Feminist movement

The "We Can Do It!" poster from 1943 was re-appropriated as a symbol of the feminist movement in the 1980s.

The feminist movement (also known as the women's liberation movement, the women's movement, or simply feminism) refers to a series of political campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment, and sexual violence, all of which fall under the label of feminism and the feminist movement. The movement's priorities vary among nations and communities, and range from opposition to female genital mutilation in one country, to opposition to the glass ceiling in another. The bourgeois women's liberation movement and the proletarian women's liberation movement both are feminist terms, and there is no difference between the two. Simply put, feminism means that women deserve equal rights.

Feminism in parts of the western world has gone through three waves. First-wave feminism was oriented around the station of middle- or upper-class white women and involved suffrage and political equality. Second-wave feminism attempted to further combat social and cultural inequalities. Although during the first wave of feminism, the women that rebelled consisted of middle class white women. However the second wave brought in women of color and women from other developing nations that were seeking for solidarity.[1] Third-wave feminism is continuing to address the financial, social and cultural inequalities and includes renewed campaigning for greater influence of women in politics and media. In reaction to political activism, feminists have also had to maintain focus on women's reproductive rights, such as the right to abortion.

Feminism in China started in the 20th century with the Chinese Revolution in 1911. In China, Feminism has a strong association with socialism and class issues.[2] Some commentators believe that this close association is damaging to Chinese feminism and argue that the interests of party are placed before those of women.[3]

History

Feminist movement in Western society

Feminism in the United States, Canada and a number of countries in western Europe has been divided into three waves by feminist scholars: first, second and third-wave feminism.[4][5] Recent (early 2010s) research suggests there may be a fourth wave characterized, in part, by new media platforms.[6][7]

The women’s movement became more popular in May 1968 when women began to read again, more widely, the book The Second Sex, written in 1949 by a defender of women’s rights, Simone de Beauvoir, (and translated into English for the first time in 1953; later translation 2009). De Beauvior's writing explained why it was difficult for talented women to become successful. The obstacles de Beauvoir enumerates include women’s inability to make as much money as men do in the same profession, women’s domestic responsibilities, society’s lack of support towards talented women, and women’s fear that success will lead to an annoyed husband or prevent them from even finding a husband at all. De Beauvoir also argues that woman lack ambition because of how they are raised. Girls are told to follow the duties of their mothers, whereas boys are told to exceed the accomplishments of their fathers. Along with other influences, Simone de Beauvoir’s work helped the feminist movement to erupt, causing the formation of Le Mouvement de Libération des Femmes (The Women’s Liberation Movement). This determined group of women wanted to turn these ideas into actions. Contributors to The Women’s Liberation Movement include Simone de Beauvoir, Christiane Rochefort, Christine Delphy and Anne Tristan. Through actions the women were able to get few equal rights for example right to education, right to work, and right to vote. One of the most important issues that The Women’s Liberation movement faced was the banning of abortion and contraception. The women saw this banning as a violation of women’s rights and were determined to fight it. Thus, the women made a declaration known as Le Manifests de 343 which held signatures from 343 women admitting to having had an illegal abortion. The declaration got published in Le Nouvel Observateur and Le Monde, two French newspapers on 5 April 1971. The group gained support upon the publication. Women received the right to abort with the passing of the Veil Law in 1975.[8]

The Women's movement effected change in Western society, including women's suffrage, the right to initiate divorce proceedings and "no fault" divorce, the right of women to make individual decisions regarding pregnancy (including access to contraceptives and abortion), and the right to own property.[9] It has also led to broad employment for women at more equitable wages, and access to university education.

In 1918 Crystal Eastman wrote an article published in the Birth Control Review, she contended that birth control is a fundamental right for women and must be available as an alternative if they are to participate fully in the modern world. “In short, if feminism, conscious and bold and intelligent, leads the demand, it will be supported by the secret eagerness of all women to control the size of their families, and a suffrage state should make short work of repealing these old laws that stand in the way of birth control.” She stated “I don’t believe there is one woman within the confines of this state who does not believe in birth control!”[10]

The United Nations Human Development Report 2004 estimated that when both paid employment and unpaid household tasks are accounted for, on average women work more than men. In rural areas of selected developing countries women performed an average of 20% more work than men, or 120% of men's total work, an additional 102 minutes per day. In the OECD countries surveyed, on average women performed 5% more work than men, or 105% of men's total work—an additional 20 minutes per day. However, men did up to 19 minutes more work per day than women in five out of the eighteen OECD countries surveyed: Canada, Denmark, Hungary, Israel, and The Netherlands.[11] According to UN Women, "Women perform 66 percent of the world's work, produce 50 percent of the food, but earn 10 percent of the income and own 1 percent of the property."[12]

The feminist movement's agenda includes acting as a counter to the putatively patriarchal strands in the dominant culture. While differing during the progression of waves, it is a movement that has sought to challenge the political structure, power holders, and cultural beliefs or practices.

