From the 18th century onwards, feminisms were beginning to emerge within society. First wave feminism began in the 18th century, focused on public inequality; political, economic, legal and social inequalities surrounding men and women. Following on from first wave liberal feminists came second and third wave feminists which saw radical, black and postmodern feminist schools emerge, which all had a different set of agendas, for example radical feminists focused on family life, violence and the control of women’s bodies, whereas, black and postmodern feminists focused on the ‘more modern’ differences and diversities between women’s lives such as race, class and sexuality issues. All of these feminist theories have led to dramatic changes in Great Britain such as changes within the law regarding education, employment and domestic life. However, whilst there have been improvements in these areas, there are still issues within the 21st century regarding females in employment and in the domestic sphere. What also needs to be taken into account is the changing face of Britain’s female population with the rise in ethnic minority women and homosexual women, and subsequently other schools of feminism need to be explored and developed in order to explain these differences.
During the period of first wave feminism, starting in the 1700s going on to the early 1900s, females were often seen as a liability and subsequently were often overshadowed by men, for example, a female could not inherit from their families as they were not seen as responsible. First wave liberal feminists aimed to achieve gender equality through changes in the law and wanted women to have a more participatory role within society. First wave feminists outlined that wome...
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...over the centuries, gender inequalities have changed, from being focused on public inequality such as getting women into both in education and the workplace, as well as giving females voting rights to being focused on the diversity and variety in women’s lives in today’s society as described by third wave feminists from the 1980s onwards, focussing on the women who were previously overlooked by other feminist schools. Earlier feminist schools have been criticised for ignoring the ‘other’ which subsequently led to the development of other schools of feminism such as black feminists, (Smith, 2013). Subsequently, in order to achieve equality for all ‘types’ of females; white, black, working-class, middle-class, heterosexual and homosexual; there will need to be a development of new schools of feminism in order to explain the experiences that each of these groups live.
The first wave was in the year of 1789 which was organised to promote women’s rights by the first group of which included a wide range of women directly after the French revolution. The revolution had been fought in the 1970s on the basis of equality and freedom for women; as a result of this many women had then formed clubs mainly in Paris and also in major cities. The main principal for these clubs was to form a meeting place for women; as a result of these meetings it caused the development of political programmes regarding many issues such as rights in education. (Quidlen, 2001) First Wave Feminist activism grew out of abolitionism, thus leading to the rise of a suffragist movement in which was to ensure that slavery was put to an end if they received the right to vote. (Giddens,
At this point, the difference perspective in ideology and political action has divided the women movement into some feminism types; socialist, Marxist, radical, liberal and many others. While liberal feminist focus their struggle for equality on civil, economic, and political rights, and education, the feminist socialist and Marxist believe women 's oppression is “the product of the political, social and economic structure within which individuals live.” (Tong, 1998: pp.94). Although some other people suppose that the feminist Marxist and socialist is quiet different, but both of them believe the source of women oppression are capitalism and patriarchy. The Marxist feminism is rooted in 19th century thinker such as Marx and Engels, whether
Starting in the 1990’s, third wave feminism brought in various feminist outlooks, some known as “radical feminism”, “Marxist feminism”, or “cultural feminism” (Dorey-Stein, 2015). In radical feminism, the oppression of women is seen as the most central form of oppression and overlooks race, ethnicity, and class. In contrast, “…radical feminism was a movement to transform society, [whereas] cultural feminism retreated to vanguardism, working instead to build a women's culture” (“Kinds of Feminism”, n.d.). While radical feminism was working for social change, culture feminism opted out of it and built alternatives that stayed away from changing the dominant society. Furthermore, Marxism and radical feminism are often seen mirroring one another. Under Marxist feminism is the idea that women are oppressed because of the capitalist system, and that the capitalist system needs to be overthrown for oppression for women to end (“Kinds of Feminism”,
“Compare and contrast women’s suffrage movements of the late nineteenth and early centuries with the European feminist movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s.” 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.
