Feminism

Feminism is a movement and set of ideas that aim to make sure everyone, no matter if they are male or female, have the same chances and rights in life. It believes that many parts of our world still favor men over women, and works to change that. This includes fighting unfair ideas about what boys and girls should or should not do, and pushing for better opportunities for women in school, jobs, and everyday life. A person who supports these ideas is called a feminist.

Feminist ideas began in Europe in the late 1700s, and since then, people have worked hard to help women get important rights like voting, holding public jobs, working, earning the same pay as men, owning land, and getting an education. Feminists have also worked to make sure women can make their own choices about their bodies, and to keep women safe from harm. These efforts have led to big changes in many places, especially in the West, where women now can vote, own property, and have more equal rights.

There are many different kinds of feminism today, each with its own focus. Some focus on changing laws, others on changing how society thinks about men and women, and others on making sure everyone is included no matter their background or who they love. All of these forms share the goal of making the world fairer and safer for everyone.

History

Main article: History of feminism

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of feminism.

Terminology

Waves

The history of the modern western feminist movement is divided into multiple "waves". The first comprised women's suffrage movements of the 19th and early-20th centuries, promoting women's right to vote. The second wave, the women's liberation movement, began in the 1960s and campaigned for legal and social equality for women. In or around 1992, a third wave was identified, characterized by a focus on individuality and diversity. Additionally, some have argued for the existence of a fourth wave, starting around 2012, which has used social media to combat issues such as unfair treatment and violence against women; it is best known for the Me Too movement.

19th and early 20th centuries

Main article: First-wave feminism

First-wave feminism was a period of activity during the 19th and early-20th centuries. In the UK and US, it focused on the promotion of equal contract, marriage, parenting, and property rights for women. New legislation included the Custody of Infants Act 1839 in the UK, which introduced the tender years doctrine for child custody and gave women the right of custody of their children for the first time. Other legislation, such as the Married Women's Property Act 1870 in the UK and extended in the 1882 Act, became models for similar legislation in other British territories. Victoria passed legislation in 1884 and New South Wales in 1889; the remaining Australian colonies passed similar legislation between 1890 and 1897. With the turn of the 19th century, activism focused primarily on gaining political power, particularly the right of women's suffrage, though some feminists were active in campaigning for women's rights too.

Women's suffrage (the right to vote and stand for parliamentary office) began in Britain's Australasian colonies at the end of the 19th century, with the self-governing colony of New Zealand granting women the right to vote in 1893; South Australia followed suit with the Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894 in 1894. This was followed by Australia granting female suffrage in 1902.

In Britain, the suffragettes and suffragists campaigned for the women's vote, as well as served the government and increase military enlistment by participating in the White Feather Campaign. In 1918 the Representation of the People Act was passed granting the vote to women over the age of 30 who owned property. In 1928, this was extended to all women over 21. Emmeline Pankhurst was the most notable activist in England. Time named her one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century. In the US, notable leaders of this movement included Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, who each campaigned for the abolition of slavery before championing women's right to vote. These women were influenced by the Quaker theology of spiritual equality. They were also influenced by earlier American feminist thought leaders Judith Sargent Murray, John Neal, Sarah Moore Grimké, and Margaret Fuller. In the US, first-wave feminism is considered to have ended with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1919), granting women the right to vote in all states. The term first wave was coined retroactively when the term second-wave feminism came into use.

In Germany, feminists like Clara Zetkin were very interested in women's politics, including the fight for equal opportunities and women's suffrage, through socialism. She helped to develop the social-democratic women's movement in Germany. From 1891 to 1917, she edited the SPD women's newspaper Die Gleichheit (Equality). In 1907 she became the leader of the newly founded "Women's Office" at the SPD. She also contributed to International Women's Day (IWD).

During the late Qing period and reform movements such as the Hundred Days' Reform, Chinese feminists called for women's liberation from traditional roles and Neo-Confucian gender segregation. Later, the Chinese Communist Party created projects aimed at integrating women into the workforce, and claimed that the revolution had successfully achieved women's liberation.

