1791), Mary Wollstonecraft (d. 1797) and Jane Austen (d. 1817) are foremothers of the modern women's movement. All of these people advocated for the dignity, intelligence, and basic human potential of the female sex.
Mary Wollstonecraft is seen by many as a founder of feminism due to her 1792 book titled A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in which she argues that class and private property are the basis of discrimination against women, and that women as much as men needed equal rights.
Some of these early activists include, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Blackwell, Jane Addams, and Dorothy Day. The first wave of feminism was primarily led by white women in the middle class, and it was not until the second wave of feminism that women of color began developing a voice.
The wave formally began at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 when three hundred men and women rallied to the cause of equality for women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (d. 1902) drafted the Seneca Falls Declaration outlining the new movement's ideology and political strategies.
In July 1848 Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY.
Alison Jagger has defined four theories of feminism; liberal feminism, Marxist feminism, socialist feminism, and radical feminism more clearly for the first time (Jagger, 1983).
Important feminist theorists of the 20th century include Betty Friedan, Julia Kristeva, Judith Butler, Elaine Showalter, Carol Gilligan, and Adrienne Rich.
Traditionally feminism is often divided into three main traditions, sometimes known as the "Big Three" schools of feminist thought: liberal/mainstream feminism, radical feminism and socialist or Marxist feminism.
In general, feminism can be seen as a movement to put an end to sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression and to achieve full gender equality in law and in practice.
What is feminism? At its core, feminism is the belief in full social, economic, and political equality for women. Feminism largely arose in response to Western traditions that restricted the rights of women, but feminist thought has global manifestations and variations.
Today Wollstonecraft is regarded as one of the founding feminist philosophers, and feminists often cite both her life and her works as important influences.
Emmeline Pankhurst
Pankhurst, alongside other famous feminists like Mary Wollstonecraft, Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth, was a leading pioneer in the first major rallying cry for feminism.
In the United States, the first wave of the feminist movement occurred between the mid-1800s and the early 1920s. Some of the most important events during this time centered around the suffrage movement.
Most feminists agree on five basic principles—working to increase equality, expanding human choice, eliminating gender stratification, ending sexual violence, and promoting sexual freedom.
Patriarchy is about the social relations of power between men and women, women and women, and men and men.
Marxist feminists argue that working-class women are exploited by both patriarchy and capitalism. Most feminists think that gender is the most important division/conflict in society, but Marxist feminists see social class as being of equal importance.
The first examples of Australian feminism occurred during the mid 1800s to 1900. The early movement mostly concerned the applications of basic human rights to women, including the right to vote, the right to stand for parliamentary election, and protection from sexual exploitation.
Feminism often gets misconstrued by many people, but certain individuals remind us what the term truly means at its core: equality for everyone, regardless of gender. One of those stars who shines as a feminist is Lady Gaga, an inspiration to many and a pioneer of acceptance for all.
Mary Wollstonecraft has had something of a revival in recent years. Though considered the mother of first-wave feminism, the 18th-century philosopher long endured her share of trolls refusing to take her seriously.
Journalist, activist, and co-founder of the National Organization for Women, Betty Friedan was one of the early leaders of the women's rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Feminism runs across the whole A-level Sociology course, and is especially relevant to the sociology of the family. An Introduction to Sex, Gender and Gender Identity (from my 'introblock').
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) was one of the most influential women in first wave feminism.
What is modern feminism defined by? Feminism is the belief in the equality of people of all genders, a set of values aimed at dismantling gender inequality and the structures that uphold it.
It is typically separated into three waves: first wave feminism, dealing with property rights and the right to vote; second wave feminism, focusing on equality and anti-discrimination, and third wave feminism, which started in the 1990s as a backlash to the second wave's perceived privileging of white, straight women.