179-481: Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender ; systems of privilege and oppression; and the relationships between power and gender as they intersect with other identities and social locations such as race , sexual orientation , socio-economic class , and disability . Popular concepts that are related to
358-741: A New International Economic Order which was to be negotiated between the North and South was initiated at the Non-Aligned Summit held in Algiers. Also in 1973, the oil embargo initiated by Arab OPEC countries as a result of the Yom Kippur War caused an increase in world oil prices, with prices continuing to rise throughout the decade. This contributed to a worldwide recession which resulted in industrialized nations increasing economically protectionist policies and contributing less aid to
537-652: 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
716-417: 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,
895-643: 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
1074-580: A 1952 article by Alfred Sauvy entitled "Trois Mondes, Une Planète". Early definitions of the Third World emphasized its exclusion from the east–west conflict of the Cold War as well as the ex-colonial status and poverty of the peoples it comprised. Efforts to mobilize the Third World as an autonomous political entity were undertaken. The 1955 Bandung Conference was an early meeting of Third World states in which an alternative to alignment with either
1253-594: A Marxist viewpoint, Karl Marx had expressed a notion in which believed that those in power have the inability to understand the perspectives of those whom they hold power. Providing that standpoint theory acknowledges the male incapability of understanding the oppression in which women face in society. Transnational feminism is concerned with the flow of social, political, and economic equality of women and men across borders; directly in response to globalization, neoliberalism, and imperialism. Women's studies began incorporating transnational feminist theory into its curricula as
1432-631: A New Era (DAWN), a network for feminist academics and activists focused on the Global South , created in 1984. African scholars among DAWN's founding members were Fatema Mernissi (Morocco), Pala Okeyo (Kenya), and Marie-Angélique Savané (Senegal). These scholars inspired a second group of researchers and activists, which included: Rudo Gaidzanwa (Zimbabwe), Ayesha Imam (Nigeria), Patricia McFadden (Eswatini), Amina Mama (Nigeria), Takyiwaa Manuh (Ghana), Maria Nzomo (Kenya), and Charmaine Pereira (Nigeria). The University of Ghana established
1611-480: A PhD in the field. In 1956, Australian feminist Madge Dawson took up a lectureship in the Department of Adult Education at Sydney University and began researching and teaching on the status of women. Dawson's course, "Women in a Changing World", which focused on the socio-economic and political status of women in western Europe, becoming one of the first women's studies courses. In 2015 at Kabul University ,
1790-414: 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
1969-480: 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
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#17327984992012148-670: A feminist standpoint, agency may be viewed as an attempt to equalize the one-sided oppression that has characterized first wave feminism. Feminists use agency in attempt to create new forms of autonomy and dependence from the reshaping of gender relations that is taking place in global society. Women's studies acknowledges the lack of agency in which women historically possessed, due to hierarchical positions in society. Feminists are actively making an effort to increase gender equality, as it may result in expanding social agency for all women. Materialist theory derives from 1960s and 1970s social work in feminism. Materialism possesses significant ties to
2327-561: A foundation of women's studies. Increasingly social justice has become a key component of women's studies courses, programs, and departments. Social justice theory is concerned with the fight for just communities, not on the individual level, but for the whole of society. Women's studies students engage in social justice projects, although some scholars and critics are concerned about requiring students to engage in both mandated activism and/or social justice work. Women's studies not only focus on concepts such as domestic violence, discrimination in
2506-409: A generalized view of developing countries through biased media coverage , mass media outlets tend to focus disproportionately on poverty and other negative imagery. This common coverage has created a dominant stereotype of developing countries as: "the ' South ' is characterized by socioeconomic and political backwardness, measured against Western values and standards." Mass media has also played
2685-414: A global effort. Furthermore, a transnational feminist perspective perpetuates that a lack of attention to the cultural and economic injustices of gender, as a result of globalization, may aid in the reinforcing of global gender inequalities; though, this can only come about when one occupies globally privileged subject positions. Since its inception and connection with the women's movement, activism has been
2864-515: A global partnership for development. These were replaced in 2015 by 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs, set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and intended to be achieved by 2030, are part of a UN Resolution called " The 2030 Agenda ". The global digital divide is often characterized as corresponding to the north–south divide; however, Internet use, and especially broadband access,
3043-638: A guide outlining the 17 then-existing undergraduate courses, 1 postgraduate option, four college of education offers and six polytechnics courses in Women's Studies – often called 'women in society' – in the United Kingdom. They compiled the guide from surveys of UK universities and adding to research previously published by Sue Beardon and Erika Stevenson for the National Union of Students in 1974. A part time postgraduate Diploma in Women's Studies
3222-470: A key issue. With its development, many scholars preferred using the Global South over its predecessors, such as " developing countries " and " Third World ". Leigh Anne Duck, co-editor of Global South , argued that the term is better suited at resisting "hegemonic forces that threaten the autonomy and development of these countries." The Global South / Global North distinction has been preferred to
3401-493: 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
3580-400: 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
3759-483: 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
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#17327984992013938-463: 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
