Feminism: History and Waves

Feminism

• Describes a political, cultural, and economic movement with the goal of establishing equal rights and legal protection for women.
• Encompasses political and sociological theories, advocating for gender equality for women by addressing gender differences
• Though the terms "feminism" and "feminist" are recent, the idea has been around for a long while, dating back to Katherine Hepburn in the 1942 film “Woman of the Year."
• Feminist activism encompasses a varied range of goals, which includes, women's legal rights, bodily rights and autonomy, protection from violence, and workplace fairness.

Waves of Feminism

• According to Maggie Humm and Rebecca Walker, there are three waves of feminism

The First Wave (1830s-early 1900s)

• Involved feminist activity to gain women's suffrage, education, improved working conditions, and fair sexual standards.
• It aimed to give people political power to introduce issues such as sexual, health, and economic problems.
• Focused originally on equal contracts, property rights, and was in opposition to chattel marriage.
• Activists such as Voltairine de Cleyre and Margaret Sanger also campaigned for health and economic rights.
• In 1854, Florence Nightingale established female nurses as adjuncts to the military

The Second Wave (1960s-1980s)

• The second wave occurred during WWII, and focused issues in the workplace, sexuality, family, and reproductive rights.
• The push for the Equal Rights Amendment ratification failed
• Was part of a larger civil equality movement comprised of Black Civil Rights, Anti-Vietnam, Chicano Rights, Asian-American Civil Rights, and Gay and Lesbian Movements
• Women pushed for gender equality inside co-ed organizations
• Lasted from the early 1960s to the late 1980s and, was a continuation of the suffragette movement that also aimed to reduce discrimination
• Promoted the slogan ''The Personal is Political," linking cultural and equality and encouraging women to view aspects of their personal lives as indicators of sexist power structures.

The Third Wave (1990s-early 2000s)

• Began in early 1990s as a reaction to the failures of the second wave with a continued fight for equal rights.
• Defied the second wave's "essentialist" ideals about femininity that emphasizes, the experiences of upper-middle-class white women.
• Focuses on "micropolitics" and varying feminist view
• It included eco-feminists, academic and electoral, radical, liberal/reform feminists
• Issues include gender pay inequality, reproductive rights, and ending violence against women
• Tried to provide a greater understanding of term and feminists, and fought for women’s rights

Fourth Wave (2012-Present)

• Resurgence of feminism with use of social media
• Focus is on justice for women and opposition to sexism and violence against women with the essence of "incredulity that certain attitudes can still exist"
• Fourth wave feminism is about articulating the violence and extremism experienced by women, both at home and abroad.
• Aims to align 2nd and 3rd wave feminists together to address a new and big reality that involves all races, ethics, and nationalities.
• Fourth wave campaigns examples are, Everyday Sexism Project, Ni Una menos, and the Me Too movement, with prominent, prominent members Laura Bates and Emma Watson

Feminist Thoughts

• Feminist theory involves differing groups and different view, the main ones are listed below:

Liberal Feminism

• Stems from liberalism and the belief in justice, liberty and equality for women
• Key people are Mary Wollstonecraft, J. S. Mill, and Betty Friedan
• Core theme "gender justice based on humanism"
• Questions socialization that lowers women's status
• Asserts equality between women and men
• Pointed out to have natural differences between men and women

Radical Feminism

• Puts emphasis on inequality
• Focuses on dominant male class that exploits women
• Against traditional norms that favor males
• Argue childbearing oppresses women
• People in favor, Kate Millett and Sheilamith Firestone
• Want to eliminate marriage to liberate women with advancement in technology

Marxist Feminism

• Advocates for economic independence for women
• Develops a relationship between class and sex
• Founder, Friedrich Engels, wants to stop women being regarded as male property.
• Against male domination, and all things that oppress women
• Give value to women’s work in the household

Existentialist Feminist Thought

• Concerned with sexual oppression from a patriarchal society
• Simone de Beauvoir is in charge here with 'The Second Sex', and how men are always the Subject and women are ‘Others’
• Aims to get rid of patriarchy in general.

