The meaning has sometimes been interpreted to mean that political and personal issues affect each other. It has also meant that the experience of women is the grounding of feminism, both personal and political.
Liberal feminists
Focus on the public sphere of society
Such as equal pay and conditions in the workplace
Arguing that the private life of women is outside the remit of political analysis
Radical feminists
Refute the liberal feminist view
Arguing that the personal is political as patriarchy is prevalent in the private sphere of family life
Gilman: 'Berated the misery of women's private lives and the exploitative nature of domestic roles'
Societal pressure
Forced young girls to conform to motherhood
With gender-specific clothes and toys
Gilman argued for gender-neutral garments and playthings
Rowbotham: 'Argued that marriage was like feudalism, with women akin to serfs paying feudal dues to their husband'
De Beauvoir
Championed contraception
Allowed women control of their bodies and the chance to avoid endless childbearing