According to Nawar al-Hassan Golley, Arab feminism was closely connected with Arab nationalism. In 1899, Qasim Amin, considered the "father" of Arab feminism, wrote The Liberation of Women, which argued for legal and social reforms for women. He drew links between women's position in Egyptian society and nationalism, leading to the development of Cairo University and the National Movement. In 1923 Hoda Shaarawi founded the Egyptian Feminist Union, became its president and a symbol of the Arab women's rights movement.

The Iranian Constitutional Revolution in 1905 triggered the Iranian women's movement, which aimed to achieve women's equality in education, marriage, careers, and legal rights.

Mid-20th century

By the mid-20th century, women still lacked significant rights. In France, women obtained the right to vote only with the Provisional Government of the French Republic of 21 April 1944. During the baby boom period, feminism waned in importance. Wars (both World War I and World War II) had seen the provisional emancipation of some women, but post-war periods signalled the return to conservative roles.

In Switzerland, women gained the right to vote in federal elections in 1971; but in the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden women obtained the right to vote on local issues only in 1991, when the canton was forced to do so by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland. In Liechtenstein, women were given the right to vote by the women's suffrage referendum of 1984.

Feminists continued to campaign for the reform of family laws which gave husbands control over their wives. Although by the 20th century coverture had been abolished in the UK and US, married women in many continental European countries still had very few rights. Feminists have also worked to abolish laws which precluded the prosecution of husbands for harming their wives.

French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir provided a Marxist solution and an existentialist view on many of the questions of feminism with the publication of The Second Sex in 1949. The book expressed feminists' sense of injustice. Second-wave feminism is a feminist movement beginning in the early 1960s and continuing to the present; as such, it coexists with third-wave feminism. Second-wave feminism is largely concerned with issues of equality beyond suffrage, such as ending unfair treatment based on gender.

The Feminine Mystique (1963) by Betty Friedan and The Female Eunuch (1970) by Germaine Greer are considered landmark texts in second-wave feminism.

Second-wave feminists see women's cultural and political inequalities as inextricably linked and encourage women to understand aspects of their personal lives as deeply politicized and as reflecting unfair power structures.

Second- and third-wave feminism in China has been characterized by a reexamination of women's roles during the communist revolution and other reform movements, and new discussions about whether women's equality has actually been fully achieved.

In 1956, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt initiated "state feminism", which outlawed discrimination based on gender and granted women's suffrage, but also blocked political activism by feminist leaders.

In Latin America, revolutions brought changes in women's status in countries such as Nicaragua, where feminist ideology during the Sandinista Revolution aided women's quality of life but fell short of achieving a social and ideological change.

In 1963, Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique helped voice the discontent that American women felt.

Late 20th and early 21st centuries

Third-wave feminism

Main article: Third-wave feminism

Third-wave feminism is traced to the emergence of the riot grrrl feminist punk subculture in Olympia, Washington, in the early 1990s, and to public statements in 1991—that a leader of a government committee had treated her unfairly. The term third wave is credited to Rebecca Walker, who responded to this event with an article in Ms. magazine, "Becoming the Third Wave" (1992).

Third-wave feminism also sought to challenge or avoid what it deemed the second wave's definitions of being a woman, and often focused on individual choice and different viewpoints.

Standpoint theory

2017 Women's March, Washington, D.C.

Standpoint theory is a feminist theoretical point of view stating that a person's social position influences their knowledge. This perspective argues that research and theory treat women and the feminist movement as insignificant and refuses to see traditional science as unbiased.

Fourth-wave feminism

Main article: Fourth-wave feminism

Fourth-wave feminism is a proposed extension of third-wave feminism which corresponds to a resurgence in interest in feminism beginning around 2012 and associated with the use of social media. According to feminist scholar Prudence Chamberlain, the focus of the fourth wave is justice for women and opposition to unfair treatment and violence against women. Its essence, she writes, is "incredulity that certain attitudes can still exist".

Fourth-wave feminism is "defined by technology", according to Kira Cochrane, and is characterized particularly by the use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, and blogs such as Feministing to challenge unfair beliefs and further equality for women.

