Celebrating Women's History Month: A Reflection on the Feminist Movement

 

Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” While this quote can be applied to a variety of contexts, in honour of Women’s History Month, I’m going to use it to talk about the history of feminism and how what our ancestors have done has influenced who we, as women, are at present. 

The word “feminism” was first coined by French philosopher Charles Fourier, originally used to refer to “female/feminine traits.” The first wave of feminism occurred in the 19th and early 20th century, focusing on legal issues, notably questions of universal adult franchise and women’s suffrage. This wave saw the works of many well-known authors, such as Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and Louisa May Alcott, depicting various aspects of being a woman in the 19th century. The 19th century introduced certain educational reforms that enabled education for women; Elizabeth Blackwell was one of the first American women to graduate in medicine in 1849. 

While on the subject of the beginnings of this movement, we should note that feminist ideology did not emerge in the 19th century – there is proof of feminist initiative in some of the literary works of the Renaissance era and the Age of Enlightenment, i.e., the 18th century. British writer and philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women, now considered a feminist classic, about equality in education. Wollstonecraft is thought to be the mother of first-wave feminism. 

The second wave of feminism, emphasising cultural and political issues, started in the 1960s in the United States. The publication of The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan is associated with the initiation of this wave. Another landmark literary work of the second wave of feminism is The Second Sex by French writer Simone De Beauvoir. Female enrollment in educational institutions significantly rose during this period. The term 'Women’s Liberation’, used to refer to the overall feminist movement, was first used in the United States in 1964. Ideas of Black feminism, Radical Feminism and Body Positivity Feminism were popularised in the second wave. 

The third wave of feminism began in the early 1990s as a response to the downfalls of the second wave – it was widely believed that the second wave largely catered to the experiences of upper middle-class white women. The beginning of this wave has been associated with the emergence of riot grrrl, a feminist punk subculture. The third wave aimed at inclusivity in terms of race, gender identity, sexuality, socioeconomic background, and individuality when it came to defining feminism and focused on issues that continue to be relevant today, such as reproductive rights, reclaiming 

derogatory terms, sexual freedom, and vice versa. In 1990, Judith Butler published 'Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity’, one of the most influential works of contemporary feminist theory. The fourth wave of feminism, starting from 2008–12 and continuing in the present, has been defined by researcher Diana Diamond as “a movement that combines politics, psychology, and spirituality in an overarching vision of change." The two key features of this wave are the emergence of intersectional feminism, essentially inclusive feminism and Internet activism, as a result of the evolution of media and communication channels — the 2017 #MeToo movement is a testament to how the Internet has helped the movement. The major issues the fourth wave seeks to address include sexism in the workplace, sexual violence, slut shaming, and unrealistic standards set for women by society. 

Returning to the Roosevelt quote, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Think about it – if these women had not believed in their efforts towards the feminist movement, had not chosen to speak up, had simply conformed to the moulds society was trying to force them into and had not protested against the status quo of the time; forget the right to vote, women would not have even been able to attend school or college or ever be financially independent. As a woman living in the 21st century, it is hard to imagine a world where we cannot drive, work, study, or even simply have the right to speak our minds freely; because we are living with the fruits of our ancestors’ labour. It is important to be grateful for what we have (though it is honestly a bit sad that we have to be grateful for having the bare minimum, but it is what it is). We must keep in mind that our ancestors dared to dream about equality, about a world where women had rights, they believed in their visions and worked and fought to create what semblance of an egalitarian society we have at present; if they had not, we would not have the rights and privileges we so often take for granted today. 

Written by 

Ahana Kumar

BA (Hons) English, First Year

Jesus and Mary College