4117-560: A research facility for women scholars and provided publishing for their works. From the early 1980s, women like Juanita Barreto Gama , Guiomar Dueñas Vargas , Florence Thomas , Magdalena León Gómez , María Martínez , Donny Meertens , Yolanda Puyana Villamizar [ wikidata ] , María Himelda Ramírez and Ana Rico de Alonso worked to create an interdisciplinary field of feminist study in Colombia . First they met informally, then were able to gain official recognition in 1985 as
4296-498: A result of these pedagogies, women's studies students leave university with a tool set to make social change and do something about power inequalities in society. Notable women's studies scholars include Charlotte Bunch , Patricia Hill Collins , bell hooks , Angela Davis , Cherríe Moraga , Audre Lorde , Adrienne Rich , and Barbara Ransby . In the book Professing Feminism: Education and Indoctrination in Women's Studies , thirty Women's Studies academics came together to criticise
4475-621: 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
4654-533: 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
4833-477: A variety of freedom indices . Countries of the Global North tend to be wealthier , and capable of exporting technologically advanced manufactured products, among other characteristics. In contrast, countries of the Global South tend to be poorer, and heavily dependent on their largely agrarian-based economic primary sectors . Some scholars have suggested that the inequality gap between the Global North and
5012-409: A variety of topics, including popular culture, women in the economy, reproductive and environmental justice , and women's health across the lifespan. Women's studies programs are involved in social justice work and often design curricula that are embedded with theory and activism outside of the classroom setting. Some women's studies programs offer internships that are community-based allowing students
5191-426: A way to disrupt and challenge the ways in which knowledge regarding gender is prioritized, transmitted, and circulated in the field and academy. Transnational feminist theory is continually challenging the traditional divides of society, in which are crucial to ongoing politics and cultural beliefs. A key recognition advanced from the transnational feminist perspective is that gender is, has been, and will continue to be,
5370-607: 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
5549-484: 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
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5728-537: 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
5907-472: Is a measure of progress in a specific economy. It refers to advancements in technology, a transition from an economy based largely on agriculture to one based on industry and an improvement in living standards. Being categorized as part of the "North" implies development as opposed to belonging to the "South", which implies a lack thereof. According to N. Oluwafemi Mimiko, the South lacks the right technology, it
6086-634: 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 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
6265-569: Is a way of understanding and analyzing the complexity in people, human experiences, and society. Associated with the third wave of feminism, Kimberlé Crenshaw 's theory of intersectionality has become the key theoretical framework through which various feminist scholars discuss the relationship of between one's social and political identities such as gender, race, age, and sexual orientation, and received societal discrimination. Intersectionality posits that these relationships must be considered to understand hierarchies of power and privilege, as well as
6444-448: 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
6623-407: Is from the feminist perspective, claiming that social conditions of gender are historically situated, as well as subjected to intervention and change. Materialist feminism specifically focuses on social arrangements that accentuate the role of women notably the aspects of family, domesticity, and motherhood. Materialism analyzes gendering discourses in which promote women's marginalization; Thus, one of
6802-462: Is now soaring in Asia compared with other continents. This phenomenon is partially explained by the ability of many countries in Asia to leapfrog older Internet technology and infrastructure, coupled with booming economies which allow vastly more people to get online. Mass media has often compared the Global South to the North, and is thought to be an aid in the divide. Western media tends to present
6981-440: Is often used interchangeably with developed countries , whereas the term Global South with developing countries . Characteristically, most countries in the Global South are commonly identified as lacking in their standard of living , these include having: lower incomes , high levels of poverty , high population growth rates , limited educational opportunities, deficient health care systems , among other issues. Also, cities in
7160-412: 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
7339-417: Is politically unstable, its economies are divided, and its foreign exchange earnings depend on primary product exports to the North, along with the fluctuation of prices. The low level of control it exercises over imports and exports condemns the South to conform to the 'imperialist' system. The South's lack of development and the high level of development of the North deepen the inequality between them and leave
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7518-492: Is related to the fields of gender studies , feminist studies, and sexuality studies, and more broadly related to the fields of cultural studies , ethnic studies , and African-American studies . Women's studies courses are now offered in over seven hundred institutions in the United States, and globally in more than forty countries. The erasure of women and their activities in Africa was complex. When women's studies emerged in
7697-457: 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
7876-642: 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
8055-595: 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;
8234-605: 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
8413-828: 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
8592-640: 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
8771-488: The University of Buea (Cameroon), and the University of Zambia (Zambia). The first accredited women's studies course in the U.S. was held in 1969 at Cornell University . After a year of intense organizing of women's consciousness raising groups , rallies, petition circulating, and operating unofficial or experimental classes and presentations before seven committees and assemblies, the first women's studies program in
8950-559: The University of Buenos Aires . In 1987, María Fernández became the chair of UBA's degree program in women's studies. In 1992, the Area Interdisciplinaria de Estudios de la Mujer (AIEM, Interdisciplinary Area of Women's Studies), which became the Instituto Interdisciplinario de Estudios de Género (Interdisciplinary Institute of Gender Studies) in 1997, was founded at UBA linking academics from
