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92-471: It was among the first feminist groups to arise from the suffrage movement and gained attention for seeking and preserving women's own-name rights, such as the particular ones which follow in this article. The group took its name from Lucy Stone (1818–1893), the first married woman in the United States to carry her birth name through life (she married in 1855). The New York Times called

184-652: A liberal democratic framework, without radically altering the structure of society; liberal feminism "works within the structure of mainstream society to integrate women into that structure". During the 19th and early 20th centuries liberal feminism focused especially on women's suffrage and access to education . Former Norwegian supreme court justice and former president of the liberal Norwegian Association for Women's Rights , Karin Maria Bruzelius , has described liberal feminism as "a realistic, sober, practical feminism". Susan Wendell argues that "liberal feminism

276-417: A " matrix of domination ". Fourth-wave feminism is a proposed extension of third-wave feminism which corresponds to a resurgence in interest in feminism beginning around 2012 and associated with the use of social media. According to feminist scholar Prudence Chamberlain, the focus of the fourth wave is justice for women and opposition to sexual harassment and violence against women. Its essence, she writes,

368-643: A "post-feminist" society, where "gender equality has (already) been achieved". According to Chunn, "many feminists have voiced disquiet about the ways in which rights and equality discourses are now used against them". Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical or philosophical fields. It encompasses work in a variety of disciplines, including anthropology , sociology , economics , women's studies , literary criticism , art history , psychoanalysis , and philosophy . Feminist theory aims to understand gender inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations, and sexuality. While providing

460-593: A combination annual meeting and strawberry festival" – though the gender equality issues listed in the previous paragraph had been largely taken over by the National Organization for Women (since 1966) and other women's groups. A modern version of the League was started in 1997, as follows: By 1997 the activities of the League had ceased and a report was published that "Alas, the League is no more." When he read this report, Morrison Bonpasse (1947–2019),

552-414: A critique of capitalism and are focused on ideology's relationship to women. Marxist feminism argues that capitalism is the root cause of women's oppression, and that discrimination against women in domestic life and employment is an effect of capitalist ideologies. Socialist feminism distinguishes itself from Marxist feminism by arguing that women's liberation can only be achieved by working to end both

644-480: A critique of these social and political relations, much of feminist theory also focuses on the promotion of women's rights and interests. Themes explored in feminist theory include discrimination, stereotyping , objectification (especially sexual objectification ), oppression , and patriarchy . In the field of literary criticism , Elaine Showalter describes the development of feminist theory as having three phases. The first she calls "feminist critique", in which

736-456: A journalist for the Times (its first full-fledged woman reporter) , she covered women's issues, questioning public figures about their views on the status of women and interviewing women who worked in traditionally male professions. She wrote for the Times for 15 years. During World War I , Grant, who was also a talented singer and dancer, talked her way onto a troopship to France by joining

828-493: A main force behind major historical societal changes for women's rights, particularly in the West , where they are near-universally credited with achieving women's suffrage , gender-neutral language , reproductive rights for women (including access to contraceptives and abortion ), and the right to enter into contracts and own property. Although feminist advocacy is, and has been, mainly focused on women's rights, some argue for

920-457: A married woman (such as herself) by the name she chose to use. The only one in her household called Mrs. Heywood Broun was the cat. The League became so well known that a new term, Lucy Stoner , came into common use, meaning anyone who advocates that a wife be allowed to keep and use her own name. This term was eventually included in dictionaries. Women who choose not to use their husbands' surnames have also been called Lucy Stoners . The group

1012-400: A medicine thesis about men suffering from tuberculosis and having developed, according to the author Ferdinand-Valère Faneau de la Cour, feminine traits. The word "féministe" ("feminist"), inspired by its medical use, was coined by Alexandre Dumas fils in a 1872 essay, referring to men who supported women rights. In both cases, the use of the word was very negative and reflected a criticism of

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1104-483: A modern or party-political sense; she highlights "equality of opportunity" as a defining feature of liberal feminism. Liberal feminism is a very broad term that encompasses many, often diverging modern branches and a variety of feminist and general political perspectives; some historically liberal branches are equality feminism , social feminism , equity feminism , difference feminism , individualist/libertarian feminism and some forms of state feminism , particularly

