Introduction
Feminism is manifested worldwide, but it originally started in the West. Throughout the most history of the West, public life was only reserved for men, while women were constrained to the domestic domain. In medieval Europe, it was prohibited for women to study, own their property or take part in any kind of public related life. France, on the other hand, in the 19th century, made the women cover their heads. Also, In sections of Germany, in the 20th century, men had were allowed to trade their wives. Also, In the same 20th century, the U.S and Europe did prohibited women from casting votes.
There is some evidence of the existence of early organized protests by women as early as the 3rd century. When Roman consul, Marcus Porcius, resisted appeals to repeal laws that put limits on women on the use of expensive goods, the Capitoline Hill was filled by women blocking every entrance in protest. For most of recorded history, however, the very source of feminism can be traced back to the 1830s (Offen 45). The word feminism came from the source of “féminisme,” which was invented in 1837 by Charles Fourier. Charles Fourier was a utopian socialist and French philosopher who had many ideas about women and their emancipation and liberation. Feminism is the fight for gender equality. Over the past 180 years, the battle for equality is seen in four major waves. Issues including the right to vote, civil rights, equal education, domestic violence, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual liberation, and the disenfranchisement of the minority have all been raised. The women have held protests in the process. This paper looks at feminism in detail; it seeks to give the history of feminism and explain its importance.
The First Feminism Wave
The first feminism wave took place in the 19th and 20th centuries as a fight for equality and rights to own property for women, suffrage movements, and organizations by activists (Annapurany 424). The first wave took about 70 years as the women fought tooth and nail, marching and protesting. The women faced arrest, and they were ridiculed. The women mostly fought for the right to vote. In 1848, convection organized by Elizabeth Cady and Lucretia Mott at Serena Falls was held, and this is where the first wave of feminism began.
Examples of protests in the first wave include; fight against chattel marriages and fight for political and economic equality. The importance of 20th-century feminism (First-wave feminism) brought about the issue of a women’s right to vote. Women such as American activist Emma Willard wrote to the Provisory President of the new Republic Dupont de l’Eure in France to demand the women in the country to vote. On July 14, 1848, a group of American feminists drafted the “Declaration of Sentiments” in New York, where they passed resolutions regarding women’s suffrage (Robinson 15).
In the first-wave, fighting for women’s suffrage helped women gain access to higher education and attend colleges and Universities. The black women who weren’t recognized, such as Sojourner Truth, made considerable contributions to first-wave. She was an abolitionist and activist, and she also advocated specifically for the rights of all women and human rights for people of African descent. The movement, however, despite the Truth efforts, the movement eventually established itself as a specifically white women movement. In 1920, the women were given the right to cast votes by congress. The amendment, in theory, gave rights to all women to vote, but in actual practice, it was hard for the black women to vote.
The Second Feminism Wave
The second wave of feminism was from the 1960s to the 1970s, and there was a greater focus on women’s liberation. The second wave of feminism commenced with the book Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Women fought for their freedom. In the 1960s, in the era of the civil rights movements, women across all walks of life fought for their rightful place in American society (Second-wave Feminism 1). Radical feminism began because of unrest in the 1960s (Robinson 19). when there was a great need to address issues regarding class, race, socio-economic status, and the lack of recognition. Members of the group National Organization for Women (NOW) fought for their rights and equality for themselves and others. The movement was mostly made up of white middle-class women and mostly worked to change the way society thought about women.
Second-wave feminists also fought for the issue of physical violence and sexual assault at home and the workplace (James 646). When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yes to the birth control pill, it enabled women to be in charge of their bodies when it came to pregnancy. Also, many women in post-war America faced domestic violence because men saw them as objects. Additionally, activists in local law enforcement agencies created up to 48 shelters for battered women. The second wave movement fought to have women hold their credit cards and to apply for mortgages, its outlawed material rape, and worked against any kind of sexual harassment. Black women decamped from the group to form their movement, “womanism.”
Third Feminism Wave
There is no enough clarity on when the third wave of feminism started. The third and fourth waves of feminism and the influence they both had are reflected in how women see themselves today. Others claim that it began in the 1980s, and this is where women experienced sexual liberation movements that marginalized individuals in the already existing groups (Davis 1). However, most people pegged it to the Anita Hill case in 1991. Anita Hill testified against Thomas in the congress; he had sexually assaulted her. Congress’ decision to send Thomas to the senate led to national debates on men overrepresentation in leadership roles at the national level.
With the third wave movement, more sexuality communities and cultures emerged to support transgender, gender non-conforming people, and people of color. In the third wave and the 1990s, radical feminists articulated queer politics to regain derogatory terms that were used to describe gay men and lesbians (Davis 1). The feminists distanced themselves from lesbian and gay movements because they felt that it reflected white gay, lesbians, and middle-class men. The third wave was hugely influenced by the rise of riot grrrls, a music group. The third wave worked to embrace girliness, as opposed to what the second wave advocated.
Fourth Feminism Wave
The fourth feminism wave can be classified as a present-day wave. In the fourth-wave, feminists fight against oppression such as racism, classism, sexual orientation, and classism. Gender equality is still a significant challenge, even in the 21st century. Feminists fight against oppression, vulnerability, lack of power; they battle for the freedom of women (Ruth and Vivienne 14). Feminists in the fourth-wave seem to have a broader list of pushing for policies that help disenfranchised women. The #MeToo movement, which emerged in October 2017, fights against sexual harassment and sexual assault against women (Andersen 1). Feminists in the #MeToo movement use social media and other platforms to push their cause, bring attention, take away fear, put an end to rape, and to curb sexual harassment against women.
Conclusion
In conclusion, feminism is a significant movement that has successfully advocated for the rights of women for many years. Feminism simply implies that both women and men are equal; it is crucial since it allows for equal fair opportunities for both genders. The traditional perception was that women are supposed to remain at home and take care of it; that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. However, feminism has turned this perception around. Women have fair opportunities compared to some decades ago. Feminism is key to all these and continues to play a huge role in fighting for women’s rights. Sexual assault and harassment against women are almost done with, and not just in the U.S. but in most parts of the world with feminism movements being the main reason behind this. All women of different backgrounds, races, economic status, etc. continue to fight for equality. The fight is not going to stop, as there are still issues that are yet to be addressed.