Eco-Feminism

• Patriarchal views are bad and harmful to women, children, and earth
• Key people, Esiler, Manda Gimbutta, and Gerda Leman
• Theory to unite and bind up ways to create and end subjugation

Post Modern Feminism

• Work evolved from ‘The Second Sex’ by Simone de Beauvoir
• Other people involved are Helen Cixous, Luce Irigarary and Julia Kristeva
• Wants woman to talk out and speak out.
• Thinkers want women to create their own rules to not be suppressed by anyone.

Black feminism

• When the black communities believe they are inferior.
• Had to fight against men and white elite feminist movements.
• Made an effort to set apart to, difference between other women and black women.

Cultural Feminism

• Accepts the differences between men and women
• Sexism can be removed by having men and women share qualities.
• Stanton felt religion and Christianity subjugated woman.

Lesbian Feminism

• New concept with its foundations mostly in Europe
• Key person Elsa Gidlow, says love and loyalty is what is strong in it
• Created by Radical Lesbians (New York), to make it where women do not have an identity with men, either knowingly or unknowingly,

Equality vs Equity

• Equality treats everyone in the same way, Equity is fair justice, with each as the same, while equity demands fairness
• Equality has a goal to provide the same opportunity with fairness
• Equality is sharing at the same level, versus Justice and impartiality that gives fairness.
• Equality is known as Sameness, versus equality=fairness and justice
• Equality thinks things with how many there, and equity considers the quality.

Society

Gender Inequality

• Unequal status of women which can be shown with less pay, less rights, less control and less money
• The reason is patriarchy and that men are better than woman

Caste

• System within India described as jati
• Ranking which is very strict amongst areas.
• System to which their Jati will eat and take water among one another.
• Sanskritization means that a lower Jati means imitating the behaviour habits of what the higher Jati group has
• Constitution has worked against discrimination within the system, it still stands tall in a democratic.

Class

• Three types are Wealthy/Powerful Class, Middle Class of white collar job holders, Lower class that relies on low paying jobs.
• Top class has money. Middle has small income. And lower is those who cannot afford the poverty line.

Religion

Hinduism

• Hindus follow many gods to become incarnated
• They believe they have earned there right within their previous life.

Buddhism

• Don't typically belief in gods or pray
• More about being at peace through practice and enlightenment.

Islamic

• Allah is high above and creates both good bad
• Muhammad is the last prophet
• Believe in being good to go to heaven.

Christianity

• Jesus is savior, and with him mankind has life.
• They must be kind, giving

New Age Spirituality

• Must be happy, and positive
• Very eclectic views, there is something for some

Gender Intersections

• Intersectionality as a branch of feminist identifies different parts of the social and political side that over lap with gender
• Coined by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in 1989.
• Social such as race, social orientation, and age all over lap with others causing it to make a difference.
• Is the form of triple oppression due to non objective ideas.
• Kimberlé put it into a paper to help explain the difficulties between African-American
• The experience to being with being a black women
• Intersectionality can affect the non-white women.
• Patricia Hills Collins said it replaced "black feminist thought".

Benefits of Being Equal

• There is one thing that always falls that happens when the UN's ideals are not met- Poverty Health Life. Violence Education Ability too
• Equality benefits, rights
• Citigroup, has found that race impacts business
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that you must be equal.

Ministry, commissions

NHRC

• Independent body by Indian constitution.
• Is in New Delhi
• Watchdog of everything happening in court of India
• A multi member body, 7 in total
• The president is the one to hire everyone
• There is a term of 5 years.

Functions/ limit

• HCRC investigate
• Can be interference, jail/Institutions.
• Independent stand
• Report to the president of India limit of only taking investigations, of who did it
• Some say it is a joke

National Commission for Women

Created protect women under

• Review and recommend remedial legislative measures.
• Appoint chairman, five-member, and help women of different types. They take on what is given and then they must investigate.

Portal

National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) to help connect 85 Banks so that the people involved will the problem has been solved.

Ministry.

Women children is the broad line of thinking, but really what the ministry creates. Helps to promote, and help with all of these problems that they face.