Second And Third Wave Feminism

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

This is particularly so for 'second wave' feminism that emerged in the late 1960s, which was essentially feminist activism (3). This movement worked at raising awareness of different issues such as equal pay for women, which was officially established in May of 1974 (4). Furthermore, feminism played a role in the formation of political groups such as the 'women's electoral lobby' who made recommendations regarding political candidates and made submissions to government on issues affecting women. Thus, we can see the rise of women taking steps to have a voice which can affect politics

The first wave of the feminist movement major achievement was securing the right to vote, yet were not able to fully succeed in their campaign for liberty and equality, because of the Great Depression and the Second World War. In the 1940s, women gained increasing employment as men left overseas to fight in the war. After the war women were expected to surrender their jobs to the returning men from the war consequently, trigger for the second wave feminist movement. The men who came back and retook their old jobs from women who were doing the same jobs during the war were given higher salaries, further highlighting inequality in the workforce. World War II showed that women could break out of their gender roles as was required yet, in the 1950s women were still searching for ways to end their domestic servitude and to see an end of socialized images of household chores as “women’s work.” And not to try to achieve the “June Cleaver ideal” that society demanded. Furthermore, wives were stuck in the suburbs without any personal transportation, living in a domestic life that suppress them while their husband went to work interacting in the workforce in the city. The organizations from The Second Wave Feminist Movement were formed to change the way women viewed

Towards the end of the twentieth century, feminist women in America faced an underlying conflict to find their purpose and true meaning in life. “Is this all?” was often a question whose answer was sought after by numerous women reaching deeper into their minds and souls to find what was missing from their life. The ideal second-wave feminist was defined as a women who puts all of her time into cleaning her home, loving her husband, and caring for her children, but such a belief caused these women to not only lose their identity within her family but society as well. The emotions that feminist women were feeling at this time was the internal conflict that caused for social steps to be taken in hopes of

This third wave recognizes that society is unique politically, economically and culturally in comparison to previous waves of feminism. However, the third wave represents an increase in the variant of attitudes toward gender equity as well as an increase in the number of individuals who are willing to participate actively in the third wave movement.

Late 1906s and early 70s was the next wave in the feminist movement. Taking social views and gender roles head on. The role of women was being redefined within America. After en forcing women to be domestic, the stigma of a woman in the workplace was being pushed. During the 1960s, women were determined to seek equal opportunities, in pay and work within society. Women began to speak out and be respected as they challenged traditions. Finally in the 1980s, the biggest battles were won. Women were accepted into colleges and in the workplace, all of which were reflected in media.

Women now were educated, voting, and even aiding their states during war times. In the U.S. many activists were fighting for similar issues addressed by the predecessors, however they were able to take things further, since there was a precedent. Instead of just gaining access to higher education, Second-Wavers were pushing for Women’s Studies classes and departments, and for prominent historical women to be included in academia. Women in the U.S. were also beginning the enduring battle of saving the environment. “Second-Wave feminists brought internal attention to the problems caused by violence against women and by poor environmental practices.”

Whereas the women’s suffrage movements focused mainly on overturning legal obstacles to equality, the feminist movements successfully addressed a broad range of other feminist issues. The first dealt primarily with voting rights and the latter dealt with inequalities such as equal pay and reproductive rights. Both movements made vast gains to the social and legal status of women. One reached its goals while the other continues to fight for women’s rights.

Third wave feminists criticized the first and second wave of feminism for creating a static identity in politics and overall asserting to white privilege over its main goals. Nevertheless, third wave feminists also criticized the previous waves for its political theories. First wave feminism adopted the core values of liberal feminism. “Liberal feminism is feminism that works within the structure of mainstream society to integrate women into that structure” (Kinds of Feminism). This simply meant that feminists during the first wave did not want to change the traditional society but to incorporate women and to improve society. As stated previously, first wave wanted women to be incorporated into voting decisions, political and economically. Second wave feminism adopted the theories of radical feminism. Radical feminism can be explained women who believe society must change at the core, unlike the first wave. Radical feminism wanted to overrule the male dominance and shun away from a patriarchal order. Although two distinctly different political theories, third wave feminists rejected both. Liberal feminism, like the first wave, sought only to include and improve society. Second wave feminism believed that society should change at the core and shift away from patriarchal order.

“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.

Beginning in the early 1960’s, the movement continued all the way through to the early 1980’s, the second wave of feminism brought together women in a fight for equality. During the first wave of the women’s movement, from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, women accomplished social and political growth when they achieved the right to vote in the United States; but in society and in their home lives, women were still treated as second-class citizens. While the first wave of feminism focused on suffrage, the second wave of feminism focused on other areas: gender roles, family, employment discrimination, reproductive rights, social inequalities, and education. The foundation of the second wave of feminism was born out the United

When we trace the history of feminism in regard to Nationalism, we see some basic phases of it known as First Wave, Second Wave and Third Wave of Feminism. The First Wave of Feminism was the initial spark of awareness in the women and people all over the global about the condition of female class in society. Even though the words ‘Feminism’ and ‘Feminist’ existed since a long time, they gained wide spread usage in 1970s. The First Wave of Feminism was about bringing into notice issues of women which lasted from nineteenth century to early twentieth century. The Second Wave of Feminism was about working in a direction to remove the issues of First wave and getting rights for women and it began in 1960s. The Third wave of Feminism was a continuation of the Second Wave from 1990s as a reaction to failure of the previous efforts.

Women’s rights have evolved over time; beginning with being homemakers and evolving to obtaining professions, acquiring an education, and gaining the right to vote. The movement that created all these revolutionary changes was called the feminist movement. The feminist movement occurred in the twentieth century. Many people are not aware of the purpose of the feminist movement. The movement was political and social and it sought to set up equality for women. Women’s groups in the United States worked together to win women’s suffrage and later to create and support the Equal Rights Amendment. The economic boom between 1917 and the early 1960s brought many American women into the workplace. As women began to join

In 1776, the then First Lady of the United States was the first to raise her about women’s rights, telling her husband to “remember the ladies” in his drafting of new laws, yet it took more than 100 years for men like John Adams to actually do so. With the help of half a dozen determined, and in this case white upper-middle-class, women the first-wave feminism, which spans from the 19th century to the early 20th century, finally led to their goal after 72 years of protesting. The Nineteenth Amendment, which secured the rights for women to vote finally passed in 1920. This grand victory brought other reforms along, including reforms in the educational system,

The idea of women being equal to men has been debated for a very long time. Even when civilizations were just starting, most women were treated very differently from men. When women started fighting against this oppression they were called feminists. Feminism can be separated into three waves. The first wave of feminism was from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. The second wave was from the 1960s to the 1980s. The third wave of feminism started in the 1990s, but its end is unclear. Some people believe it has ended and the fourth wave of feminism has started, but others believe it continues today. The different waves have been very different in some aspects, but very similar in others. The main differences between the first and third wave of feminism are what they fought for, how they protested, and society’s reaction to their cause.