feminism
Feminism is on the subject of all genders having identical rights and openings. It’s about respecting various women’s experiences, identities, knowledge and strengths, and go-getting to empower all women to realise their full rights. In simple words, feminism is a social and political movement. Feminism has many definitions depending on who you ask, at its core, feminism is the theory that women ought to have equal social, economic, and political rights and self-determination. Above the duration, feminism has determined on subjects like the right to vote, reproductive and sexual liberty, and equivalent pay.
Three waves of feminism
- First wave feminism
- Second wave feminism
- Third wave feminism
First wave of feminism
The term generally used to refer to the nineteenth and early twentieth century. and also the European and north American enlistment to gain voting and open the professions to women.
The key concerns
- The key concerns of first wave feminists were education, employment, the marriage laws and the troubles of intelligent middle class single women.
- They were not chiefly concerned with the problems of working class women, nor did they inevitably see themselves as feminists in the modern sense (the term was not coined until 1895)
The major achievements
- The opening of higher education for women.
- Reform of the girl’s secondary school system, counting participation in formal national examinations. and also the widening of access to the professions, especially medicine.
- Married women’s property rights acknowledged in the married women’s property act of 1870.
Second wave of feminism
The term normally used to refer to the surfacing in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s in Europe and north America of a “new social movement”.
The key concerns
- The key concerns are raising awareness about sexism and patriarchy, legalising abortion and birth control, attaining equal rights in political and economic realms and getting hold of sexual “liberation”.
- Second wave feminism in Britain was correspondingly multiple in focus, even though it was based more powerfully in working class socialism, as established by the strike of women workers for equal pay in 1968.
- The second wave feminism did not just strive to extend the sort of social opportunities open to women, but also, through intervention within the spheres of reproduction, sexuality and cultural representation, to change their domestic and private lives.
- The second wave feminism did not just make a blow upon western societies, but has also continued to inspire the struggle for women’s rights across the world.
The major achievements
- Due to a combined effort from The activists, title VII of the civil rights Act of 1964 was passed. Title VII made it illegal to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of gender. As well as race, religion and national origin.
- Title IX in the education codes of 1972 was passed. Title IX is contribution to equal provisions for women’s sports in school and feminist campus activism among other things.
Third wave of feminism
The third wave feminism was a period of political activism that sought to expand civil rights and social equality for women. It succeeded first and second wave feminism. Third wave feminism is commonly fall from 1990s to the 2010s when the rise of communal media inaugurated fourth wave feminism.
The key concerns
- Intersectionality: Many third-wave feminist theorists were concerned with how women experienced layers of oppression, which tended to accumulate and intensify, particularly for poor people of colour. Women of colour, no binary women, non-heterosexual women, and others sought social justice for all, focusing on the adverse effects of class and racial discrimination.
- Reproductive rights: similar to second-wave feminists, the third-wave feminists prioritized women’s capacity to access safe, legal, and affordable abortions, as well as contraception, pregnancy care, and child hold up.
- Individual empowerment: Third-wave feminism tended to celebrate diversity and individual differences in how women explore and express femininity.
- Violence against women: The problem of violence against women was given particular emphasis by third-wave feminist activists. Noting the persistence of rape, domestic violence, and sexual harassment, activists and writers sought to highlight these problems and seek effective social and legal redress.
- Sexual liberation: The issue of sex, a point of disagreement within second-wave feminism, was even more vital to third-wave feminism. Third-wave feminist activists and artists sought to use their sexuality as a means of empowerment and expression.
The major achievements
- There is some controversy over whether or not third-wave feminism continues or has been succeeded by a fourth wave. At any rate, the effort of third-wave feminists continues to influence modern society.
- Phenomena such as the Me Too and Times Up movements, the rising popularity of gender studies, trans rights, and increasing focus on the need for comprehensive social reform to achieve true gender equality are all legacies of the third-wave feminist movement.
Types of feminism
- Radical feminism
- Marxist feminism
- Liberal feminism
- Difference feminism
- Table 001: Types of feminism
| Radical | Marxist | Liberal | Difference | |
| Key ideas | 1.Patriarchy 2.Power based on female oppression 3.Rape/porn | 1.Capitalism not patriarchy 2.Women produce labour force | 1.Inequality= cultural 2.Gender socialization harms men and women 3.No radical change | 1.Experience varies with class, ethnicity etc. 2.Criticizes enlightenment in interested in language, power and discourse |
| Strategies for change | 1.Separatism 2.lesbianism | 1.communism | 1.Change through policy within current structure | 1.Critiques discourse not opportunities |
| criticism | 1.Exaggerates how bad (all) men are | 1.Communism still patriarchal | 1.Ethnocentric | 1.Splitting weakens movement |
Work cited
- Chapman et al (2016) – A Level Sociology Student Book Two [Fourth Edition] Collins. ISBN-10: 0007597495
- Robb Webb et al (2016) AQA A Level Sociology Book 2, Napier Press. ISBN-10: 0954007921
- Basu, Aparna. Women in Indian Society. Pratham Books, 1990.
- Beauvoir, Simmon de. The Second Sex. Trans. H. M. Parshely, Vintage,1949.
- Freedman. Feminism. Delhi: Viva Book Pvt. Ltd, 2002. Print.