Although antecedents to feminism may be found far back before the 18th century, the seeds of the modern feminist movement were planted during the late part of that century. Christine de Pizan, a late medieval writer, was possibly the earliest feminist in the western tradition. She is believed to be the first woman to make a living out of writing. Feminist thought began to take a more substantial shape during the Enlightenment with such thinkers as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and the Marquis de Condorcet championing women's education. The first scientific society for women was founded in Middelburg, a city in the south of the Dutch republic, in 1785. Journals for women that focused on issues like science became popular during this period as well.

The women who made the first efforts towards women's suffrage came from more stable and privileged backgrounds, and were able to dedicate time and energy into making change. Initial developments for women, therefore, mainly benefited white women in the middle and upper classes.

Feminism in China

Prior to the 20th century, women in China were considered essentially different from men.

In the patriarchal society, the struggle for women's emancipation means to enact laws that guarantee women's full equality of race, sex, property and freedom of marriage. In order to further eliminate the legacy of the class society of patriarchal women (drowning of infants, corset, footbinding, etc.), discrimination, play, mutilate women's traditional prejudice and habitual forces on the basis of the development of productive forces, it is gradually needful on achieving gender in politics, economy, social and family aspects of equality.

Before the westernization movement and the reform movement, women had set off a wave of their own strength in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851–1864). However, there are too many women from the bottom identities in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It is difficult to get rid of the fate of being used. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, women with more knowledges took the initiative in the fight for women's rights and that is where feminism basically started.

Language

Feminists are sometimes, though not exclusively, proponents of using non-sexist language, such as using "Ms." to refer to both married and unmarried women. Feminists are also often proponents of using gender-inclusive language, such as "humanity" instead of "mankind", or "they" in place of "he" where the gender is unknown.[13]

Gender-neutral language is language usage which is aimed at minimizing assumptions regarding the gender of human referents. The advocacy of gender-neutral language reflects, at least, two different agendas: one aims to clarify the inclusion of both sexes or genders (gender-inclusive language); the other proposes that gender, as a category, is rarely worth marking in language (gender-neutral language). Gender-neutral language is sometimes described as non-sexist language by advocates and politically correct language by opponents.[14]

Not only has the movement come to change the language into gender neutral but the feminist movement has brought up how people use language. Emily Martin describes the concept of how metaphors are gendered and ingrained into everyday life. Metaphors are used in everyday language and have become a way that people describe the world. Martin explains that these metaphors structure how people think and in regards to science can shape what questions are being asked. If the right questions are not being asked then the answers are not going to be the right either. For example, the aggressive sperm and passive egg is a metaphor that felt 'natural' to people in history but as scientists have reexamined this phenomenon they have come up with a new answer. "The sperm tries to pull its getaway act even on the egg itself, but is held down against its struggles by molecules on the surface of the egg that hook together with counterparts on the sperm's surface, fastening the sperm until the egg can absorb it." [15] This is a goal in feminism to see these gendered metaphors and bring it to the public's attention. The outcome of looking at things in a new perspective can produce new information.

Heterosexual relationships

The increased entry of women into the workplace beginning in the 20th century has affected gender roles and the division of labor within households. Sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild in The Second Shift and The Time Bind presents evidence that in two-career couples, men and women, on average, spend about equal amounts of time working, but women still spend more time on housework.[16][17] Feminist writer Cathy Young responds to Hochschild's assertions by arguing that, in some cases, women may prevent the equal participation of men in housework and parenting.[18] Economists Mark Aguiar and Erik Hurst calculate that the amount of time spent on housework by women since the 1960s has dropped considerably.[19] Leisure for both men and women has risen significantly and by about the same amount for both sexes. Jeremy Greenwood, Ananth Seshadri and Mehmet Yorukoglu argue that the introduction of modern appliances into the home has allowed women to enter the work force.[20][21]

