Feminism's Four Waves

• The women's rights movement in the United States has occurred in four main phases: the first, second, third, and fourth waves of feminism.

First Wave Feminism

• Began in the 19th century
• Primarily focused on women's right to vote
• Achieved goal of women's suffrage in the early 20th century

Second Wave Feminism

• Began in the 1960s, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement
• Inspired by the publication of feminist texts, such as The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
• Focused on issues beyond voting rights, including workplace equality, sexual harassment, and access to contraception and childcare
• Continued through the 1980s

Third Wave Feminism

• Began in the 1990s
• Focused on intersectionality: the idea that gender-based oppression varies based on factors like race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic class

Fourth Wave Feminism

• Began in the early 2010s and is ongoing
• Heavily focused on intersectionality
• Uses social media and online tools to explore feminist issues

Important Figures in First Wave Feminism

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott: Organized the first U.S. convention focused on women's rights in 1848
• Frederick Douglass: Attended the 1848 convention and was active in both the women's suffrage and abolition movements
• Susan B. Anthony: A leader in the women's suffrage movement

Important Figures in Second Wave Feminism

• Betty Friedan: Published The Feminine Mystique in 1963, credited with starting the second wave of feminism
• Fannie Lou Hamer and Gloria Steinem: Worked for voting rights and supported young African-American women in blue-collar jobs
• Shulamith Firestone and Judith Brown: Radical feminists who believed that all institutions created by men were oppressive to women
• Phyllis Schlafly: Leader in the conservative women's movement who opposed the Equal Rights Amendment

Important Figures in Third Wave Feminism

• Kimberle Crenshaw: Coined the term "intersectionality" in 1989
• Women writers: bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, Gloria E. Anzaldua, and Maxine Hong Kingston addressed concerns of women of color, queer women, and working-class women

Conservative Women's Movement

• Believed in maintaining the patriarchal status quo
• Considered traditional female societal roles appropriate
• Phyllis Schlafly was a key leader, opposing the Equal Rights Amendment

Radical Women's Movement

• Believed that all institutions created by men were inherently oppressive
• Some radical feminists advocated for separatism: women separating themselves from men

Liberal Feminists

• Sought greater equality for women without completely remodeling society

The Equal Rights Amendment

• Proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution to guarantee equal legal rights regardless of sex
• First introduced to Congress in 1923
• A newer version introduced in the early 1970s
• Faced opposition from conservative women led by Phyllis Schlafly, who argued it would disadvantage housewives and divorced mothers
• Ultimately, it was never adopted into the Constitution

Important Milestones in Women's Rights

• 1848: Seneca Falls Convention, the first U.S. convention focused on women's rights
• 1916: Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in Brooklyn
• 1920: The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote
• 1923: An Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced to Congress but failed
• 1960: The FDA approved the first commercial birth control pill for women
• 1963: Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique was published, spurring the second wave of feminism
• 1963: The Equal Pay Act required employers to pay equitable wages regardless of sex, race, national origin, or religion
• 1964: The Civil Rights Act was passed, Title VII prohibited employment discrimination based on sex, race, religion, or national origin
• 1972: Title IX was signed into law, prohibiting discrimination in academic activities based on sex
• 1973: The Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion that made abortion legal
• 1980: Sexual harassment was legally defined as a form of sex discrimination, with rules prohibiting it in the workplace