9129-403: The feminist movement that compelled the formation of women's studies found itself at odds with the institutionalized academic feminism of the 1990s. As "woman" as a concept continued to be expanded, the exploration of social constructions of gender led to the field's expansion into both gender studies and sexuality studies. The field of women's studies continued to grow during the 1990s and into
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#17327984992019308-430: 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
9487-481: The "unhealthy conditions and self-destructive tendencies that appear to be intrinsic to many Women's Studies programs". Professors spoke of being unable to "discuss their concerns about this belligerent anti-intellectualism with other faculty members in Women's Studies", with claims of a "constant emphasis on political purity.... from both students and professors". [REDACTED] Learning materials related to Women's Studies at Wikiversity Feminism Feminism
9666-519: The "wider context of globalization or global capitalism." In general, definitions for Global North and Global South, do not refer to the geographical North or the geographical South . The Global North broadly comprises Northern America and Europe , Israel , Japan , South Korea , Australia , and New Zealand , as per the UNCTAD. The Global South broadly comprises Africa , Latin America and
9845-458: The 1960s and 1970s. The first generation of scholars focused on establishing and legitimizing Africa's precolonial history. They also questioned whether the Western construct of gender applied in Africa or whether the concepts of gender existed in pre-colonial Africa. Ifi Amadiume 's work Male Daughters, Female Husbands (1987) and Oyeronke Oyewumi 's The Invention of Women (1997) are some of
10024-964: 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
10203-641: 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
10382-470: The 1960s-70s development of women's studies, "in the summer of 1969 Juliet Mitchell taught a short course entitled 'The Role of Women in Society' in the 'Anti University', which had been organised by radical academics as part of the student protest movement". Maggie Humm identifies this summer course as "Britain's first women's studies course". In 1975, Margarita Rendel, Oonagh Hartnett, Zoe Fairbairns, wrote
10561-707: The 1980s and continued expanding throughout the 1990s. In 1992, Brazilian academics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro launched Revista Estudos Feministas , one of the primary academic journals on gender in Brazil. Among the contributors for the inaugural issue were Ana Arruda Callado [ pt ] , Heloísa Buarque de Hollanda , Maria Carneiro da Cunha , Mary Garcia Castro [ pt ] , Rosiska Darcy de Oliveira , Valéria Lamego , Miriam Moreira Leite , Leila Linhares , Heleieth Saffioti , Bila Sorj , and others. The political aims of
10740-417: The 1980s as a way of critically examining the production of knowledge and its resulting effects on practices of power. Standpoint theory operates from the idea that knowledge is socially situated and underrepresented groups and minorities have historically been ignored or marginalized when it comes to the production of knowledge. Emerging from Marxist thought, standpoint theory argues for analysis that challenges
10919-468: 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
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#173279849920111098-503: The 1980s, it focused on recovering women from the obscurity of all of African history caused by colonialism and the "patriarchal social systems" left behind in Africa after decolonization. Because systems prevailed which supported boys' education over that of girls, in the era following independence there were few women who could read and write. Those who could were not encouraged to become professionals and often resorted to activism to address educational and other disadvantages women faced in
11277-556: The 2000s with the expansion of universities offering majors, minors, and certificates in women's studies, gender studies, and feminist studies. The first official PhD program in Women's Studies was established at Emory University in 1990. As of 2012, there were 16 institutions offering a PhD in Women's Studies in the United States. Since then, UC Santa Cruz (2013), the University of Kentucky-Lexington (2013), Stony Brook University (2014), and Oregon State University (2016) also introduced
11456-463: The Brandt line has been criticised for being outdated, yet is still regarded as a helpful way to visualise global inequalities. Global South "emerged in part to aid countries in the southern hemisphere to work in collaboration on political, economic, social, environmental, cultural, and technical issues." This is called South–South cooperation (SSC), a "political and economical term that refers to
11635-505: The Caribbean , Asia excluding Israel, Japan, and South Korea, and Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand, also according to the UNCTAD. Some, such as Australian sociologists Fran Collyer and Raewyn Connell , have argued that Australia and New Zealand are marginalized in similar ways to other Global South countries, due to their geographical isolation and location in the Southern Hemisphere. The term Global North
11814-811: The Centro de Estudios de la Mujer (Center for Women's Studies) in the psychology faculty at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The field was formalized with the creation of the Programa Universitario de Estudios de Género (PUEG, University Program on Gender Studies) in 1992, at the urging of academics like Gloria Careaga , Teresita de Barbieri , Graciela Hierro [ es ] , Araceli Mingo , Lorenia Parada , and Alicia Elena Pérez Duarte . Activists and researchers in Chile began meeting in 1978 with creation of
11993-674: The Círculo de la Mujer (Women's Circle). In 1984, they founded the Centro de Estudios de la Mujer (CEM, Center for Women's Studies) in Santiago to facilitate multi-disciplinary studies on women and gender. That same year, Virginia Vargas began teaching women's studies in Peru, and the following year, she along with Virginia Guzmán Barcos and others, founded the Flora Tristán Peruvian Women's Center . The center provided
12172-572: The Development and Women's Studies Program (DAWS) in 1989, which by 1996 offered both undergraduate and graduate level studies. After the demise of Apartheid , the University of Cape Town , South Africa established the African Gender Institute in 1996 to facilitate research and gender studies in Africa. By 2003, full departments dedicated to gender and women's studies had also been established at Makerere University (Uganda),
