The History of the Feminist Movement
By Quinn E.
In the most simplistic definition, feminism refers to the social and political movement aimed toward achieving equality for all genders. From here, it branches into several smaller sectors, ranging from fairly bare-bones feminism that focuses on the smaller details of gender inequality, to radical revolutionaries. Despite their differences, most branches of the feminist movement focus on a similar goal: dismantling oppressive power structures directed at women, which are often referred to as the patriarchy. According to the Merriam Webster’s dictionary, patriarchy is “a family, group, or government controlled by a man or a group of men.”
The changes in feminism throughout the history of the United States are normally organized into three sections called waves. First-wave feminism generally refers to the women’s suffragist movement, which took place in the 19th and early 20th centuries. While pressure for gender equality has been a thing for most of the time organized society has existed, the feminist movement is considered to have begun when more organized mass movements with lasting effects toward equality took place. One of the main contributions of first-wave feminism is the work toward women’s suffrage. While much of the movement excluded women of color, first-wave feminism spurred necessary social and political changes in relation to women as a whole. Due to their contributions, women are now able to own their own property and vote in governmental elections.
While first-wave feminism was very centralized in its goals, second-wave feminism represents the beginning of the discussion of many important issues in feminist discourse. With second-wave feminism, we see a focus on issues of representation of women in media and pop culture, reproductive rights, and de-normalizing misogyny in the workplace. Starting in the early sixties and lasting until the end of the eighties, second-wave feminism is what is sometimes considered to be the start of more modern feminism. With second-wave feminism, the gradual changes in societal views toward women began to take form. Due to the contributions by second-wave feminists, we see women begin to be allowed a place outside of the home or clerical work, and an increase in widespread prioritization of bodily autonomy.
The third-wave of feminism covers the nineties until now. The changes we make for future generations are not yet known. However, in recent years we have seen much of feminism shift into a more intersectional perspective, even despite the lasting anti-transgender and racist sentiments of past generations of feminists. We have seen many of our role models take a stand in favor of gender equality, and we have seen an increase in three-dimensional and complex heroines. In this new era of feminism, we have seen people of all genders fight against the epidemic levels of sexual assault and the cultural norm of victim-blaming. The third-wave is changing the world, just like the generations that came before us. Together, we can make the world a safer and fairer place for people of all genders. We just have to keep walking forward.