1196-463: A mystical connection between women and nature. Sara Ahmed argues that Black and postcolonial feminisms pose a challenge "to some of the organizing premises of Western feminist thought". During much of its history , feminist movements and theoretical developments were led predominantly by middle-class white women from Western Europe and North America. However, women of other races have proposed alternative feminisms. This trend accelerated in

1288-587: A passport in her own name was Doris Fleischman , the wife of Edward L. Bernays . An earlier victory for the group came in May 1921 when Hale got a real estate deed issued in her birth name rather than Mrs. Heywood Broun. When the time came to transfer the title of the Upper West Side apartment building, Hale refused to go on record as Mrs. Heywood Broun; the papers were changed to Ruth Hale. The League pioneered and fought for other married women's rights, in

1380-485: A past president of the League, was "inspired" to restart the League, at the same time shifting the focus back to name equality – which was/is not addressed by NOW . This restart eventually became "the re-launching of the website (lucystoneleague.org) under the direction of a new board and its current president Ms. Cristina Lucia Stasia". In addition, there was a group of women in New York who were still active under

1472-559: A so-called "confusion of the sexes" by women who refused to abide by the sexual division of society and challenged the inequalities between sexes. The concepts appeared in the Netherlands in 1872, Great Britain in the 1890s, and the United States in 1910. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the first appearance in English in this meaning back to 1895. Depending on the historical moment, culture and country, feminists around

1564-533: A social and ideological change. In 1963, Betty Friedan 's book The Feminine Mystique helped voice the discontent that American women felt. The book is widely credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States. Within ten years, women made up over half the First World workforce. In 1970, Australian writer Germaine Greer published The Female Eunuch , which became

1656-426: A special overseas issue for the armed forces during World War II . Ross and Grant divorced in 1929 after nine years of marriage. During World War II , Grant wrote for several magazines, including Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and The New Yorker . Grant wrote Confession of a Feminist for American Mercury in 1943. In the essay, she describes the experience of being a feminist, recounting her early career as

1748-433: A success without Jane's contribution. Grant was chiefly a business and content consultant for the magazine and initially helped to gather investments towards starting the magazine. She brought her friend Janet Flanner into the magazine's coterie of correspondents, commissioning her enduring Letter from Paris column. The feature continues to be published today, although it now includes many other cities. Grant later produced

1840-676: A woman reporter among men for the Times and exploring discriminatory laws and practices. Grant continued to be active in feminist causes, reactivating the Lucy Stone League and expanding its purpose. She continued to work for the rights of women into the 1960s, advocating for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and serving on the National Council of Women . In 1939, she married William B. Harris,

1932-598: A woman is "through after forty," became depressed and then died in 1934. By the early 1930s the Lucy Stone League was inactive. The League was restarted in 1950 by Jane Grant , plus twenty two former members, its first meeting being on 22 Mar 1950 in New York City. Grant promptly won the Census Bureau 's agreement that a married woman could use her maiden surname as her official or real name in

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2024-607: A worldwide bestseller, reportedly driving up divorce rates. Greer posits that men hate women , that women do not know this and direct the hatred upon themselves, as well as arguing that women are devitalised and repressed in their role as housewives and mothers. Third-wave feminism is traced to the emergence of the riot grrrl feminist punk subculture in Olympia, Washington , in the early 1990s, and to Anita Hill 's televised testimony in 1991—to an all-male, all-white Senate Judiciary Committee —that Clarence Thomas , nominated for

2116-484: Is "incredulity that certain attitudes can still exist". Fourth-wave feminism is "defined by technology", according to Kira Cochrane , and is characterized particularly by the use of Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , YouTube , Tumblr , and blogs such as Feministing to challenge misogyny and further gender equality . Issues that fourth-wave feminists focus on include street and workplace harassment , campus sexual assault and rape culture. Scandals involving

2208-537: Is a feminist movement beginning in the early 1960s and continuing to the present; as such, it coexists with third-wave feminism. Second-wave feminism is largely concerned with issues of equality beyond suffrage, such as ending gender discrimination . Second-wave feminists see women's cultural and political inequalities as inextricably linked and encourage women to understand aspects of their personal lives as deeply politicized and as reflecting sexist power structures. The feminist activist and author Carol Hanisch coined