12351-462: The Eastern or Western Blocs was promoted. Following this, the first Non-Aligned Summit was organized in 1961. Contemporaneously, a mode of economic criticism which separated the world economy into "core" and "periphery" was developed and given expression in a project for political reform which "moved the terms 'North' and 'South' into the international political lexicon." In 1973, the pursuit of
12530-792: The English department, administration and within the community. By 1974, San Diego State University faculty members began a nationwide campaign for the integration of the department. At the time, these actions and the field were extremely political. Before formalized departments and programs, many women's studies courses were advertised unofficially around campuses and taught by women faculty member – without pay – in addition to their established teaching and administrative responsibilities. Then, as in many cases today, faculty who teach in women's studies often hold faculty appointments in other departments on campus. The first scholarly journal in interdisciplinary women's studies, Feminist Studies , began publishing in 1972. The National Women's Studies Association (of
12709-702: The First World/Global North." In other terms, "societies can be fast-tracked to modernization by 'importing' Western technical capital, forms of organization, and science and technology to developing countries." With this ideology, as long as countries follow in Western ways, they can develop quicker. After modernization attempts took place, theorists started to question the effects through post-development perspectives. Postdevelopment theorists try to explain that not all developing countries need to be following Western ways but instead should create their own development plans. This means that "societies at
12888-481: The Global North and Global South divide, contributing to the severity of said actors. Disputes between Northern countries governments and Southern countries governments has led to a breakdown in international discussions with governments from either side disagreeing with each other. Addressing most environmental problems requires international cooperation, and the North and South contribute to the stagnation concerning any form of implementation and enforcement, which remains
13067-425: The Global North before countries in the Global South receive it. Although many of these countries rely on political or economic help, this also opens up opportunity for information to develop Western bias and create an academic dependency. Meneleo Litonjua describes the reasoning behind distinctive problems of dependency theory as "the basic context of poverty and underdevelopment of Third World/Global South countries
13246-680: The Global North in the process." It is guided by the principles of "respect for national sovereignty , national ownership, independence, equality, non-conditionality, non-interference in domestic affairs , and mutual benefit." Countries using this model of South–South cooperation see it as a "mutually beneficial relationship that spreads knowledge, skills, expertise and resources to address their development challenges such as high population pressure , poverty, hunger, disease, environmental deterioration , conflict and natural disasters ." These countries also work together to deal with "cross border issues such as environmental protection, HIV/AIDS ", and
13425-531: The Global South are identified for their poor infrastructure . Economies of the Global North are diversified, whereas agriculture sector happens to be the major contributor of economy activity in the Global South. Carl Oglesby used the term "global south" in 1969, writing in Catholic journal Commonweal in a special issue on the Vietnam War . Oglesby argued that centuries of northern "dominance over
13604-601: The Global South broadly comprises Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean , Asia (excluding Israel , Japan , and South Korea ), and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand ). Most of the Global South's countries are commonly identified as lacking in their standard of living , which includes having lower incomes , high levels of poverty , high population growth rates , inadequate housing, limited educational opportunities, and deficient health systems , among other issues. Additionally, these countries' cities are characterized by their poor infrastructure . Opposite to
13783-457: The Global South has been narrowing due to the effects of globalization . Other scholars have disputed this position, suggesting that the Global South has instead become poorer vis-à-vis the Global North in this same timeframe. Since World War II , the phenomenon of “ South–South cooperation ” (SSC) to “challenge the political and economic dominance of the North” has become more prominent among
13962-432: The Global South have also been described as being newly industrialized or in the process of industrializing, many of them are current or former subjects of colonialism . The Global North and the Global South are often defined in terms of their differing levels of wealth , economic development, income inequality , and strength of democracy , as well as by their political freedom and economic freedom , as defined by
14141-399: The Global South is not rising economically, and that global inequality between the North and South has risen since globalization. Hickel has suggested that the exchange of resources between the South and the North is substantially unbalanced in favor of the North, with Global North countries extracting a windfall of over 240 trillion dollars from the Global South in 2015. This figure outstrips
14320-579: The Global South is the Global North, which the UNCTAD describes as broadly comprising Northern America and Europe, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. As such, the two terms do not refer to the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere , as many of the Global South's countries are geographically located in the former and, similarly, a number of the Global North's countries are geographically located in
14499-478: The Global South's countries. It has become popular in light of the geographical migration of manufacturing and production activity from the Global North to the Global South, and has since influenced the diplomatic policies of the Global South’s more powerful countries, such as China . Thus, these contemporary economic trends have “enhanced the historical potential of economic growth and industrialization in
14678-618: The Global South” amidst renewed targeted efforts by the SSC to “loosen the strictures imposed during the colonial era, and transcend the boundaries of postwar political and economic geography” as an aspect of decolonization . The terms "Global North" and "Global South" are not strictly geographical, and are not "an image of the world divided by the equator, separating richer countries from their poorer counterparts." Rather, geography should be more readily understood as economic and migratory, in
