History of Feminism.docx

1、History of FeminismHistory of Feminism The history of feminist movements has been divided into three waves by feminist scholars.12 Each is described as dealing with different aspects of the same feminist issues. The first wave refers to the feminism movement of the 18th through early 20th centuries,

2、 which dealt mainly with the Suffrage movement. Writers such as Virginia Woolf are associated with the ideas of the First Wave of feminism. In her book A Room of Ones Own (book), Woolf “describes how men socially and psychically dominate women. The argument of the book is that “women are simultaneou

3、sly victims of themselves as well as victims of men and are upholders of society by acting as mirrors to men” 1 She recognizes the social constructs that restrict women in society and uses literature to contextualize it for other women.The second wave (1960s-1980s) dealt gender inequality in laws an

4、d culture. It built upon the established goals of the First Wave and began to adapt the ideas to American culture. Simone De Beauvoir is very much associated with this wave because of her idea of women as “the other”. This idea was touched upon in the writing of Virginia Woolf and was adapted to app

5、ly not only to the gender roles of women in the household or at work, but their sexuality as well. Beauvoir set the tone for later Feminist theory ( 1 The Third wave of Feminism (1990s-current), is seen as both a continuation and a response to the perceived failures of the Second-wave.3In addition t

6、o “responding” to the Second Wave, the Third Wave was less of a reaction to current events and more a focus on developing the different achievements of women in America. The Feminist Movement grew during the Third Wave of feminism to incorporate a greater number of women who may not have previously

7、identified with the dynamic and goals that were established at the start of the movement. Although criticized as purely an addition to the Second Wave, the Third Wave very much holds its own additions to the Feminist Movement as a whole. In order to explore the history, events, and structure of the

8、Feminist movement it is imperative to explore different figures, specific protests and demonstrations, as well as the transformation in American culture as a whole. The feminist movement is essentially one that has worked and continues to work against the status quo in American society. According to

9、 bell hook, “Feminism is a struggle against sexist oppression. Therefore, it is necessarily a struggle to eradicate the ideology of domination that permeates Western culture on various levels, as well as a commitment to reorganizing society so that the self-development of people can take precedence

10、over imperialism, economic expansion and material desires.” 4Americas culture is one that is measured on a patriarchal scale. Countering these standards is part of the Feminist Movements agenda and, although differing during the progression of waves, it was a movement started to also challenge the p

11、olitical structure. In thinking of a social movement as a collective, organized, sustained, non-institutional challenge to authorities, power holders, or culture beliefs or practices it can be said the Feminist Movement in all aspects a large and long lasting social movement. This is assuming that a

12、 social movement must exist with more than one person and by all means the Feminist Movement is one that is multifaceted incorporating the efforts of individuals who may not have affiliated themselves with the movement yet helped the goals of the movement become attainable. There are examples of dif

13、ferent groups who were part of the movement that rejected the institution of the American system of capitalism, however, the agenda of the First and Second waves worked with the American political system in order to gain more rights.The feminist movement reaches far back before the 18th century, fem

14、inist movement were planted during the late part of that century. Christine de Pizan, a late medieval writer, was possibly the earliest feminist in the western tradition. She is believed to be the first woman to make a beautiful piece of writing. Feminist thought began to take a more substantial sha

15、pe during The Enlightenment with such thinkers as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and the Marquis de Condorcet championing womens education. The first scientific society for women was founded in Middelburg, a city in the south of the Dutch republic, in 1785. Journals for women which focused on issues like

16、 science became popular during this period as well.citation neededThe period of feminist activity during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century in the United Kingdom and the United States is referred to as the first wave of feminism. It was sometime in the 1920s when feminism died in the

17、 US. It focused primarily on gaining the right of womens suffrage. The term, first-wave, was coined retrospectively after the term second-wave feminism began to be used to describe a newer feminist movement that focused as much on fighting social and cultural inequalities as further political inequa

18、lities.5In Britain, the Suffragettes campaigned for the womens vote, which was eventually granted to some women in 1918 and to all in 1928 as much because of the part played by British women during the First World War, as of the efforts of the Suffragists. In the United States leaders of this moveme

19、nt include Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who each campaigned for the abolition of slavery prior to championing womens right to vote. Other important leaders include Lucy Stone, Olympia Brown, and Helen Pitts. American first-wave feminism involved a wide range of women, some belonging

20、to conservative Christian groups (such as Frances Willard and the Womans Christian Temperance Union), others resembling the diversity and radicalism of much of second-wave feminism (such as Stanton, Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage and the National Woman Suffrage Association, of which Stanton was presid

21、ent). In the United States first-wave feminism is considered to have ended with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1919),granting women the right to vote.citation neededThe women who made the first efforts towards womens suffrage were those who came from the m

22、ore stable and privileged backgrounds. In order to create change one must be in a position to dedicate time and energy into making change. The women previously mentioned worked very hard to attain the personal and collective goals. Their intentions benefited women in America, but not all women. The

23、developments made for women were for those who belonged to the middle and upper class and were part of the White race. This was the dynamic of the beginning of the Feminist Movement in America. It was a specific agenda for a certain group of women.The second wave of feminist activity began in the ea

24、rly 1960s and lasted through the late 1980s. What helped trigger this second wave was the book written by Betty Friedan. The key event that marked the reemergence of this movement in the postwar era was the surprise popularity of Betty Friedans 1963 book The Feminine Mystique.Writing as a housewife

25、and mother (though she had had a long story of political activism, as well), Friedan described the problem with no name the dissatisfaction of educated, middle class wives and mothers like herself who looking at their nice homes and families wondered guiltily if that was all there was to life was no

26、t new; the vague sense of dissatisfaction plaguing housewives was a staple topic for womens magazines in the 1950s. But Friedan, instead of blaming individual women for failing to adapt to womens proper role, blamed the role itself and the society that created it (Norton, Mary Beth, A people A Natio

27、n pg 865. 2005 Houghton Mifflin Company New York.) During this time feminists campaigned against cultural and political inequalities. The movement encouraged women to understand aspects of their own personal lives as deeply politicized, and reflective of a sexist structure of power.If first-wave fem

28、inism focused upon absolute rights such as suffrage, second-wave feminism was largely concerned with other issues of equality, such as the end to discrimination.5 The feminist activist and author, Carol Hanisch coined the slogan The Personal is Political which became synonymous with the second wave.

29、67 Second-wave feminists saw womens cultural and political inequalities as inextricably linked and encouraged women to understand aspects of their personal lives as deeply politicized and as reflecting sexist power structures.In the early 1990s, a movement arose in responses to the perceived the fai

30、lures of second wave feminism, it has been termed the third wave. It is also described as a response to the backlash against initiatives and movements created by second-wave feminism. Feminist leaders rooted in the second wave like Gloria Anzaldua, bell hooks, Chela Sandoval, Cherrie Moraga, Audre L

31、orde, Maxine Hong Kingston, and many other feminists of color, called for a new subjectivity in feminist voice. They sought to negotiate prominent space within feminist thought for consideration of race related subjectivities. This focus on the intersection between race and gender remained prominent

32、 through the Hill-Thomas hearings, but began to shift with the Freedom Ride 1992. This drive to register voters in poor minority communities was surrounded with rhetoric that focused on rallying young feminists. For many, the rallying of the young is the emphasis that has stuck within third wave fem

33、inism.58 The different waves of feminism are not only reflective of the cultural evolution in American since the 1920s but it is also the way in which the Feminist Movement used different social movement tactics to encourage women in America to become active and motivate individuals to make change for the whole of women