What is Feminism

Feminist theory is a major branch of sociology. It is a set of structural conflict approaches which
views society as a conflict between men and women. There is the belief that women are
oppressed and/or disadvantaged by various social institutions.

Feminist theory aims to highlight the social problems and issues that are experienced by women.
Some of the key areas of focus include discrimination on the basis of sex and gender,
objectification, economic inequality, power, gender role, and stereotypes.

Feminists share a common goal in support of equality for men and women. Although all
feminists strive for gender equality, there are various ways to approach this theory.

Some of the general features of feminism include:

 An awareness that there are inequalities between men and women based on power and status.

 These inequalities can create conflict between men and women.

 Gender roles and inequalities are usually socially constructed.

 An awareness of the importance of patriarchy: a system of social structures and practices in

What Are The Goals Of Feminism?

Increasing gender equality

Feminist theories recognize that women’s experiences are not only different from men’s but are
unequal. Feminists will oppose laws and cultural norms that mean women earn a lower income
and have less educational and career opportunities than men.

Ending gender oppression

Gender oppression goes further than gender inequality. Oppression means that not only are
women different from or unequal to men, but they are actively subordinated, exploited, and even
abused by men.
Ending structural oppression

Feminist theories posit that gender inequality and oppression are the result
of capitalism and patriarchy in which men dominate.

Expanding human choice

Feminists believe that both men and women should have the freedom to express themselves and
develop their interests, even if this goes against cultural norms.

Ending sexual violence

Feminists recognize that many women suffer sexual violence and that actions should be taken to
address this.

Promoting sexual freedom

Having sexual freedom means that women have control over their own sexuality and
reproduction. This can include ending the stigma of being promiscuous and ensuring that
everyone has access to safe abortions.

First wave feminism

The first wave of feminism is believed to have started with the ‘Women’s Suffrage Movement’
in New York in 1848 under the leadership of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Those involved in this feminist movement were known as suffragettes. The main aim of this
movement was to allow women to vote. During this time, members of the suffrage movement
engaged in social campaigns that expressed dissatisfaction with women’s limited rights to work,
education, property, and social agency, among others.

Emmeline Pankhurst was thought to be the leader of the suffragettes in Britain and was regarded
as one of the most important figures in the movement. She founded the Women’s Social and
Political Union (WSPU), a group known for employing militant tactics in their struggle for
equality.

Despite the first wave of feminism being mostly active in the United States and western Europe,
it led to international law changes regarding the right for women to vote.
It is worth noting that even after this first wave, in some countries, mostly white women from
privileged backgrounds were permitted to vote, with black and minority ethnic individuals being
granted this right later on.

Second wave feminism

Second-wave feminism started somewhere in the 1960s after the chaos of the second world war.

French feminist author Simone de Beauvoir published a book in 1949 entitled ‘The Second Sex’
which outlined the definitions of womanhood and how women have historically been treated as
second to men.

She determined that ‘one is not born but becomes a woman’. This book is thought to have been
foundational for setting the tone for the next wave of women’s rights activism.

Feminism during this period was focused on the social roles in women’s work and family
environment. It broadened the debate to include a wider range of issues such as sexuality, family,
reproductive rights, legal inequalities, and divorce law.

From this wave, the movement toward women’s rights included the signing of the Equal Pay Act
of 1963, which stipulated that women could no longer be paid less than men for comparable
work.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 included a section which prevents employers from discriminating
against employees on the basis of sex, race, religion, or national origin. Likewise, the famous
Roe v. Wade decision protected a woman’s right to have an abortion from 1973.

Third wave feminism

The third wave of feminism is harder to pinpoint but it was thought to have taken off in the
1990s. Early activism in this wave involved fighting against workplace sexual harassment and
working to increase the number of women in positions of power.

The work of Kimberlé Crenshaw in the 1980s is thought to have been the root. She coined the
term ‘intersectionality’ to describe the ways in which different forms of oppression intersect,
such as how a black woman is oppressed in two ways: for being a woman and for being black.

Since there was not a clear goal with third-wave feminism as there was with previous waves,
there is no single piece of legislation or major social change that belongs to the wave.
Fourth wave feminism

Many believe that there is now a fourth wave of feminism which began around 2012.

It is likely that the wave sparked after allegations of sexual abuse and harassment, specifically of
celebrities, which gave birth to campaigns such as Everyday Sexism Project by Laura Bates and
the #MeToo movement.

With the rise of the internet and social platforms, feminist issues such as discrimination,
harassment, body shaming, and misogyny can be widely discussed with the emergence of new
feminists.

Fourth-wave feminism is digitally driven and has become more inclusive to include those of any
sexual orientation, ethnicity, and trans individuals.

Types Of Feminism

Liberal feminism

Liberal feminism is rooted in classic liberal thought and these feminists believe that equality
should be brought about through education and policy changes. They see gender inequalities as
rooted in the attitudes of social and cultural institutions, so they aim to change the system from
within.

Liberal feminists argue that women have the same capacity for moral reasoning and agency as
men, but that the patriarchy has denied them the opportunity to practice this. Due to the
patriarchy, these feminists believe that women have been pushed to remain in the privacy of their
household and thus been excluded from participating in public life.

Liberal feminists focus mainly on protecting equal opportunities for women through legislation.
The Equal Rights Amendment

in 1972 was impactful for liberal feminists which enforced equality on account of sex.

Marxist feminism

Marxist feminism evolved from the ideas of Karl Marx, who claimed capitalism was to blame for
promoting patriarchy, meaning that power is held in the hands of a small number of men.

Marxist feminists believe that capitalism is the cause of women’s oppression and that this
oppression in turn, helps to reinforce capitalism. These feminists believe that women are
exploited for their unpaid labor (maintaining the household and childcare) and that capitalism
reinforces that women are a reserve for the work force and they must create the next generation
of workers.

According to Marxist feminists, the system and traditional family can only be replaced by
a socialist revolution that creates a government to meet the needs of the family.

Radical feminism

Radical feminists posit that power is key to gender oppression. They argue that being a woman is
a positive thing but that this is not acknowledged in patriarchal societies.

The main belief of radical feminists is that equality can only be achieved through gender
separation and political lesbianism. They think the patriarchy can be defeated if women
recognize their own value and strength, establish trust with other women, and form female-based
separatist networks in the private and public spheres.

Intersectional feminism

Intersectional feminism believes that other feminist theories create an incorrect acceptance of
women’s oppression based on the experiences of mostly western, middle class, white women.

For instance, while they may acknowledge that the work of the suffragette movement was
influential, the voting rights of working class or minority ethnic groups was forgotten at this
time.

Intersectionality considers that gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and others, are
not separate, but are interwoven and can bring about different levels of oppression.

This type of feminism offers insight that not all women experience oppression in the same way.
For instance, the wage gap shows that women of color and men of color are penalized relative to
the earnings of white men.