14857-805: The Grupo de Estudios Mujer y Sociedad (Women & Society Study Group) and finally in 1994, they launched the Programa de Estudios de Género, Mujer y Desarrollo (PGMD, Gender, Women and Development Studies Program) in the Human Sciences Department at the National University of Colombia . In 1985, activists in Argentina launched the "Introduction to Women's Studies" and a post-graduate seminar, "La construcción social del género sexual" (The Social Construction of Sexual Gender) at
15036-563: The Marxist theories of history, agency, and ideology; though, may be distinguished through the incorporation of language and culture to its philosophy. Materialism poses questions to both social analytics and social relations, in which may be found in the material conditions of any given society. In addition from examining from a gender standpoint, material conditions are studied in relation to realistic aspects of women's lives. A key aspect in which materialist feminists have revealed these relations
15215-487: The North–South divide has been challenged on a number of grounds. Firstly, differences in the political, economic and demographic make-up of countries tend to complicate the idea of a monolithic South. Globalization has also challenged the notion of two distinct economic spheres. Following the liberalization of post-Mao China initiated in 1978, growing regional cooperation between the national economies of Asia has led to
15394-533: 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
15573-576: The Politics of Empowerment (Collins). Alice Walker coined the term womanism to situate black women's experiences as they struggle for social change and liberation, while simultaneously celebrating the strength of black women, their culture, and their beauty. Patricia Hill Collin's contributed the concept of the " matrix of domination " to feminist theory, which reconceptualized race, class, and gender as interlocking systems of oppression that shape experiences of privilege and oppression. Intersectionality
15752-609: The Polytechnic of North East London and at Preston Polytechnic. Veronica Beechey was recruited by the Open University in 1983 to initiate a women's studies course there. Current courses in Women's Studies in the United Kingdom can be found through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service . Early women's studies courses and curricula were often driven by the question "Why are women not included? Where are
15931-535: 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
16110-587: The South a source of raw material for the developed countries. The North becomes synonymous with economic development and industrialization while the South represents the previously colonized countries which are in need of help in the form of international aid agendas. Furthermore, in Regionalism Across the North-South Divide: State Strategies and Globalization, Jean Grugel stated that the three factors that direct
16289-472: The South experience rapid development, there is evidence that those states are developing high levels of South–South aid. Brazil, in particular, has been noted for its high levels of aid ($ 1 billion annually—ahead of many traditional donors) and the ability to use its own experiences to provide high levels of expertise and knowledge transfer. This has been described as a "global model in waiting". The United Nations has also established its role in diminishing
16468-402: The South, allowing clustering to begin. The term of the Global South has many researched theories associated with it. Since many of the countries that are considered to be a part of the Global South were once colonized by Global North countries, they are at a disadvantage to become as quickly developed. Dependency theorists suggest that information has a top-down approach and first goes to
16647-504: 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
16826-482: The United States was established in 1970 at San Diego State College (now San Diego State University ). In conjunction with National Women's Liberation Movement , students and community members created the ad hoc committee for women's studies. The second women's studies program in the United States was established in 1971 at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. It was mostly formed through many efforts by women in
17005-507: The United States) was established in 1977. In 1977, there were 276 women's studies programs nationwide in the United States. The number of programs increased in the following decade, growing up to 530 programs in 1989, which included the program at the University of Puerto Rico founded by Margarita Benítez in 1986. Around the 1980s, universities in the U.S. saw the growth and development of women's studies courses and programs across
17184-549: 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
17363-462: The accuracy of globalization as a model of the world economy, emphasizing the enduring centrality of nation-states in world politics and the prominence of regional trade relations. Lately, there have been efforts to integrate the Global South more meaningfully into the world economic order. The divide between the North and South challenges international environmental cooperation. The economic differences between North and South have created dispute over
17542-493: The amount of financial aid given to Global South by a factor of 30. Globalization has largely displaced the North–South divide as the theoretical underpinning of the development efforts of international institutions such as the IMF , World Bank , WTO , and various United Nations affiliated agencies, though these groups differ in their perceptions of the relationship between globalization and inequality. Yet some remain critical of
17721-414: The authority of political and social "truths". Standpoint theory, assumes that power lies solely within the hands of the male gender as the process of decision making in society is constructed exclusively for, and by men. An example of where standpoint theory presents itself in society is through the processes of political analysis, as this field of study is almost entirely controlled by men. Furthermore, from
17900-552: 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
18079-792: The country at: Around the same time, women academics in Latin America began to form women's studies groups. The first chair of women's studies in Mexico was created in the political and social sciences faculty of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1970. Starting in 1979, the Grupo Autónomo de Mujeres Universitarias (GAMU, Autonomous Group of University Women), which included both Mexican faculty and students began meeting periodically to discuss how feminism could be introduced to various campuses across
18258-441: The country while the field continued to grapple with backlash from both conservative groups and concerns from those within the women's movement about the white, existentialist , and heterosexual privilege of those in the academy. In Canada The first few university courses in Women's Studies were taught in the early 1970s. In 1984 the federal government established five regional endowed chairs in Women's Studies for each region of