2300-448: Is an historical tradition that grew out of liberalism, as can be seen very clearly in the work of such feminists as Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill , but feminists who took principles from that tradition have developed analyses and goals that go far beyond those of 18th and 19th century liberal feminists, and many feminists who have goals and strategies identified as liberal feminist ... reject major components of liberalism" in

2392-412: Is particularly the case for libertarian feminism which conceives of people as self-owners and therefore as entitled to freedom from coercive interference. Radical feminism arose from the radical wing of second-wave feminism and calls for a radical reordering of society to eliminate male supremacy . It considers the male-controlled capitalist hierarchy as the defining feature of women's oppression and

2484-457: Is used to describe a range of viewpoints reacting to feminism since the 1980s. While not being "anti-feminist", postfeminists believe that women have achieved second wave goals while being critical of third- and fourth-wave feminist goals. The term was first used to describe a backlash against second-wave feminism, but it is now a label for a wide range of theories that take critical approaches to previous feminist discourses and includes challenges to

2576-642: The Chinese Communist Party created projects aimed at integrating women into the workforce, and claimed that the revolution had successfully achieved women's liberation. According to Nawar al-Hassan Golley, Arab feminism was closely connected with Arab nationalism . In 1899, Qasim Amin , considered the "father" of Arab feminism, wrote The Liberation of Women , which argued for legal and social reforms for women. He drew links between women's position in Egyptian society and nationalism, leading to

2668-595: The Custody of Infants Act 1839 in the UK, which introduced the tender years doctrine for child custody and gave women the right of custody of their children for the first time. Other legislation, such as the Married Women's Property Act 1870 in the UK and extended in the 1882 Act , became models for similar legislation in other British territories. Victoria passed legislation in 1884 and New South Wales in 1889;

2760-605: The Everyday Sexism Project , No More Page 3 , Stop Bild Sexism , Mattress Performance , 10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman , #YesAllWomen , Free the Nipple , One Billion Rising , the 2017 Women's March , the 2018 Women's March , and the #MeToo movement. In December 2017, Time magazine chose several prominent female activists involved in the #MeToo movement, dubbed "the silence breakers", as Person of

2852-828: The Iranian revolution of 1979, many of the rights that women had gained from the women's movement were systematically abolished, such as the Family Protection Law . By the mid-20th century, women still lacked significant rights. In France , women obtained the right to vote only with the Provisional Government of the French Republic of 21 April 1944. The Consultative Assembly of Algiers of 1944 proposed on 24 March 1944 to grant eligibility to women but following an amendment by Fernard Grenier , they were given full citizenship, including

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2944-640: The Supreme Court of the United States , had sexually harassed her. The term third wave is credited to Rebecca Walker , who responded to Thomas's appointment to the Supreme Court with an article in Ms. magazine, "Becoming the Third Wave" (1992). She wrote: So I write this as a plea to all women, especially women of my generation: Let Thomas' confirmation serve to remind you, as it did me, that

3036-430: The raison d'être of classic liberal feminism was "to pose an immanent critique of liberalism, revealing the gendered exclusions within liberal democracy's proclamation of universal equality, particularly with respect to the law, institutional access, and the full incorporation of women into the public sphere." Rottenberg contrasts classic liberal feminism with modern neoliberal feminism which "seems perfectly in sync with

3128-544: The "new" League had to change its approach – it widened its focus to include all discrimination against women in the U.S.; the League became a proto – National Organization for Women ( NOW ). In 1976 the Lucy Stone League joined the International Alliance of Women - Equal Rights - Equal Responsibilities (IAW) as an Associate Member at the XXIV Congress "Action for Equality" which it hosted along with

3220-446: The 1920s U.S., to do each of the following in their own names: to register at a hotel, to have bank accounts and sign checks, to have a telephone account or a store account or an insurance policy or a library card, to register (to vote) and to vote, to get a copyright, and to receive paychecks. These rights may be taken for granted today, but the legal right of a married woman in the U.S. to use her own name (rather than her husband's name)

