The First Wave Of Feminism

In 1888 the first international women’s rights organisation was formed (History Net, 2016, online). “In 1894, South Australia became the first Australian colony to grant women the right to vote” (Argent, 2013). Vida Goldstein and Mary Lee were two significant figures that helped change feminism immensely. Women in the first wave of feminism were motivated by a sense of obtaining social justice, equality and aspired to be part of their community. Religion fuelled some of the initial social advancements women made at the beginning of the 19th century (How stuff works culture, 2016, online). The “first wave” feminist movement aimed to get women the right to vote, the second wave was to gain equal opportunity, and the third was gaining an equal share in power and positions of decision making (Government of South Australia, 2014, online). “In 1904 the vote was extended to women in federal elections, this Act forced those states that had not yet enacted female suffrage in state elections to follow suit” (Macdougall, 2008, p.

The severity of World War II directly impacted the future of American women by forcing them into positions of importance - a stark contrast to their traditional role as simple housewives. Without the jolting force of World War II shoving women into the somewhat uncomfortable position as the backbone of the nation’s labor force, traditions would have been perpetuated for decades longer. Because their wartime acts gave women nationwide a sense of self-confidence, they pushed for more rights in the proceeding decades with the rise of second-wave

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.

Feminism is the fight for equality between the sexes. It can be dated back to the mid-19th century with women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. The first wave feminist procured the right to vote for American women. The following second and third waves built upon what the founding feminists created. The second wave of feminism was set off by the disenchantment women across America were experiencing. This disenchantment was caused by the nuclear family and the roles that the women in the 1950s were thrust into. The second wave is said to have lasted from the 1960s-1980s. Sometime after the 1980s, most likely the early to mid-1990s, third wave feminists began to rear their heads. The third wave built upon the advancements made

This essay examines the question, “To what extent was the second wave of feminism (in the 1960’s and 1970’s) successful in achieving equality for women?” The essay is introduced by describing why the second wave of feminism developed and the aims of this second wave of feminist. The essay is broken into two parts. The first part of the essay discusses the impact of women 's rights activist on legislation. It is argued that the second wave feminist were unsuccessful in gaining equality in terms of obtaining equal wages and opportunities for women in the workplace. They however were successful in obtaining equal rights laws and reproductive laws for women. The feminist of the 1960’s and 70’s were victorious in securing for many american women the right to have easy access to contraceptives and abortion. The second part of the essay focuses on the extent that the second wave feminist were successful in changing the mindset of Americans. These feminist wanted the view of women to be one that portrayed women less as only a housewife and more as a women who can lead a life that could involve a career in any field. Success ranged in this area. On one side there was women becoming more independent and free as they embarked the sexual revolution while in other regards such as film and music women still held an inferior role to men. The second wave of feminism achieved great success in attaining equality for women however this success was not as far ranging as these mid 20th century

Although much has changed, feminists, regardless of which wave or gender they claim to belong to, still fight for the equality of women everywhere. From the 19th century to the 21st, feminism has helped shape western society. From the first wave, granting women the right to vote to the second wave were oral contraceptives were made available to women, to the third wave which help give women different colors, cultures, nationalities, and ethnicities a voice to be

Decades following the Seneca Falls Convention, one of the very first advocacies for women’s rights, the Second-wave feminism in the 1960s saw itself as a movement that achieved great success in terms of women’s social, economic, and political rights. The Women’s Rights Movement that began in the sixties, in comparison to the first-wave feminism in the 19th century—whereas many activists focused on only women’s suffrage—the second-wave feminism dealt with a broader range of issues. From education, the patriarchal system, sexual rights, and the workforce, to advocating for reproductive rights and abortion, the Second-wave feminism allowed women to create more spaces for themselves. Yet, amidst the growing feminist movement, in spite of it being more inclusive to women of color and other minority groups in comparison to the first-wave, the second-wave feminism continued to see white middle-class women as the forefront of feminism. The second-wave of feminism brought both good and bad to the table. While they were able to pass things such as the Equal Pay Act and ensured protection in Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act, the movement was also flawed to the extent in which they failed to address intersectionality—an understanding of how oppressions of race, gender, class, and sexuality were issues not isolated from one another—and fell short in including the voices of minority women in movements such as the Black and Chicana feminism.