18437-725: The country. In 1982, a women's studies program was created at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco . Similarly in 1983, activists in the Mexican feminist movement, including Lourdes Arizpe , Flora Botton , and Elena Urrutia , founded the Programa Interdisciplinario de Estudios de la Mujer (PIEG, Interdisciplinary Women's Studies Program) at El Colegio de México in Mexico City. In 1984, academics formed
18616-427: 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
18795-596: 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
18974-504: The divide between North and South through the Millennium Development Goals , all of which were to be achieved by 2015. These goals seek to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve global universal education and healthcare, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS , malaria , and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability , and develop
19153-410: 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
19332-483: The economic development of states in the Global south are "élite behaviour within and between nation states, integration and cooperation within 'geographic' areas, and the resulting position of states and regions within the global world market and related political economic hierarchy." The development disparity between the North and the South has sometimes been explained in historical terms. Dependency theory looks back on
19511-476: The effects in which they manifest in an individual's life. Though events and conditions of social and political life are often thought to be shaped by one factor, intersectionality theorizes that oppression and social inequality are a result of how powerful individuals view the combination of various factors; emphasizing that discrimination is accounted for by power, not personal identity. Standpoint theory , also classified as feminist standpoint theory, developed in
19690-544: 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
19869-460: The end of the Cold War and the break-up of the Soviet Union, some Second World countries joined the First World, and others joined the Third World. A new and simpler classification was needed. Use of the terms "North" and "South" became more widespread. The Brandt Line is a visual depiction of the north–south divide, proposed by West German former Chancellor Willy Brandt in the 1980s in
20048-423: 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
20227-490: 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
20406-490: 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
20585-475: The experiences and conditions of women's lives. Theorists and writers such as bell hooks , Simone de Beauvoir , Patricia Hill Collins , and Alice Walker added to the field of feminist theory with respect to the ways in which race and gender mutually inform the experiences of women of color with works such as Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (hooks), In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens (Walker), and Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and
20764-431: The experiences of women at the center of inquiry through the use of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Feminist researchers acknowledge their role in the production of knowledge and make explicit the relationship between the researcher and the research subject. Feminist theory refers to the body of writing that works to address gender discrimination and disparities, while acknowledging, describing, and analyzing
20943-542: The faculties of Arts, Anthropology, Classics and Letters, Education, History, Languages, and Philosophy to encourage broader research and analysis of women in these fields. Hilda Habichayn founded the Centro de Estudios Históricos sobre las Mujeres (Center for Historical Studies on Women), which began in 1993 to offer the first master's degree in women's studies in Latin America. The first women's study program in Paraguay
21122-636: 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
21301-667: The field of women's studies include feminist theory , standpoint theory , intersectionality, multiculturalism , transnational feminism , social justice , affect studies, agency , bio-politics , materialism , and embodiment. Research practices and methodologies associated with women's studies include ethnography , autoethnography , focus groups , surveys, community-based research, discourse analysis, and reading practices associated with critical theory , post-structuralism , and queer theory . The field researches and critiques different societal norms of gender , race , class, sexuality , and other social inequalities . Women's studies
21480-453: 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
21659-646: The first master's degree course in gender and women's studies in Afghanistan began. Elizabeth Bird traced the development of Women's Studies in the UK out of informal education run by the women's liberation movement (WLM), the Workers' Educational Association, "CR" or " consciousness raising " groups, left-wing activist groups, and extramural departments attached to universities and colleges. Bird notes that, according to feminist activists and scholars Anna Coote and Beatrix Campbell who interviewed many participants in
21838-720: The first works which sought to examine gender perceptions in Africa. In 1977, the Association of African Women for Research and Development (AAWORD) was established to promote research on African women by African women. Scholars affiliated with the organization from its founding included: Simi Afonja (Nigeria), N'Dri Thérèse Assié-Lumumba (Ivory Coast), ( Bolanle Awe (Nigeria), Nawal El Saadawi (Egypt), Nina Mba (Nigeria), Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie (Nigeria), Achola Pala Okeyo (Kenya), Filomena Steady (Sierra Leone), Fatou Sow (Senegal), and Zenebework Tadesse (Ethiopia). Other scholars joined Development Alternatives with Women for
22017-405: The geographic North and Norths in the geographic South." Through this geographically fluid definition, another meaning is attributed to the Global South where it refers to a global political community that is formed when the world's "Souths" recognize one another and view their conditions as shared. The geographical boundaries of the Global South remain a source of debate. Some scholars agree that
22196-476: The global south […] [has] converged […] to produce an intolerable social order." The term gained appeal throughout the second half of the 20th century, which rapidly accelerated in the early 21st century. It appeared in fewer than two dozen publications in 2004, but in hundreds of publications by 2013. The emergence of the new term meant looking at the troubled realities of its predecessors, i.e.: Third World or Developing World. The term "Global South", in contrast,