3312-1072: The 1960s with the civil rights movement in the United States and the end of Western European colonialism in Africa, the Caribbean, parts of Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Since that time, women in developing nations and former colonies and who are of colour or various ethnicities or living in poverty have proposed additional feminisms. Womanism emerged after early feminist movements were largely white and middle-class. Postcolonial feminists argue that colonial oppression and Western feminism marginalized postcolonial women but did not turn them passive or voiceless. Third-world feminism and indigenous feminism are closely related to postcolonial feminism. These ideas also correspond with ideas in African feminism , motherism, Stiwanism, negofeminism, femalism, transnational feminism , and Africana womanism . In

3404-641: The 1960s, both of these traditions are also contrasted with the radical feminism that arose from the radical wing of second-wave feminism and that calls for a radical reordering of society to eliminate patriarchy. Liberal, socialist, and radical feminism are sometimes referred to as the "Big Three" schools of feminist thought. Since the late 20th century, many newer forms of feminism have emerged. Some forms, such as white feminism and gender-critical feminism , have been criticized as taking into account only white, middle class, college-educated, heterosexual , or cisgender perspectives. These criticisms have led to

3496-468: The 1980s, standpoint feminists have argued that the feminist movement should address global issues (such as rape, incest , and prostitution) and culturally specific issues (such as female genital mutilation in some parts of Africa and Arab societies , as well as glass ceiling practices that impede women's advancement in developed economies) in order to understand how gender inequality interacts with racism, homophobia , classism and colonization in

3588-513: The Federation of Organizations for Professional Women in New York. The reborn League operated as a non-political and non-partisan center of research and information on the status of women. It sponsored college scholarships and set up feminist libraries in high schools. It worked for gender equality in legal, economic, educational, and social relationships. As of the early 1990s the Lucy Stone League "still gave nursing scholarships and hosted

3680-533: The People Act was passed granting the vote to women over the age of 30 who owned property. In 1928, this was extended to all women over 21. Emmeline Pankhurst was the most notable activist in England. Time named her one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century , stating: "she shaped an idea of women for our time; she shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back." In

3772-535: The Rights of Woman in which she argues that class and private property are the basis of discrimination against women, and that women as much as men needed equal rights. Charles Fourier , a utopian socialist and French philosopher, is credited with having coined the word "féminisme" in 1837. but no trace of the word have been found in his works. The word "féminisme" ("feminism") first appeared in France in 1871 in

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3864-504: The US, notable leaders of this movement included Lucretia Mott , Elizabeth Cady Stanton , and Susan B. Anthony , who each campaigned for the abolition of slavery before championing women's right to vote. These women were influenced by the Quaker theology of spiritual equality, which asserts that men and women are equal under God. In the US, first-wave feminism is considered to have ended with

3956-549: The Year . Decolonial feminism reformulates the coloniality of gender by critiquing the very formation of gender and its subsequent formations of patriarchy and the gender binary , not as universal constants across cultures, but as structures that have been instituted by and for the benefit of European colonialism . Marìa Lugones proposes that decolonial feminism speaks to how "the colonial imposition of gender cuts across questions of ecology, economics, government, relations with

4048-552: The body" as a subversive exercise. The work of Julia Kristeva , a feminist psychoanalyst and philosopher, and Bracha Ettinger , artist and psychoanalyst, has influenced feminist theory in general and feminist literary criticism in particular. However, as the scholar Elizabeth Wright points out, "none of these French feminists align themselves with the feminist movement as it appeared in the Anglophone world". Many overlapping feminist movements and ideologies have developed over

4140-551: The book to him. Grant died in 1972 on the Connecticut farm she shared with her husband. Harris sold the nursery to Eliot Wadsworth in 1976. In 1974, Harris was approached for an endowment by the University of Oregon . After a visit to the school, he agreed to fund a center that engaged in research on women and gender studies . In 1976, Harris donated Jane Grant's papers to the university. Upon his death in 1981, he left

4232-435: The census. But the "legal stone wall" that U.S. women ran into with many officials and even in the courts persisted until the U.S. Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment on 22 Mar 1972 (never ratified by the U.S.). This 22 Mar 1972 event, plus the researching of and documentation of past legal cases by women lawyers, led to the above-mentioned 9 Oct 1972 court decision. So in the 1950s and 1960s period, prior to 1972,