Issues that fourth-wave feminists focus on include unfair treatment on the street and at work, violence that happens on college campuses, and culture that allows violence against women.

Examples of fourth-wave feminist campaigns include the Everyday Sexism Project, No More Page 3, Stop Bild Sexism, Mattress Performance, 10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman, #YesAllWomen, Free the Nipple, One Billion Rising, the 2017 Women's March, the 2018 Women's March, and the #MeToo movement. In December 2017, Time magazine chose several prominent female activists involved in the #MeToo movement, dubbed "the silence breakers", as Person of the Year.

Decolonial feminism

Decolonial feminism reformulates the coloniality of gender by critiquing the very formation of gender and its subsequent formations of patriarchy and the gender binary, not as universal constants across cultures, but as structures that have been instituted by and for the benefit of European colonialism.

Postfeminism

Main article: Postfeminism

The term postfeminism is used to describe a range of viewpoints reacting to feminism since the 1980s. While not being "anti-feminist", postfeminists believe that women have achieved second wave goals while being critical of third- and fourth-wave feminist goals. The term was first used to describe a backlash against second-wave feminism, but it is now a label for a wide range of theories that take critical approaches to previous feminist discourses and includes challenges to the second wave's ideas.

Theory

Main article: Feminist theory

See also: Gynocriticism and écriture féminine

Feminist theory is about understanding why people are treated unfairly because of their gender. It looks at how society, culture, and even stories treat women and men differently. This theory studies many subjects like how people live together, how money is used, and how art and writing are made. It helps us see why some people have more power than others and works to make things fairer for everyone.

Feminist theory talks about important ideas like stopping unfair treatment and making sure everyone has the same chances. It also looks at how women are shown in books, movies, and art, and how these ideas affect real life. Some writers and thinkers have special ways to talk about these ideas, helping us understand them better.

Movements and ideologies

Main article: Feminist movements and ideologies

Many different feminist movements and ideas have developed over time. Feminism is often split into three main types: liberal, radical, and socialist/Marxist feminism, sometimes called the "Big Three." Since the late 20th century, newer forms of feminism have also appeared. Some focus on specific areas like the environment, while others follow the overall political views of society.

Today, feminist activism and ideas are based on human rights, working together, and considering many different factors that affect people. For instance, UN Women said in 2024 that true gender equality needs to include all women and everyone, based on universal human rights. Similarly, in 2025, Nordic feminist groups described feminism as a human rights movement built on working together and considering everyone.

Liberal feminism

Main article: Liberal feminism

Liberal feminism began in the 19th century and aims for equality between men and women through laws and government changes, without completely changing society. It focuses on rights like voting and education. Some modern forms of feminism that come from liberal ideas are sometimes called conservative, especially when they focus on individual freedom without needing government help.

Radical feminism

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a major figure in 19th-century liberal feminism

Radical feminism started from the second wave of feminism and calls for big changes to society to end unfair treatment based on gender. It sees control by men in work and society as the main problem.

Materialist ideologies

Some forms of feminism come from ideas about economics and society. Marxist feminism says that economic systems are the root of unfair treatment of women. Socialist feminism says that both economic and cultural changes are needed. Anarcha-feminists believe that fighting unfair social structures also means fighting unfair treatment of women.

Other modern feminisms

Ecofeminism

Ecofeminists believe that men's control over land hurts both women and the environment.

Black and postcolonial ideologies

Further information: Intersectional feminism

Emma Goldman, a union activist, labour organizer and feminist anarchist

Women from different backgrounds have added new ideas to feminism. Movements led by women of color, women from poorer countries, and women affected by colonialism have added important perspectives. These include womanism, third-world feminism, and indigenous feminism.

Social constructionist ideologies

Main article: Social construction of gender

Some feminists argue that roles and expectations based on gender are created by society and culture, not just biology. Post-structural feminism looks at how ideas about gender are shaped through language and conversation.

Transgender people

Main article: Feminist views on transgender topics

Many modern feminists support the rights of transgender people as part of working together for equality. Some groups, however, have different views on gender identity and whether it should be based solely on biology.