Feminist criticisms of men's contributions to child care and domestic labor in the Western middle class are typically centered around the idea that it is unfair for women to be expected to perform more than half of a household's domestic work and child care when both members of the relationship perform an equal share of work outside the home. Several studies provide statistical evidence that the financial income of married men does not affect their rate of attending to household duties.[22][23]

In Dubious Conceptions, Kristin Luker discusses the effect of feminism on teenage women's choices to bear children, both in and out of wedlock. She says that as childbearing out of wedlock has become more socially acceptable, young women, especially poor young women, while not bearing children at a higher rate than in the 1950s, now see less of a reason to get married before having a child. Her explanation for this is that the economic prospects for poor men are slim, hence poor women have a low chance of finding a husband who will be able to provide reliable financial support due to the rise of unemployment from more workers on the market, from just men to women and men.[24]

Some studies have suggested that both men and women perceive feminism as being incompatible with romance. However, a recent survey of U.S. undergraduates and older adults found that feminism actually has a positive impact on relationship health for women and sexual satisfaction for men, and found no support for negative stereotypes of feminists.[25]

Virginia Satir said the need for relationship education emerged from shifting gender roles as women gained greater rights and freedoms during the 20th century:

"As we moved into the 20th century, we arrived with a very clearly prescribed way that males and females in marriage were to behave with one another ... The pattern of the relationship between husband and wife was that of the dominant male and submissive female ... A new era has since dawned ... the climate of relationships had changed, and women were no longer willing to be submissive ... The end of the dominant/submissive model in relationships was in sight. However, there was very little that had developed to replace the old pattern; couples floundered ... Retrospectively, one could have expected that there would be a lot of chaos and a lot of fall-out. The change from the dominant/submissive model to one of equality is a monumental shift. We are learning how a relationship based on genuine feelings of equality can operate practically."[26]
— Virginia Satir, Introduction to PAIRS

Religion

Feminist theology is a movement that reconsiders the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of religions from a feminist perspective. Some of the goals of feminist theology include increasing the role of women among the clergy and religious authorities, reinterpreting male-dominated imagery and language about God, determining the place of women in relation to career and motherhood, and studying images of women in the religion's sacred texts.[27]

The feminist movement has affected religion and theology in profound ways. In liberal branches of Protestant Christianity, women are now allowed to be ordained as clergy, and in Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism, women are now allowed to be ordained as rabbis and cantors. In some of these groups, some women are gradually obtaining positions of power that were formerly only held by men, and their perspectives are now sought out in developing new statements of belief. These trends, however, have been resisted within most sects of Islam, Roman Catholicism, and Orthodox Christianity. Within Roman Catholicism, most women understand that through the dogma of the faith that they are to hold within the family a place of love and focus on the family and the need to rise above that does not necessarily constitute a women to be considered less than but in fact equal to that of her husband who as well is called to be the Patriarch of the family and provide love and guidance to his family as well.[28]

Christian feminism is a branch of feminist theology which seeks to reinterpret and understand Christianity in light of the equality of women and men (Feminine Genius, St. Pope John Paul II, Vatican.va). While there is no standard set of beliefs among Christian feminists, most agree that God does not discriminate on the basis of biologically determined characteristics such as sex.

Early feminists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton concentrated almost solely on "making women equal to men." However, the Christian feminist movement chose to concentrate on the language of religion because they viewed the historic gendering of God as male as a result of the pervasive influence of patriarchy. Rosemary Radford Ruether provided a systematic critique of Christian theology from a feminist and theist point of view.[29] Stanton was an agnostic and Reuther is an agnostic who was born to Catholic parents but no longer practices the faith.

Islamic feminism is concerned with the role of women in Islam and aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Although rooted in Islam, the movement's pioneers have also utilized secular and Western feminist discourses.[30] Advocates of the movement seek to highlight the deeply rooted teachings of equality in the Quran and encourage a questioning of the patriarchal interpretation of Islamic teaching through the Quran, hadith (sayings of Muhammad), and sharia (law) towards the creation of a more equal and just society.[31]

Jewish feminism seeks to improve the religious, legal, and social status of women within Judaism and to open up new opportunities for religious experience and leadership for Jewish women. In its modern form, the movement can be traced to the early 1970s in the United States. According to Judith Plaskow, who has focused on feminism in Reform Judaism, the main issues for early Jewish feminists in these movements were the exclusion from the all-male prayer group or minyan, the exemption from positive time-bound mitzvot, and women's inability to function as witnesses and to initiate divorce.[32]