4324-506: The census. ( The New York Times , 10 Apr 1950). Grant was one of the founding members of the New York Newspaper Women's Club and served on its first board of directors after incorporation in 1924. With the backing of Raoul Fleischmann, Grant and Ross established The New Yorker in 1925. As editor, Ross is credited with driving the success of the magazine, however Ross is quoted saying the magazine would not have been

4416-427: The creation of ethnically specific or multicultural forms of feminism, such as black feminism and intersectional feminism. Some have argued that feminism often promotes misandry and the elevation of women's interests above men's, and criticize radical feminist positions as harmful to both men and women. Mary Wollstonecraft is seen by many as a founder of feminism due to her 1792 book titled A Vindication of

4508-596: The development of Cairo University and the National Movement. In 1923 Hoda Shaarawi founded the Egyptian Feminist Union , became its president and a symbol of the Arab women's rights movement. The Iranian Constitutional Revolution in 1905 triggered the Iranian women's movement , which aimed to achieve women's equality in education , marriage, careers, and legal rights . However, during

4600-410: The economic and cultural sources of women's oppression. Anarcha-feminists believe that class struggle and anarchy against the state require struggling against patriarchy, which comes from involuntary hierarchy. Ecofeminists see men's control of land as responsible for the oppression of women and destruction of the natural environment . Ecofeminism has been criticized for focusing too much on

4692-473: The editor of Fortune magazine . She and Harris moved from Manhattan to Litchfield, Connecticut . The couple founded White Flower Farm out of a barn on their property. In the 1950s, they started a successful mail-order business for home gardening. In 1968, Grant published a memoir about her life entitled Ross, The New Yorker and Me (Reynal and Co., 1968 New York City). She was encouraged to do so by her second husband, William Harris, and ultimately dedicated

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4784-544: The end of the 19th century, with the self-governing colony of New Zealand granting women the right to vote in 1893; South Australia followed suit with the Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894 in 1894. This was followed by Australia granting female suffrage in 1902. In Britain, the suffragettes and suffragists campaigned for the women's vote, and in 1918 the Representation of

4876-666: The entertainment with the YMCA . She joined the American Red Cross and entertained soldiers during shows in Paris and at camps. In France, Woollcott introduced her to the future "Vicious Circle" members, including Harold Ross. Grant and Ross married in 1920. The "Vicious Circle" later became the Algonquin Round Table . She returned to the Times after the war. In 1921, Grant joined the Lucy Stone League , which

4968-423: The environment. Liberal feminism , also known under other names such as reformist, mainstream, or historically as bourgeois feminism, arose from 19th-century first-wave feminism, and was historically linked to 19th-century liberalism and progressivism , while 19th-century conservatives tended to oppose feminism as such. Liberal feminism seeks equality of men and women through political and legal reform within

5060-490: The evolving neoliberal order." According to Zhang and Rios, "liberal feminism tends to be adopted by 'mainstream' (i.e., middle-class) women who do not disagree with the current social structure." They found that liberal feminism with its focus on equality is viewed as the dominant and "default" form of feminism. Some modern forms of feminism that historically grew out of the broader liberal tradition have more recently also been described as conservative in relative terms. This

5152-490: The existence of a fourth wave , starting around 2012, which has used social media to combat sexual harassment , violence against women and rape culture ; it is best known for the Me Too movement . First-wave feminism was a period of activity during the 19th and early-20th centuries. In the UK and US, it focused on the promotion of equal contract, marriage, parenting, and property rights for women. New legislation included

5244-636: The feminist reader examines the ideologies behind literary phenomena. The second Showalter calls " gynocriticism ", in which the "woman is producer of textual meaning". The last phase she calls "gender theory", in which the "ideological inscription and the literary effects of the sex/gender system are explored". This was paralleled in the 1970s by French feminists , who developed the concept of écriture féminine (which translates as "female or feminine writing"). Hélène Cixous argues that writing and philosophy are phallocentric and along with other French feminists such as Luce Irigaray emphasize "writing from

