Politics: feminism

• What is feminism?


  an ideology which is based on the belief that society is characterised by unequal gender power and status.
• What is first wave feminism?

  • 1850s-1940s
  • advocated for legal and political rights of women
  • suffrage movement leading to the representation of the people acts 1918 and 1928
• what is second wave feminism?

  • 1960s-1980s
  • focusses on different social gender roles
  • key thinkers include Simone De Beavoir (Second Sex, 1949), Betty Friedan (Feminine Mystique, 1963), Kate Millett (Sexual Politics, 1970)
• what is third wave feminism?

  • 1990s
  • feminism has failed to identify the concerns of women from other cultures (intersectionality)
  • bell hooks (Ain't I A Woman, 1981)
  • experiences of WOC and feminism, needs to understand how cultural differences impact womens' oppression
• what is 4th wave feminism?

  • 2008 to now
  • reactionary, against online misogyny
  • Laura Bates - everyday sexism website documents examples of sexism to give victims or survivors of sexual violence a voice
  • metoo movement