Women's health

Historically there has been a need to study and contribute to the health and well-being of a woman that previously has been lacking. Londa Schiebinger suggests that the common biomedical model is no longer adequate and there is a need for a broader model to ensure that all aspects of a woman are being cared for. Schiebinger describes six contributions that must occur in order to have success: political movement, academic women studies, affirmative action, health equality act, geo-political forces, and professional women not being afraid to talk openly about women issues. Political movements come from the streets and are what the people as a whole want to see changed. An academic women study is the support from universities in order to teach a subject that most people have never encountered. Affirmative action enacted is a legal change to acknowledge and do something for the times of neglect people were subjected to. Women's Health Equity Act legally enforces the idea that medicine needs to be tested in suitable standards such as including women in research studies and is also allocates a set amount of money to research diseases that are specific towards women. Research has shown that there is a lack of research in autoimmune disease, which mainly affects women. "Despite their prevalence and morbidity, little progress has been made toward a better understanding of those conditions, identifying risk factors, or developing a cure" this article reinforces the progress that still needs to be made. Geo-political forces can improve health, when the country is not at a sense of threat in war there is more funding and resources to focus on other needs, such as women's health. Lastly, professional women not being afraid to talk about women's issues moves women from entering into these jobs and preventing them for just acting as men and instead embracing their concerns for the health of women. These six factors need to be included in order for there to be change in women's health.[33]

Businesses

Feminist activists have established a range of feminist businesses, including women's bookstores, feminist credit unions, feminist presses, feminist mail-order catalogs, and feminist restaurants. These businesses flourished as part of the second and third-waves of feminism in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.[34][35]

See also

Subjects or international organisations
By continent
  • Feminism in Africa
  • Feminism in Asia
  • Feminism in Europe
  • Feminism in North America
  • Feminism in Oceania
  • Feminism in South America
Country or region specific articles

