religious discussions, interpersonal relationships and family roles, feminist issues, and gender relations.

The women’s liberation movement (or feminism as it is now known) of the 1960s and 1970s touched every home, business, and school (WA, 705). The movement even touched the sports and entertainment industries, in fact, “There are few areas of contemporary life untouched by feminism” (WA, 717). The word feminism in the early 1960’s wasn’t often used and when it was it was used with condescension or hatred. However, in the late sixties that changed thanks to a new group of women. This new diverse group of women included the: young, old, heterosexual, lesbians, working class, and even the privileged. This diverse group came together and collectively created the second wave of feminism.

When thinking about feminism in today’s society we tend to direct our minds and thoughts to a more radical and powerful train of thought. Feminism has been going on for centuries, with two main ideologies at the forefront; liberal and cultural feminism. Someone who identifies as a liberal feminist is someone who believes that women and men are a like and equal in most respects and deserve equal roles and opportunities (Wood & Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017, p. 58). And cultural feminism is someone who identifies as someone who believes that men and women are fundamentally differently; you have different rights, role and opportunities (Wood & Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017, p. 58). The women’s rights movement can be understood and broken down into three “waves”.

Feminism is both an intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks justice for women and the end of sexism in all forms. However, there are many different kinds of feminism. So some have found it useful to think of the women's movement in the US as occurring in "waves" . On the wave model, the struggle to achieve basic political rights during the period from the mid-19th century until the 1920's counts as "first wave" feminism waned between the two world wars, to be "revived" in the late 1960's and early 1970's as "second wave" feminism. The concept of 'waves' is not meant to imply that organised feminism disappeared in the

By the time the sixties rolled around, women were convinced they needed to fight for their rights. The second-wave of feminism was

In the late 19th and early 20th century, the early feminists’ focal concern was women’s suffrage. During this time, most women in the United States did not have many economic and political rights. Back then priorities of women were to take care of their homes, families, and husbands. These earlier feminists, also known as the first wave feminists, simply wanted a voice and this led to the women’s suffrage movement. By 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment finally passed and gave women the right to vote (Kotef). This successful movement influenced women everywhere in the world and continued to powerfully inspire women throughout the 20th century (Kotef). By the latter half of the century, the second wave of feminism arose. It included the voice of African-American women because this wave occurred during the civil rights movement. Second wave feminism also included important issues such as sexual and reproductive rights, legal abortions, birth control pills, and the passing of the Equal Pay Act (1963). All feminists live to create ideologies and movements that support the equality of women, but it is clear that second wave feminists were substantially different in their aims than earlier feminists (Gizberg). The goal of this paper is to analyze the main elements of second wave feminism and compare it to the works of earlier feminists. This will show the multifaceted development of second wave feminism.

Feminism began way back in the early 1800’s with a realization that gender roles limited the sexes. From the very start, there have been many male feminists, even if they are not spoken of often. In the 1830’s, William Lloyd Garrison emerged as one of the first men to openly believe in women participating in the abolition movement and other political issues. During that time, it took mounds of courage for a male to stand up and say that women could do something just as well as men. Fast forward over many years of history, and even in modern day America, men are still looked at strangely when they say they are feminists. One male feminist shared on CNN.com in 2013, “My feminism is a simple belief in equality. I’m a feminist because I believe that men and women are and should be equal, but we’re not treated equally right now” (Brougher 1). He shared his ideas of all the reasons women need to be given equal rights, but

First-wave feminism was brought on by the newly educated female population. “Women’s experiences under colonization taught them to see themselves as citizens of oppressed nations, and many entered into Nationalist politics on behalf of their beleaguered people.” (123) Women activists took an approach of social housekeepers; it was their duty as nurtures of the nation to be involved in education, social work, public health, poverty, and so on. (126) First-Wave feminists were concerned with gaining access to vote in elections and on other important matters, they were concerned with gaining access to higher education; they were concerned with temperance, since they were not well protected under the law from, drunk, abusive husbands.