22375-403: The growing decentralization of the North as the main economic power. The economic status of the South has also been fractured. As of 2015, all but roughly the bottom 60 nations of the Global South were thought to be gaining on the North in terms of income, diversification, and participation in the world market. However, other scholars, notably Jason Hickel and Robert Wade have suggested that
22554-479: 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
22733-497: The inability of a nation's economy to complete the cycle of capital accumulation without reliance on an outside economy. More specifically, peripheral nations were perceived as primary resource exporters reliant on core economies for manufactured goods. This led structuralists to advocate for import-substitution industrialization policies which aimed to replace manufactured imports with domestically made products. New Economic Geography explains development disparities in terms of
22912-483: 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
23091-432: 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
23270-467: The latter. More specifically, the Global North consists of the world's developed countries , whereas the Global South consists of the world's developing countries and least developed countries . The Global South classification, as used by governmental and developmental organizations, was first introduced as a more open and value-free alternative to “ Third World ”, and likewise potentially “valuing” terms such as developed and developing. Countries of
23449-498: The learning process. Women's studies programs and courses are designed to explore the intersectionality of gender, race, sexuality, class and other topics that are involved in identity politics and societal norms through a feminist lens. Women's studies courses focus on a variety of topics such as media literacy, sexuality, race and ethnicity, history involving women, queer theory, multiculturalism and other courses closely related. Faculty incorporate these components into classes across
23628-403: The less developed countries of the South. The slack was taken up by Western banks, which provided substantial loans to Third World countries. However, many of these countries were not able to pay back their debt, which led the IMF to extend further loans to them on the condition that they undertake certain liberalizing reforms. This policy, which came to be known as structural adjustment , and
23807-448: The lives of subjects, however they identify, are constituted. At the core of these theories is the notion that however one identifies, gender, sex, and sexuality are not intrinsic, but are socially constructed. Major theories employed in women's studies courses include feminist theory , intersectionality , standpoint theory , transnational feminism , and social justice . Research practices associated with women's studies place women and
23986-436: The local level should be allowed to pursue their own development path as they perceive it without the influences of global capital and other modern choices, and thus a rejection of the entire paradigm from Eurocentric model and the advocation of new ways of thinking about the non-Western societies." The goals of postdevelopment was to reject development rather than reform by choosing to embrace non-Western ways. The accuracy of
24165-402: The long-term goal of pursuing world economic changes that mutually benefit countries in the Global South and lead to greater solidarity among the disadvantaged in the world system." The hope is that countries within the Global South will "assist each other in social, political, and economical development, radically altering the world system to reflect their interests and not just the interests of
24344-467: 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
24523-523: The most influential aspects of materialist feminism is its attentiveness with questions of ideology and how they relate to history and agency. In most institutions, women's studies courses employ feminist pedagogy in a triad model of equal parts research, theory, and praxis. The decentralization of the professor as the source of knowledge is often fundamental to women's studies classroom culture. Students are encouraged to take an active role in "claiming" their education, taking responsibility for themselves and
24702-632: The movement of capital and labor. Social psychiatrist Vincenzo Di Nicola has applied the Global South as a bridge between the critiques globalization and the gaps and limitations of the Global Mental Health Movement , invoking Boaventura de Sousa Santos ' notion of "epistemologies of the South" to create a new epistemology for social psychiatry . The Dictionary of Human Geography defines development as "processes of social change or [a change] to class and state projects to transform national economies". Economic development
24881-488: 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
25060-551: The older developed / developing dichotomy as it does not imply a hierarchy. Alvaro Mendez, co-founder of the London School of Economics and Political Science 's Global South Unit, have applauded the empowering aspects of the term. In an article, Discussion on Global South, Mendez discusses emerging economies in nations like China, India and Brazil. It is predicted that by 2030, 80% of the world's middle-class population will be living in developing countries. The popularity of
25239-904: The opportunity to experience how institutional structures of privilege and oppression directly affects women's lives. Women's studies curricula often encourage students to participate in service-learning activities in addition to discussion and reflection upon course materials. However, Daphne Patai , from the University of Massachusetts Amherst , has criticized this aspect of women's studies programs, arguing that they place politics over education, stating "the strategies of faculty members in these programs have included policing insensitive language, championing research methods deemed congenial to women (such as qualitative over quantitative methods), and conducting classes as if they were therapy sessions." Since women's studies students analyze identity markers including gender, race, class, and sexuality, this often results in dissecting institutionalized structures of power. As
25418-588: 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
25597-420: The patterns of colonial relations which persisted between the North and South and emphasizes how colonized territories tended to be impoverished by those relations. Theorists of this school maintain that the economies of ex-colonial states remain oriented towards serving external rather than internal demand, and that development regimes undertaken in this context have tended to reproduce in underdeveloped countries
25776-411: The physical organization of industry, arguing that firms tend to cluster in order to benefit from economies of scale and increase productivity which leads ultimately to an increase in wages. The North has more firm clustering than the South, making its industries more competitive. It is argued that only when wages in the North reach a certain height, will it become more profitable for firms to operate in