5336-453: The fight is far from over. Let this dismissal of a woman's experience move you to anger. Turn that outrage into political power. Do not vote for them unless they work for us. Do not have sex with them, do not break bread with them, do not nurture them if they don't prioritize our freedom to control our bodies and our lives. I am not a post-feminism feminist. I am the Third Wave. Third-wave feminism also sought to challenge or avoid what it deemed

5428-486: The group the "Maiden Namers". They held their first meetings, debates, and functions at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City, including the founding meeting on 17 May 1921. The founder of the Lucy Stone League was Ruth Hale , a New York City journalist and critic . The wife of New York World columnist Heywood Broun , Ruth Hale challenged in federal court any government edict that would not recognize

5520-479: The harassment, abuse, and murder of women and girls have galvanized the movement. These have included the 2012 Delhi gang rape , 2012 Jimmy Savile allegations , the Bill Cosby allegations , 2014 Isla Vista killings , 2016 trial of Jian Ghomeshi , 2017 Harvey Weinstein allegations and subsequent Weinstein effect , and the 2017 Westminster sexual scandals . Examples of fourth-wave feminist campaigns include

5612-483: The inclusion of men's liberation within its aims, because they believe that men are also harmed by traditional gender roles . Feminist theory , which emerged from feminist movements, aims to understand the nature of gender inequality by examining women's social roles and lived experiences. Feminist theorists have developed theories in a variety of disciplines in order to respond to issues concerning gender. Numerous feminist movements and ideologies have developed over

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5704-432: The late 20th century various feminists began to argue that gender roles are socially constructed , and that it is impossible to generalize women's experiences across cultures and histories. Post-structural feminism draws on the philosophies of post-structuralism and deconstruction in order to argue that the concept of gender is created socially and culturally through discourse . Postmodern feminists also emphasize

5796-467: The modern western feminist movement is divided into multiple "waves". The first comprised women's suffrage movements of the 19th and early-20th centuries, promoting women's right to vote. The second wave , the women's liberation movement , began in the 1960s and campaigned for legal and social equality for women. In or around 1992, a third wave was identified, characterized by a focus on individuality and diversity. Additionally, some have argued for

5888-580: The name "Lucy Stone League" and this group was a dues paying affiliate of the International Alliance of Women , between 1976 and 2021. It hosted the XXXII IAW Triennial Congress in New York City in 1999. Feminist Feminism is a range of socio- political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes . Feminism holds

5980-488: The new Islamist movement and growing conservatism. However, some activists proposed a new feminist movement, Islamic feminism , which argues for women's equality within an Islamic framework. In Latin America , revolutions brought changes in women's status in countries such as Nicaragua , where feminist ideology during the Sandinista Revolution aided women's quality of life but fell short of achieving

6072-588: The passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1919), granting women the right to vote in all states. The term first wave was coined retroactively when the term second-wave feminism came into use. In Germany , feminists like Clara Zetkin was very interested in women's politics , including the fight for equal opportunities and women's suffrage , through socialism. She helped to develop

6164-451: The position that modern societies are patriarchal —they prioritize the male point of view—and that women are treated unjustly in these societies. Efforts to change this include fighting against gender stereotypes and improving educational, professional, and interpersonal opportunities and outcomes for women. Originating in late 18th-century Europe, feminist movements have campaigned and continue to campaign for women's rights , including

6256-496: The provisional emancipation of some women, but post-war periods signalled the return to conservative roles. In Switzerland , women gained the right to vote in federal elections in 1971; but in the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden women obtained the right to vote on local issues only in 1991, when the canton was forced to do so by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland . In Liechtenstein , women were given

6348-511: The remaining Australian colonies passed similar legislation between 1890 and 1897. With the turn of the 19th century, activism focused primarily on gaining political power, particularly the right of women's suffrage , though some feminists were active in campaigning for women's sexual , reproductive , and economic rights too. Women's suffrage (the right to vote and stand for parliamentary office) began in Britain's Australasian colonies at

6440-575: The right to vote , run for public office , work , earn equal pay , own property , receive education , enter into contracts , have equal rights within marriage , and maternity leave . Feminists have also worked to ensure access to contraception , legal abortions , and social integration ; and to protect women and girls from sexual assault , sexual harassment , and domestic violence . Changes in female dress standards and acceptable physical activities for women have also been part of feminist movements. Many scholars consider feminist campaigns to be