The feminist movement is usually defined in three ‘waves’. The first wave of feminism took place in the nineteenth century. During this time, women were dominated by white middle and upper class Anglo-American women, women of color were excluded. The second wave began in the 1960s, this wave focused on addressing social groups among women based on their race. Feminist attempted to make the issue between women and race aware but resulted in a fragmentation of feminism. The main focus was to pass the Equal Rights Amendment to the

Throughout the first-wave feminist movement, it was a goal of feminists to have laws that sought to subordinate women to men overturned. The marital exemption to rape is just one example of a law at the time that feminists viewed to subject women to the sexual desires of men. During the Victorian Era, when first-wave feminism emerged, conversations about sex in general were taboo, and the discussion of sex by a woman in a public space was especially taboo. However, this did not stop first wave feminist activists from campaigning for these rights. The campaigns against marital rape focused on a woman’s right to control sex with their husband, and they argued for self ownership over their own bodies (Hasday, 2000, p. 1417). Prominent feminists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton made arguments that marriage did not guarantee that a husband could have sex with his wife under all circumstances. At a temperance convention, she warned of the consequences of having sex with a husband who is an alcoholic, advising to “live with him as a friend...but for woman’s sake, be not his wife” (Hasday, 2000, p. 1418). There were qualities in a man that the women did not want to procreate with, and to ensure the safety of their children, they wanted protection against having sex with certain types of men. One example of this is seen in the disdain of the alcoholic husband – to live with him, be his friend, but never to have sex or reproduce with him. Stanton was firm in the belief that “woman’s

“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

The First Wave of Feminism initially targeted at getting equal rights of property and child however by the end of the nineteenth century, it started focusing on issues like

There was a strong and invigorated feminists’ movement in America from 1960s into the 1980s which was later spread into Europe and parts of Asia. Compare to first-wave feminism in which advocates sought for women suffrage, this feminist movement, which had a broader and deeper influence, focused on dealing with issues which hindered legal sexual equality, rights to reproduce as well as family roles. This feminism movement is named the Second-wave feminism. It was politically powerful and influential that it obtained significant gains including the pass of the Equal Pay Act in 1963, Title IX of the Educational Amendments in 1972 (Title IX prohibited discrimination by sex in educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance), and in 1973, the Roe v. Wade case which disallowed state laws prohibiting abortion during the first three month of pregnancy, and slowly equalized the balance between two genders in workforce positions. Women gain tremendous power: women’s share of lawyers more than quadrupled, of economists more than tripled, and of police detectives more than doubled. This women’s movement opened up public discussion of issues previously seen in the “grey area”, and therefore out of the reach of public scrutiny. In the mean time, the Congress sent the Equal Rights Amendment(ERA), which would benefit women, to the states for ratification on March 22, 1972. Within a year, thirty states had ratified the ERA.

When referring to the history of feminism in the manner of the first, second, or third wave, one is undermining the experiences that were ongoing during, in middle of, and before those waves that history defines. What ideologies of oppression were being spoken of to raise awareness and whose experience was being excluded/diminished? The articulation of feminism in using the metaphor of waves to describe how the ideologies peaked and rescinded, is incorrect because it focuses only on the voices of those who were able to bring their problems to the surface and excludes those who had a different experience or may have brought awareness in a quieter manner. There are many feminisms and each interpretation is defined by the collective oppression, rather than looking at the situation in an individual perception, which is what creates disagreements and division between feminists. Many definitions of feminism, feminisms, exist simultaneously because it is evolving as fast (or, well, as slow) as the world is changing and if one group of people are to speak of others experience of oppression (or lack of) in place of them, the result can be the glossing over of experiences and therefore, undermine experiences of others.

However, with “early feminism”, there were three important waves that were the process how people try to make men and women equal. Many people tried to get equality between men and women, women’s suffrage, female education rights, better working conditions. And these people sometimes hole the demonstration. This action is called the “first wave of feminism”, and it occurred during 19th and 20th centuries. The wave that occurred after the “first wave of feminism” is called the “second wave of feminism”. This wave was different from the “first wave of feminism”. During this wave, the people discussed about “cultural inequalities, gender norms, and the role of women in society” (A History of Feminism). However, fruitlessly, women could not get the equality between men, this wave is called the “third wave of feminism”. (Simply History of

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,