Cultural movements

Riot grrrl movement focused on young girls expressing themselves freely and being independent. Lipstick feminism encourages women to embrace traditionally "feminine" traits and choices as a form of empowerment.

Demographics

A survey from 2014 showed that in many developed countries, about half of the people said they are feminists, and most agreed that women should be treated the same as men in all areas. But not everyone who supports equality calls themselves a feminist.

In the United States, a 2015 poll found that while only about one in five Americans called themselves feminists, most still believed in equality for women. People with more education and those who have more liberal political views were more likely to support feminist ideas. A similar poll in Britain in 2016 found that only a small number of people called themselves feminists, but most supported equal opportunities for women.

Sexuality

Main article: Feminist views on sexuality

Ideas about women's bodies and relationships have changed a lot over time. Some people think women should have the freedom to choose what they do with their bodies, while others think society often puts pressure on women. These different ideas have caused debates among people who support equality for women.

There are many views about jobs that involve adults making choices about their own bodies. Some think these jobs take advantage of women, while others think they give women power over their own lives. Views about movies and pictures also differ, with some seeing them as harmful and others as a way for women to express themselves.

Everyone should be able to decide for themselves what feels right for their own body and relationships, instead of always following what others say.

Science

Further information: Feminist epistemology

Some thinkers say that the ideas from the movement for equality for women have led scientists to ask new questions about how we understand gender and relationships in the world. Some feminists point out that traditional science has often focused mainly on male views. They want to study how unfair power structures affect science and schools.

One person said she hopes to see more women join science so these issues won’t need to be discussed anymore. Others believe that looking at women’s experiences helps us understand more about all people. Some critics say that letting social and political ideas affect science can sometimes reinforce old ideas about women or trap them in old roles.

Biology and gender

Further information: Gender essentialism and Sexual differentiation

Modern ideas about equality for women question the belief that gender is only about biology. Books like Myths of Gender and Delusions of Gender explore how science sometimes assumes big differences between men and women are natural, but many believe these differences come from culture and society instead.

Feminist psychology

Main article: Feminist psychology

Feminist ideas in psychology began when people noticed that most research only studied men. As more women became psychologists, they brought women’s experiences into the field. Feminist psychology looks at how our lives and surroundings affect us, and it values personal stories and detailed studies. Projects like Psychology's Feminist Voices show how women have shaped this area of study.

Culture

Feminism has had a big impact on many parts of our culture. In design, people have talked about beauty, creativity, and community projects. Famous writers have explored how design can support fairness and solve problems.

Feminist activists started many different kinds of businesses, like bookstores and restaurants, especially during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Octavia Butler, award-winning feminist science fiction author

In art, the feminist art movement began in the 1960s and grew in the 1970s. Artists worked to show that women’s art is just as important as men’s. They talked about how women see the world and shared their ideas in many ways.

Literature

Main article: Feminist literature

Hrotsvitha, first female writer from the Germanosphere, first female historian and first feminist playwright

Feminist literature includes stories, nonfiction books, and poems written by women. It helped people learn more about women’s lives and their contributions. Books by women were rediscovered and shared again. Famous works include A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft and A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf.

Interest in women’s writing has grown, and now more types of writing, like science fiction and poetry, are studied. Women writers have shared their experiences and ideas through their work.

Music

Main articles: Women's music and Women in music

Women’s music is made by women, for women, and about women. It started in the 1970s as part of the feminist movement. Women singers, songwriters, and many others work together to create this music. In the music world, women are often performers, but there are fewer women in leadership roles like music producers.

Cinema

Main article: Feminist film theory

Politics

Feminism had complex relationships with big political movements in the 1900s.

Socialism

Main articles: Left-wing politics § Social progressivism and counterculture, and Socialist feminism

Since the late 1800s, some feminists worked with socialist groups, while others thought socialist ideas didn’t care enough about women’s rights. An early activist, August Bebel, talked about equal rights for men and women as part of making society fairer for everyone. In 1907, women socialists met in Stuttgart and said voting rights were important for changing society. In Britain, women’s groups worked with the Labour party. In the U.S., Betty Friedan became a leader from a radical background. Radical Women is the oldest socialist feminist group in the U.S. and is still active today.