6532-546: The right to vote by the women's suffrage referendum of 1984 . Three prior referendums held in 1968 , 1971 and 1973 had failed to secure women's right to vote. Feminists continued to campaign for the reform of family laws which gave husbands control over their wives. Although by the 20th century coverture had been abolished in the UK and US, in many continental European countries married women still had very few rights. For instance, in France, married women did not receive

6624-534: The right to vote. Grenier's proposition was adopted 51 to 16. In May 1947, following the November 1946 elections , the sociologist Robert Verdier minimized the " gender gap ", stating in Le Populaire that women had not voted in a consistent way, dividing themselves, as men, according to social classes. During the baby boom period, feminism waned in importance. Wars (both World War I and World War II) had seen

6716-422: The right to work without their husband's permission until 1965. Feminists have also worked to abolish the "marital exemption" in rape laws which precluded the prosecution of husbands for the rape of their wives. Earlier efforts by first-wave feminists such as Voltairine de Cleyre , Victoria Woodhull and Elizabeth Clarke Wolstenholme Elmy to criminalize marital rape in the late 19th century had failed; this

6808-418: The second wave's essentialist definitions of femininity , which, third-wave feminists argued, overemphasized the experiences of upper middle-class white women. Third-wave feminists often focused on " micro-politics " and challenged the second wave's paradigm as to what was, or was not, good for women, and tended to use a post-structuralist interpretation of gender and sexuality. Feminist leaders rooted in

6900-418: The second wave's ideas. Other postfeminists say that feminism is no longer relevant to today's society. Amelia Jones has written that the postfeminist texts which emerged in the 1980s and 1990s portrayed second-wave feminism as a monolithic entity. Dorothy Chunn describes a "blaming narrative" under the postfeminist moniker, where feminists are undermined for continuing to make demands for gender equality in

6992-428: The second wave, such as Gloria Anzaldúa , bell hooks , Chela Sandoval , Cherríe Moraga , Audre Lorde , Maxine Hong Kingston , and many other non-white feminists, sought to negotiate a space within feminist thought for consideration of race-related subjectivities. Third-wave feminism also contained internal debates between difference feminists , who believe that there are important psychological differences between

7084-459: The sexes, and those who believe that there are no inherent psychological differences between the sexes and contend that gender roles are due to social conditioning . Standpoint theory is a feminist theoretical point of view stating that a person's social position influences their knowledge. This perspective argues that research and theory treat women and the feminist movement as insignificant and refuses to see traditional science as unbiased. Since

7176-784: The slogan "The Personal is Political", which became synonymous with the second wave. Second- and third-wave feminism in China has been characterized by a reexamination of women's roles during the communist revolution and other reform movements, and new discussions about whether women's equality has actually been fully achieved. In 1956, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt initiated " state feminism ", which outlawed discrimination based on gender and granted women's suffrage, but also blocked political activism by feminist leaders. During Sadat 's presidency, his wife, Jehan Sadat , publicly advocated further women's rights, though Egyptian policy and society began to move away from women's equality with

7268-458: The social construction of gender and the discursive nature of reality; however, as Pamela Abbott et al. write, a postmodern approach to feminism highlights "the existence of multiple truths (rather than simply men and women's standpoints)". Jane Grant Jane Grant (May 29, 1892 – March 16, 1972) was a New York City print journalist who co-founded the magazine The New Yorker with her first husband, Harold Ross . Jane Grant

7360-656: The social-democratic women's movement in Germany. From 1891 to 1917, she edited the SPD women's newspaper Die Gleichheit (Equality). In 1907 she became the leader of the newly founded "Women's Office" at the SPD. She also contributed to International Women's Day (IWD). During the late Qing period and reform movements such as the Hundred Days' Reform , Chinese feminists called for women's liberation from traditional roles and Neo-Confucian gender segregation . Later,

7452-409: The spirit world, and knowledge, as well as across everyday practices that either habituate us to take care of the world or to destroy it." Decolonial feminists like Karla Jessen Williamson and Rauna Kuokkanen have examined colonialism as a force that has imposed gender hierarchies on Indigenous women that have disempowered and fractured Indigenous communities and ways of life. The term postfeminism

