What is Feminism?

Feminism has many definitions depending on who you ask,

but Britannica provides a simple framework: it’s the belief in the social,
economic, and political equality of the sexes. No one should be refused
certain rights – such as the right to vote, to hold political office, and to
work outside the home – because of their sex or gender. Feminism
goes beyond basic rights, however, and seeks deeper cultural shifts
like an end to sexism and intersectional oppression based on gender,
race, sexuality, and class. In this article, we’ll cover a brief history of
feminism, different types of feminism, and whether we still need
feminism today.
At its core, feminism is the belief that women deserve equal
social, economic, and political rights and freedoms. Over the
years, feminism has focused on issues like the right to vote,
reproductive and sexual freedom, and equal pay. Feminism has
also explored racism, gender norms, self-expression, and much
more.
A history of feminist movements
There have always been cultures where women held power,
like ancient Sparta where women could own and inherit property, make
business transactions, and receive a good education. There have also
always been women who fought back against patriarchal cultures.
However, “feminism” as we know it is a fairly new concept. Mary
Wollstonecraft published “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” in
1792, and while she’s considered a feminist icon today, that term
wasn’t applied in her time. The term became more well-known in the
1890s in Great Britain and America.
This is when “the first wave” of feminism began to surge. The
movement was closely tied with abolitionist movements and focused
on suffrage. In 1848, at the Seneca Falls Convention, three hundred
attendants agreed on the movement’s goals and strategies. Around the
world, women’s rights slowly began to improve. In 1893, New
Zealand allowed women to vote in the national elections. The US gave
women the right to vote in 1920 while Great Britain followed in 1928.
The second wave began in the 1960s. It was aligned with the anti-war
and Civil Rights movements. Reproductive rights and issues related to
sexuality also became more prominent. Feminism became more
intellectually diverse and complex during these years, as well.
Capitalism, the role of women, sexuality, and gender were all
discussed as feminist movements around the world became less elitist
and more inclusive than during the first wave.

Third-wave feminism is trickier to define, but it both built on and

challenged what second-wave feminism started. Third-wave feminism
embraced individuality, irony, and the right to self-expression, which
included attire and cosmetics their second-wave mothers might have
considered oppressive and sexist. The internet played a big role during
this era, as well, as it helped spread creative, multicultural feminist
content. With its diversity of ideas, third-wave feminism represents a
less cohesive movement than the first and second waves.

Are we in the fourth wave of feminism? The wave metaphors are not
perfect, but given massive shifts in societies around the world, it’s safe
to say that feminism is in a different era compared to the 1990s-2010s.
There have been renewed attacks against women’s rights, especially
reproductive rights, while the rise of social media gave feminist activists
more tools. The fourth wave also represents the most diverse and
inclusive version of feminism so far.
Consider taking an online course on Feminism and Social Justice to
learn more.
Feminism: three main types
Feminism may seem simple at its core, but there are many different
types. Here are three of the main ones to know:
Liberal feminism
Liberal feminism is what most people think of when they hear the word
“feminist.” It can also be described as “mainstream feminism.” As
defined by philosopher Alison Jagger, liberal feminism focuses on
political rights and equality in education and the workplace. That
includes issues like equal access to education, equal pay, safer
working conditions, and an end to job segregation based on sex.
Liberal feminism is also concerned with private life as the distribution of
unpaid work at home impacts a woman’s ability to participate in public
life. In the United States, liberal feminists focused on the Equal Rights
Amendment, which would have amended the constitution to ensure
legal gender equality. Feminists worked on the ERA in the 1960s and
1970s, but it was never ratified by enough states.
Over the years, liberal feminism has faced criticism on how it measures
success and equality by patriarchal standards and fails to analyze
gender, race, and class. Liberal feminism can also fail to challenge
institutional power and end up reinforcing destructive capitalist cycles.
With its focus on what individual women can do to “get ahead,” liberal
feminism often fails some of society’s most vulnerable.