Fascism

Further information: Fascism and ideology and Women in Nazi Germany

Fascism had mixed views on women’s rights. In 1919, a Fascist manifesto asked for women to be allowed to vote and hold office, but this didn’t fully happen until after World War II. Some Fascist women’s groups pushed for these changes, but Italy’s leader, Benito Mussolini, and Germany’s leader, Adolf Hitler, did not support feminism. Under their rule, many rights women had fought for were taken away.

Civil rights movement and anti-racism

The work for civil rights for all people influenced the feminist movement, and feminism also helped civil rights efforts. American feminists used ideas from the civil rights movement to talk about women’s rights. But in the late 1960s and 1970s, some women of color said that feminism often focused only on white, middle-class women and didn’t understand issues of race. This led to new kinds of feminism, like black feminism and Chicana feminism, which looked at how race, class, and gender all affect people’s lives.

Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism has been criticized for hurting women’s jobs around the world, especially in poorer countries. Even though some say getting more women to work will help economies grow, feminist critics say this doesn’t really make things fairer between men and women. Neoliberal policies have not solved big problems like low pay for women’s work, treating men as more important, and keeping women in lower positions at work and at home. The term “feminization of employment” describes how many jobs now have worse conditions, lower pay, and less security. Employers sometimes think women will accept lower wages and not ask for better treatment, which keeps unfair pay and opportunities going.

Societal impact

Main article: Feminist effects on society

The feminist movement has brought many changes to Western society. Women gained the right to vote, access to education, fairer pay, the ability to start divorce, choices about pregnancy, and the right to own property.

From the 1960s onward, the push for women's rights saw mixed results in the U.S. and the U.K. Countries in the EEC worked to remove unfair laws. Some feminist efforts also helped change ideas about the responsibility for harmful actions involving children.

In the U.S., the National Organization for Women started in 1966 to fight for women's equality. This included trying to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, though it did not succeed everywhere. The court's decision in Roe v. Wade let women decide whether to continue a pregnancy.

Feminist ideas also affect how we think about jobs at home and work. As more women joined workplaces, ideas about housework changed. Some say women still do more housework, even when they work outside the home.

Internationally, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was created by the United Nations General Assembly to support women's rights worldwide.

Feminist legal ideas look at how laws affect women and aim to fix unfair treatments. They challenge old ideas that ignore women's experiences.

Some people argue that certain words and phrases can show unfair ideas about men and women. For example, using only male words for jobs can make it seem like men are the norm.

Feminist ideas also appear in different religions. For example, in Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, and Jewish traditions, people work to make sure women have equal roles and rights. This includes rethinking old teachings and stories to include women fairly.

Patriarchy is a system where men hold most of the power. Feminists say this is unfair to women and limits everyone. Some think changing this system is key to equality, while others suggest new ways for men and women to work together.

Feminist ideas also look at how society expects men to behave. Some say these expectations can be harmful and limit men's choices. Many men support feminism, seeing it as important for everyone's equality. The goal is for both men and women to work together for a fairer world.

Reactions

People have different thoughts about feminism. Both men and women can support or criticize it. In the United States, many students agree with feminist ideas but don’t always call themselves feminists. The media sometimes shows feminism in a negative way, but when people meet self-identified feminists or talk about feminism, they are more likely to support it.

Some men support feminism without being part of the feminist movement. These pro-feminist men work to prevent violence, offer workshops about respectful behavior at work, and help educate communities. They also support men’s health and work with feminists on issues like violence against women.

Others criticize feminism. Some believe that certain feminist views can be unfair to men or that feminism focuses too much on women’s interests. There are also people who oppose feminism completely, thinking it goes against traditional values or religious beliefs. They may disagree with women working, voting, or having control over their own lives.

Some people who value reason and ethics, called secular humanists, wonder why focus on feminism instead of broader human rights. However, many humanists and feminists share similar goals, even if their reasons differ. Humanism helped support women’s education in the past, even when society often preferred men.