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Women 's First Wave Of Feminism Essay

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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

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