Radical feminism
As the name suggests, radical feminism is more aggressive. It focuses
on dismantling the patriarchy and traditional gender roles by ensuring
reproductive rights, critiquing the nuclear family and motherhood, and
challenging institutional power. Rather than trying to change things
through established systems, radical feminists are more inclined to
change the systems themselves. The movement rose during the 1960s
when women in the anti-war and Civil Rights movements found
themselves sidelined. Many activists founded feminist groups and
embraced more radical ideas.
Today, radical feminism is often linked to trans-exclusionary radical
feminism, which denies that trans women are real women. The
term “TERF” originated in the 1970s when radical feminists began to
split over support of trans women. Trans-exclusionary radical feminists
also call themselves “gender critical.” Because of the negative
connotations, feminists who support trans women tend to not identify
as radical feminists.
Intersectional feminism
Intersectional feminism examines how sexism, racism, classism, and
xenophobia intersect and form systems of oppression. It counters
“white feminism,” which by ignoring racial oppression, can support
white supremacy. White feminism was born during feminism’s earliest
days as the most famous figureheads – like Elizabeth Cady Stanton-
only cared about suffrage for white women. The suffragettes also
excluded poor, working women and dismissed issues involving wages,
working hours, and unions.
There have always been feminists embracing and advocating for
intersectional thinking, but the term “intersectionality” was coined in a
1989 paper. In the paper, critical legal and race scholar Kimberlé
Williams Crenshaw showed how the intersection of race and gender
impacted the experiences of Black men and women in the legal
system. Sociologist Patricia Hill Collins’ 1990 book Black Feminist
Thought is another essential text on intersectionality and how
oppression based on race, gender, class, sexuality, and nation forms
what Collins calls “a matrix of domination.” Today, intersectional
feminism continues to broaden society’s ideas about feminism, power,
and oppression.
Does the world still need feminism?
Is feminism still necessary in today’s world? When we look at women’s
rights globally, it’s obvious we do. According to the World Economic
Forum’s 2022 Global Gender Gap Report, it will take 132 years to
reach full gender parity. The COVID-19 pandemic did not help improve
women’s rights as women and girls felt the economic impacts harder,
had their unpaid work increase, endured more gender-based violence,
and experienced more stress. Women are also more affected
by climate change, especially in rural areas. In certain places – like
some African countries – men have to travel further to find work while
women stay behind to run the household, take care of kids, and protect
their land. However, their authority may not be protected by law. When
women are given more power, however, they make more sustainable
decisions, improve food security, and reduce energy demands.
In some areas, feminist movements are met with brutal violence. On
September 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was detained by Iran’s
morality police. She died in custody. Her death sparked one of the
largest protest movements since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Led
primarily by women, the protests demanded equality and an end to
Iran’s oppressive government. Protestors in the Kurdish
provinces (Mash Amini was Kurdish) have been especially brave as
women remove their hijabs in the streets and cut off their hair. The
government response has been violent. According to Human Rights
Activists, at least 328 people have been killed – including children –
while almost 15,000 have been arrested. The protests in Iran are just
one example of a feminist movement facing significant backlash.
Has feminism “won” anywhere?
In certain places, the need for feminism and support for feminist
movements is clear. However, what about countries where feminists
have supposedly “won,” like the United States? The reality is not as
victorious as some might hope. In 2017, writer and editor Amy
Alexander wrote a piece for NPR critiquing feminism’s enduring focus
on white women and marketing over substance. Alexander writes that
feminism seems “more concerned with promoting superficial trappings
of genuine equality than with doing the tough work required to address
the hard, cold facts of gender and racial inequality.”
Writer Moira Donegan also delves into this shallow, shiny feminism in
her newsletter “Not the Fun Kind” and piece “Potemkin
Feminism,” which argues that feminism’s trendiness hides the fact it
doesn’t have real institutional power. Long-fought-for issues, like the
gender pay gap, persist. According to Payscale’s 2022 gender pay gap
report, American women earn about 82 cents for every dollar a man
earns. When the report controls for job title, education, experience,
hours worked, and so on, women earn 99 cents for every dollar a man
earns. Race impacts the pay gap, as well; Black women are most likely
to be paid less even when they have the same level of experience and
the same job as a white man. In 2022, feminism’s lack of real power
was perhaps made most clear when the U.S. Supreme Court
overturned Roe v. Wade. No society has truly reached equality. Even
in places where significant gains have been made, feminism is far from
irrelevant.