Second wave feminism first emerged in the wake of World War II in the late 1940’s. It originated as a response to the post war boom. After World War II, the United States’ economy flourished, the population soared, capitalism emerged more triumphant than ever, and suburbia expanded like never before. The socio-economic state of the U.S. at this time lent itself spectacularly to middle-class familial expansion. During this time there was also a marked and, many would argue, a conscious effort to return to the patriarchal gender roles in place prior to World War II. That is to say, the nuclear family was in its glory days with the man being the undeniable head of house, and the woman his subservient housewife. The social movement toward female domesticity was heavily advocated through media propaganda which depicted the woman as a wife and mother exclusively, in the closed sphere of the home. We have previously seen with the emergence of first wave feminism the rise of feminist agenda that comes out of woman’s subordination at the hand of her husband, and misogynistic government policy and paradigm. It is this same sentiment that triggered the need for another wave of feminism, that is to say, the second wave. (Brownmiller, 36-38.)

The First Wave of Feminism is thought to have begun during the early 1800’s and lasted through the early 20th century. Much of the First Wave of Feminism aimed toward women gaining the ability to vote. This time period is also often referenced as the Suffrage Movement. During this time period of the First Wave of Feminism women were restricted in many ways and not seen as equals or individuals. Rather, they were more less thought of as a piece of property. It was in fact illegal for women to own property, execute wills or sign any documents, serve on juries, vote in elections, including local meetings. The legal restrictions put on women went so far as to say that she was not allowed to divorce her husband or refuse him of sex. Also, even

“First wave” of feminism in 1920 advocated women’s suffrage, whereas the “Second wave” targets the societal issues that women in the 21st century are facing. Betty Friedan wrote The Feminists Mystique after World War II exposing female repression and later founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) which ignited the second wave of the feminist movement. Consequently, it became noticeable that women were in multiple wars, as a result branches of feminists were formed (i.e. Liberalist, Marxist, and Socialist). Misogyny’s evolution has its own significant role in the feminist movement, stirring conversations today that affect feminist ideologies. However, in order to fully comprehend what affects second wave feminism along with the tactics utilized by feminists, one must first become acquainted with the many forms.

The First-wave feminism was created by the industrial society and liberal politics of the 19th and 20 century in the US and Europe out of concern for women’s equality. The second wave feminism emerged in the 1960s to 1970s in postwar Western welfare societies when other “oppressed” groups such as Blacks and homosexuals were being defined in the new era of European American. The Third wave brought about activism for violence against women, trafficking, body surgery and self-mutilation. They strive to break barriers by proposing a different politics that challenges notions of universal womanhood and articulates ways in which groups of women confront complex intersections of gender, sexuality, race, class, and age-related concerns. All in all,

A divide that not only impacts how women are perceived, but how they’re treated at home and in the workplace. Why wouldn’t every woman want to fight for equal pay and equal opportunity? Because the reality in our country is that a woman is going to make seventy-eight cents on every dollar a man makes. The reality is that no matter if you are just as qualified as your male counterpart, he’s probably going to get that corner office or that bonus. That’s how our world works and it’s something that won’t stop until we take a serious look at the reality of this movement we call feminism, a movement which seems to have veered off course. So, next time you’re asked if you’re a feminist, think about what that really means, not the distorted perceptions of our society. Once you do this, your answer may change, and once that answer changes, our world can begin to change as

The feminist movement refers to a chain of crusades for economic, political, social and cultural fairness for women. Feminist scholars have segregated the history of feminism into three waves; first, second and third. The first wave concentrated on women’s suffrage, the second wave focused on political and cultural disparities and the third wave analysed the definitions of femininity which takes a broad view of white upper class women. This essay will compare and contrast these waves examining the social, political and cultural challenges that feminists have contested over time. It will also discuss whether or not a fourth wave exists and seeks to describe what this looks like.