References

  1. ↑ Rampton, Martha (October 25, 2015). "Four Waves of Feminism". www.pacificu.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-11-19.
  2. ↑ 1952-, Lin, Chun, (2006-01-01). The transformation of Chinese socialism. Duke University Press. ISBN 0822337983. OCLC 938114028.
  3. ↑ 1945-, Walter, Lynn, (2001-01-01). Women's rights : a global view. Greenwood Press. ISBN 031330890X. OCLC 654714694.
  4. ↑ Humm, Maggie (1990), "wave (definition)", in Humm, Maggie, The dictionary of feminist theory, Columbus: Ohio State University Press, p. 251, ISBN 9780814205075.
  5. ↑ Rebecca, Walker (January 1992). "Becoming the Third Wave". Ms. New York: Liberty Media for Women: 39–41. ISSN 0047-8318. OCLC 194419734.
  6. ↑ Baumgardner, Jennifer (2011), "Is there a fourth wave? If so, does it matter?", in Baumgardner, Jennifer, F'em!: goo goo, gaga, and some thoughts on balls, Berkeley, California: Seal Press, p. 250, ISBN 9781580053600.
  7. ↑ Phillips, Ruth; Cree, Viviene E. (October 2014). "What does the 'Fourth Wave' mean for teaching feminism in twenty-first century social work?". Social Work Education: The International Journal. Taylor and Francis. 33 (7): 930–943. doi:10.1080/02615479.2014.885007.
  8. ↑ Kuhlman, Olivia. "Inequalities of Contemporary French Women". Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  9. ↑ Messer-Davidow, Ellen (2002). Disciplining feminism: from social activism to academic discourse. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. ISBN 9780822328438.
  10. ↑ Eastman, Crystal (author); Cook, Blanche Wiesen (editor) (1978), "Feminist theory and program: birth control in the feminist program", in Eastman, Crystal (author); Cook, Blanche Wiesen (editor), Crystal Eastman on women and revolution, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 46–49, ISBN 9780195024463.
  11. ↑ "Section 28: Gender, Work Burden, and Time Allocation", United Nations Human Development Report 2004 (PDF), p. 233.
  12. ↑ "Facts & figures on women, poverty & economics". unifem.org. UN Women. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013.
  13. ↑ Lia,, Litosseliti,. Gender and language : theory and practice. ISBN 1134121733. OCLC 872743087.
  14. ↑ "University of Saskatchewan Policies 2001: Gender Neutral Language". University of Saskatchewan. Archived from the original on October 28, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
  15. ↑ Freedman, David H. (June 1992). "New theory on how the aggressive egg attracts sperm". Discover Magazine. Kalmbach Publishing. 6 (13): 55.
  16. ↑ Russell Hochschild, Arlie; Machung, Anne (2003). The second shift: working families and the revolution at home. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780142002926
  17. ↑ Russell Hochschild, Arlie (2001). The time bind: when work becomes home and home becomes work. New York: Henry Holt & Co. ISBN 9780805066432
  18. ↑ Young, Cathy (June 12, 2000). "The Mama Lion at the Gate". Salon.com. Salon. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  19. ↑ Aguiar, Mark; Hurst, Erik (August 2007). "Measuring trends in leisure: the allocation of time over five decades". The Quarterly Journal of Economics. Oxford Journals. 122 (3): 969–1006. doi:10.1162/qjec.122.3.969. Pdf.
  20. ↑ Greenwood, Jeremy; Seshadri, Ananth; Yorukoglu, Mehmet (January 2005). "Engines of liberation". The Quarterly Journal of Economics. Oxford Journals. 72 (1): 109–133. doi:10.1111/0034-6527.00326. Pdf.
  21. ↑ For a short video on the subject see:Greenwood, Jeremy (Lecturer) (September 16, 2015). 60-Second Lecture: Women's liberation: an economic perspective (Video). Penn Arts & Sciences via Vimeo.
  22. ↑ South, Scott J.; Spitze, Gelnna (June 1994). "Housework in marital and nonmarital households". American Sociological Review. Sage. 59 (3): 327–348. JSTOR 2095937. doi:10.2307/2095937.
  23. ↑ Fenstermaker Berk, Sarah; Shih, Anthony (1980), "Contributions to household labour: comparing wives' and husbands' reports", in Fenstermaker Berk, Sarah, Women and household labour, SAGE Yearbooks on Women and Politics Series, Beverly Hills, California: Sage, ISBN 9780803912113
  24. ↑ Luker, Kristin (1996). Dubious conceptions: the politics of teenage pregnancy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674217034.
  25. ↑ Rudman, Laurie A.; Phelan, Julie E. (December 2007). "The interpersonal power of feminism: is feminism good for romantic relationships?". Sex Roles. Springer. 57 (11): 787–799. doi:10.1007/s11199-007-9319-9. Pdf.
  26. ↑ Satir, Virginia, "Introduction to for our future, for our family", in PAIRS Foundation, For our future, for our family: participant handbook, Broward County, Florida: PAIRS Foundation, p. 6, archived from the original on 2016-03-05 (Participant handbook for PAIRS 30-hour curriculum for Supporting Healthy Marriages.) Cited with permission. (2012112710011715). Preview on ISSUU.
  27. ↑ Bundesen, Lynne (2007). The feminine spirit: recapturing the heart of Scripture: the woman's guide to the Bible. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 9780787984953.
  28. ↑ John Paul II, Pope. "Letter of Pope John Paul II to women". vatican.va. Libreria Editrice Vaticana (Vatican Publishing House). Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. See also: Letter to Women.
  29. ↑ Ochs, Carol (1977). Behind the sex of God: toward a new consciousness - transcending matriarchy and patriarchy. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 9780807011126.
  30. ↑ Catalan Islamic Board (24–27 October 2008). "II International Congress on Islamic Feminism". feminismeislamic.org. Archived from the original on 21 March 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  31. ↑ Badran, Margot (17–23 January 2002). "Al-Ahram Weekly: Islamic Feminism: What's in a Name?". Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  32. ↑ Plaskow, Judith (2003), "Jewish feminist thought", in Frank, Daniel H.; Leaman, Oliver, History of Jewish philosophy, London: Routledge, ISBN 9780415324694.
  33. ↑ Schiebinger, Londa (1999), "Medicine", in Schiebinger, Londa, Has feminism changed science?, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, ISBN 9780674381131.
  34. ↑ Echols, Alice. Daring to be Bad: Radical Feminism in America, 1967-1975. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 269–278.
  35. ↑ Hogan, Kristen (2016). The Feminist Bookstore Movement: Lesbian Antiracism and Feminist Accountability. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press.
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