7544-589: The state feminism of the Nordic countries . The broad field of liberal feminism is sometimes confused with the more recent and smaller branch known as libertarian feminism, which tends to diverge significantly from mainstream liberal feminism. For example, "libertarian feminism does not require social measures to reduce material inequality; in fact, it opposes such measures ... in contrast, liberal feminism may support such requirements and egalitarian versions of feminism insist on them." Catherine Rottenberg notes that

7636-449: The total uprooting and reconstruction of society as necessary. Separatist feminism does not support heterosexual relationships. Lesbian feminism is thus closely related. Other feminists criticize separatist feminism as sexist. Rosemary Hennessy and Chrys Ingraham say that materialist forms of feminism grew out of Western Marxist thought and have inspired a number of different (but overlapping) movements, all of which are involved in

7728-401: The wife of actor John Barrymore . The founding of the League was presented above, in the introduction. Ruth Hale's first battle (begun in 1920) with the government was to get a passport issued to her by the U.S. State Department in her own name – just as for any man. Victory was attained five years later in 1925, by the League, when the first married woman in the United States to receive

7820-458: The world have had different causes and goals. Most western feminist historians contend that all movements working to obtain women's rights should be considered feminist movements, even when they did not (or do not) apply the term to themselves. Other historians assert that the term should be limited to the modern feminist movement and its descendants. Those historians use the label " protofeminist " to describe earlier movements. The history of

7912-410: The years, representing different viewpoints and political aims. Traditionally, since the 19th century, first-wave liberal feminism , which sought political and legal equality through reforms within a liberal democratic framework, was contrasted with labour -based proletarian women's movements that over time developed into socialist and Marxist feminism based on class struggle theory. Since

8004-402: The years. Feminism is often divided into three main traditions called liberal, radical and socialist/Marxist feminism, sometimes known as the "Big Three" schools of feminist thought. Since the late 20th century, newer forms of feminisms have also emerged. Some branches of feminism track the political leanings of the larger society to a greater or lesser degree, or focus on specific topics, such as

8096-534: Was born Jeanette Cole Grant in Joplin, Missouri , and grew up and went to school in Girard, Kansas . Grant originally trained to be a vocalist. She came to New York City at 16 to pursue singing, but fell into journalism when she joined the staff of The New York Times in the society department. She soon worked her way into the city room as a reporter and became close friends with the critic Alexander Woollcott . As

8188-399: Was dedicated, in the manner of Lucy Stone , to helping women keep their maiden names after marriage, as Grant did after her two marriages. In 1950, Grant and 22 former members restarted the Lucy Stone League; its first meeting was on 22 Mar 1950 in New York City. That year Grant won the Census Bureau 's agreement that a married woman could use her birth surname as her official or real name in

8280-472: Was denied by many officials and courts until a 9 Oct 1972 court decision, as documented in the 1977 book Mrs Man , by Una Stannard. Notable suffragist Elsie Hill of the National Woman's Party was a member of the League after the ratification of the 19th Amendment . In its first incarnation the League was short lived. The group's lawyer, Rose Bres, died in 1927; by 1931 Ruth Hale, who believed that

8372-404: Was only achieved a century later in most Western countries, but is still not achieved in many other parts of the world. French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir provided a Marxist solution and an existentialist view on many of the questions of feminism with the publication of Le Deuxième Sexe ( The Second Sex ) in 1949. The book expressed feminists' sense of injustice. Second-wave feminism

8464-746: Was open to women and men. Some early members were, in alphabetical order: Some of the members often attended the Algonquin Round Table . Since many League members wrote for a living, they could and did write frequently about the group in New York City newspapers. There were many well-known women who were Lucy Stoners and kept their names after marriage but were not known to be League members, such as (listed alphabetically) Isadora Duncan (dancer), Amelia Earhart (aviation celebrity), Margaret Mead (anthropologist), Edna St. Vincent Millay (poet), Georgia O'Keeffe (artist), Frances Perkins (first woman appointed to any U.S. cabinet), and Michael Strange (poet, playwright, actress) – aka Blanche Oelrichs – aka

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