The First Wave Feminism

Women in the nineteenth century lived in a time characterized by gender inequality. At the beginning of the century, women could not vote, could not be sued, were extremely limited over personal property after marriage, and were expected to remain obedient to their husbands and fathers.( women’s suffrage movement 1) In most situations, the men would have to go to work and bring home the money, and the women would have no choice but to stay home, clean the

The first rumblings of feminism began in the latter part of the eighteenth century with what was later to be called the “women’s movement.” By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the political focus of the women’s movement would center on suffrage—the political right or act of voting, and those who advocated such rights for women suffragists or suffragettes. (Klein 29) During this beginning era of feminism, it is clear that equality means one and only one thing: sameness. That is, being viewed as essentially the same as men; having the same rights, opportunities and privileges as

As the century immediately following the American Revolution, the 19th century experienced a rise in feminism as it harbored the first feminist movement in America. Although some women chose to embrace their “roots” by retaining their domestic sphere of influence, many women began to show discontent with the limited number of rights women held. Soon enough, the fight for women’s rights resulted in women gaining more prominence in society.

Women bearing the weight of unfairly biased ideals set by the society standards of the 1800s led to the reformation called the suffrage movement. Each woman endured the impossible guidelines of how a gentlewoman should conduct herself. Set in a time period in which one’s reputation meant prosperity or ruin, the public view meant everything. The suffrage movement of the early 1800s was influenced by the first industrial revolution. Reformation was not widespread until a majority of women joined the second industrial revolution. The taxing demand of working and sustaining the household, pushed women to their limit and they were no longer subdued by imaginings of a perfect life. Equality rights were not immediately seen from the first generation of women in the 1800s. The later oppressed generations of women pushed for equality and were successful. The right to vote and hold positions in office was the goal of the women’s suffrage movement. Without any political rights, the reform took longer because men had to vote for their cause. Decades later in the 1920s, the nineteenth Amendment was passed for women’s legal right to vote. The suffrage movement marked the twentieth century with one of the first victories of democratic civil rights. The controlling restraints of society’s idealistic views of how a woman should tend to her household and not expand beyond her civil duties led to

There have been numerous women throughout history whom have influenced and helped spread change for feminism. The first wave feminists (from the 1800’s to the early 20th century) started numerous organizations to help and support women’s rights and also helped in part of passing legislations that further aid the rights granted to women. Some of the most important first wave feminists include Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul. The second wave feminists (from the mid 20th century to late 20th century) helped further rights granted to women from the household to their lifestyle. Some important second wave feminists include Betty Friednas and Mary King and Casey Hayden. All four women made significant contributions to the feminist cause.

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.

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.

As the country entered into war, women’s suffrage campaigns were put on hold, nonetheless, their works during this period were the push that they needed to win support from some of those who doubted their cause. As men began to be shipped off into the First World War, many industrial

“You cannot be a humanist unless you are a feminist. You either advocate equality for all or you are a misanthrope” (Michael A. Sherlock). From women’s suffrage to abortion laws feminism has evolved with contemporary battles and a variety of approaches. The

"[Stella] backs out of sight. He advances and disappears. There is the sound of a blow. Stella cries out."(Williams 3.165-8) To Stella, this is attractive. Williams ' A Streetcar Named Desire, published 1947 between the first wave of feminism and the second wave of feminism, portrays two polar opposite ideologies regarding feminism and masculinity. Stanley represents what a man was supposed to be prior to the re-evaluation of masculinity by the first wave of feminism; men were supposed to be assertive, aggressive, and the kings of their homes. Stella, his wife, is meant to serve as an example of how women were supposed to act and ignore the behavior of their husbands. Mitch is the polar opposite of Stanley 's type of masculinity; he is

The women's rights movement of the mid-nineteenth century unified women around a number of issues that were seen as fundamental rights for all citizens; they included: the right to own property, access to higher education, reproductive rights, and suffrage. Women's suffrage was the most controversial women's rights issue of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and divided early feminists on different lines. In 1917 women secured their right to vote, and the women’s right lost it’s momentum. During World War I and II women did outside jobs that they liked, to help economic while husband’s were at war. After WWII, the women’s right had difficulty to come together for important issues. It was not until the socially explosive 1960s

Black Feminism Black feminism is a concept developed from the idea of white feminism and the existence of sexism and classism within the groups of women involved. When discussing feminism it mostly consists of white women fighting for their rights as women and equality for them, however it doesn’t occur to them the place of privilege they come from in the ability to have spoken about such a subject and earn recognition. Black feminism became a thing in the ‘60s, in response to the sexism of the Civil Rights Movement and racism of the feminist movement. From the 70s to 80s, black feminists formed multiple different groups which addressed the role of black women in black nationalism, gay liberation, and second-wave feminism.

Feminism by definition means the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men. But many a time’s people restrict the boundary of these forgetting the very important element of diversity of women living in different places and in varied situations.

The 1960’s first wave of feminism in literature brought about the importance of understanding and studying Women’s History, and the reasons behind origins of the Feminist theory and the feminist movement and gender binaries. Newfound research pertaining to female History helps us to better understand modern social constructs and how they were established. Starting with the late eighteenth century, which marks the transition from pre-industrialization to the emergence of economic development in Europe, and then closely following with the American Industrial Revolution. During the rise of the industrial revolution and the eighteenth century came the conception of the classification of gender and sex into two distinct biological characterizations pertaining to masculinity and femininity, commonly known today as the gender binary. The establishment of gender and “the modern system of gender difference” is the basis of social, cultural and political patterns within a certain societal group and the roles or expectations that society has assigned to that specific gender. Authors of Gender in 18th century England Hannah Barker and Elaine Chalus, introduce the notion that Men and women during 18th century were “defined by starkly contrasting and increasingly rigid gender roles, most specifically exemplified by an increasing confinement of women to a private, separate, domestic sphere.” (Barker 22) As 19th century loomed in the near future, women in protest of the societal norms

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.