Thornton, Margaret. "Feminism And The Changing State: The Case Of Sex Discrimination." Australian Feminist Studies 21.50 (2006): 151-172. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 May
Throughout the waves of liberal feminism, there is a new characteristic to be associated with the feminist group. In the first waves, it’s white, married, wealthy women who fit the criteria to be a feminist. The first wave begins in 1900 and ends around 1920, during the times of the Suffragettes. This wave began to introduce the inequalities between men and women, especially relating to voting and education. The second wave began to rise in 1950 which introduced reproductive rights, entitlement to sex, marriage, jobs, social lives, and politics. This wave continued to the 1970’s. It’s not until the third wave, which hits in the 1990’s, when inequalities among women are introduced to the feminist movement (FYS Class Notes).
The first wave feminist movement was primarily concerned with woman’s right to vote as outlined above, and the basic notion that women are capable of being independent human beings and not simply the property of their husbands or fathers, as well as intelligent, logical, and capable of being fully functioning members of society. During the first wave of feminism, women banded together and created their own political, social justice movement for equality from the ground up, a trait that is perhaps unique to first wave feminism and the riot grrrl movement among feminist movements in the United States...
Nothing simply begins. Everything needs something else in order to develop and live continuously. Fire needs wood to burn, water needs heat to boil, and the women’s right movement needed abolition to begin the real fight. The women’s rights movement of the nineteenth century emerged out of abolition activism because it was not until after abolitionist groups formed and began fighting slavery that women began to realize they had no rights themselves and began their own fight.
The late nineteenth century was a critical time in reshaping the rights of women. Commonly this era is considered to be the beginning of what is know to western feminists as “first-wave feminism.” First-wave feminism predominately fought for legal rights such as suffrage, and property rights. A major hallmark of first-wave feminism is the concept of the “New Woman.” The phrase New Woman described educated, independent, career oriented women who stood in response to the idea of the “Cult of Domesticity,” that is the idea that women are meant to be domestic and submissive (Stevens 27).
Among the many subjects covered in this book are the three classes of oppression: gender, race and class in addition to the ways in which they intersect. As well as the importance of the movement being all-inclusive, advocating the idea that feminism is in fact for everybody. The author also touches upon education, parenting and violence. She begins her book with her key argument, stating that feminist theory and the movement are mainly led by high class white women who disregarded the circumstances of underprivileged non-white women.
Throughout history, women have remained subordinate to men. Subjected to the patriarchal system that favored male perspectives, women struggled against having considerably less freedom, rights, and having the burdens society placed on them that had been so ingrained the culture. This is the standpoint the feminists took, and for almost 160 years they have been challenging the “unjust distribution of power in all human relations” starting with the struggle for equality between men and women, and linking that to “struggles for social, racial, political, environmental, and economic justice”(Besel 530 and 531). Feminism, as a complex movement with many different branches, has and will continue to be incredibly influential in changing lives.
What is within the boundaries of the feminine is always considered to have less status and power and is always subordinate and marginal—women always remain ‘other’. I perceive feminism as a part of the process of challenging the boundaries of the socially constructed role for women in our society—a process which through struggle will create for women a different notion of the normal and natural and a different tradition of being female. (Goodman, Harrop 4)
Lemaster, Tracy. "'Girl With A Pen': Girls' Studies And Third-Wave Feminism In A Room Of One's Own And 'Professions For Women'." Feminist Formations 24.2 (2012): 77-99. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 2 May 2014
Throughout the 19th century, feminism played a huge role in society and women’s everyday lifestyle. Women had been living in a very restrictive society, and soon became tired of being told how they could and couldn’t live their lives. Soon, they all realized that they didn’t have to take it anymore, and as a whole, they had enough power to make a change. That is when feminism started to change women’s roles in society. Before, women had little to no rights, while men, on the other hand, had all the rights.
Feminists believe that education is an agent of secondary socialization that helps to enforce patriarchy. Cultural transmission has made known the way culture and precisely expectations of the genders can be transmitted from one generation to another. While Sylvia Walby’s ‘‘triple system theory’’ argues that experiences of ethnicity and class complicate what it means to be a female so we have to combine patriarchy with capitalism and