25955-510: The political and economic reality [of] expanding south-south relations." According to scholar Anne Garland Mahler, this nation-based understanding of the Global South is regarded as an appropriation of a concept that has deeper roots in Cold War radical political thought. In this political usage, the Global South is employed in a more geographically fluid way, referring to "spaces and peoples negatively impacted by contemporary capitalist globalization." In other words, "there are economic Souths in
26134-497: The pronounced class hierarchies found in industrialized countries while maintaining higher levels of poverty. Dependency theory is closely intertwined with Latin American Structuralism, the only school of development economics emerging from the Global South to be affiliated with a national research institute and to receive support from national banks and finance ministries. The Structuralists defined dependency as
26313-496: 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
26492-511: 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
26671-521: The report titled North-South: A Programme for Survival which was later known as the Brandt Report. This line divides the world at a latitude of approximately 30° North , passing between the United States and Mexico, north of Africa and the Middle East , climbing north over China and Mongolia, then dipping south to include Japan, Australia, and New Zealand in the "Rich North". As of 2023
26850-575: 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
27029-546: 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
27208-534: 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
27387-422: 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
27566-668: The scientific evidence and data regarding global warming and what needs to be done about it, as the South do not trust Northern data and cannot afford the technology to be able to produce their own. In addition to these disputes, there are serious divisions over responsibility, who pays, and the possibility for the South to catch up. This is becoming an ever-growing issue with the emergence of rising powers, imploding these three divisions just listed and making them progressively blurry. Multiplicity of actors, such as governments, businesses, and NGO's all influence any positive activity that can be taken into preventing further global warming problems with
27745-418: 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
27924-418: 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
28103-428: 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
28282-459: 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
28461-784: 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
28640-511: 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)". Global North and Global South Global North and Global South are terms that denote a method of grouping countries based on their defining characteristics with regard to socioeconomics and politics . According to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD),
28819-656: 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,
28998-409: 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
29177-589: 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
29356-400: The term "marks a shift from a central focus on development and cultural difference" and recognizes the importance of geopolitical relations. Critics of this usage often argue that it is a vague blanket term . Others have argued that the term, its usage, and its subsequent consequences mainly benefit those from the upper classes of countries within the Global South; who stand "to profit from
29535-399: The term is not a "static concept". Others have argued against "grouping together a large variety of countries and regions into one category [because it] tends to obscure specific (historical) relationships between different countries and/or regions", and the power imbalances within these relationships. This "may obscure wealth differences within countries – and, therefore, similarities between
29714-449: 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
29893-423: The ways in which women's personal lives reflect larger power structures. Since the 1970s, scholars of women's studies have taken post-modern approaches to understand gender and its intersections with race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, age, and (dis)ability to produce and maintain power structures within society. With this turn, there has been a focus on language, subjectivity, and social hegemony, and how
30072-446: The wealthy in the Global South and Global North, as well as the dire situation the poor may face all around the world." Some economists have argued that international free trade and unhindered capital flows across countries could lead to a contraction in the North–South divide. In this case more equal trade and flow of capital would allow the possibility for developing countries to further develop economically. As some countries in
30251-471: The women?". That is, as more women became more present in higher education as both students and faculty, questions arose about the male-centric nature of most courses and curricula. Women faculty in traditional departments such as history, English, and philosophy began to offer courses with a focus on women. Drawing from the women's movement's notion that "the personal is political", courses also began to develop around sexual politics, women's roles in society, and
30430-418: The workplace, and gender differences in the division of labor at home, but gives a foundation for understanding the root cause of these concepts, which is the first step to making for a better life for women. Agency may be defined as the capability to make choices individually and freely. An individual's agency may be restricted due to various social factors, such as gender, race, religion and social class. From
30609-458: 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
30788-410: 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
30967-402: 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
31146-576: Was institutionalized by International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Western governments, represented a break from the Keynesian approach to foreign aid which had been the norm from the end of the Second World War. After 1987, reports on the negative social impacts that structural adjustment policies had had on affected developing nations led IFIs to supplement structural adjustment policies with targeted anti-poverty projects. Following
31325-511: Was intended to be less hierarchical. The idea of categorizing countries by their economic and developmental status began during the Cold War with the classifications of East and West. The Soviet Union and China represented the East, and the United States and their allies represented the West. The term Third World came into parlance in the second half of the twentieth century. It originated in
31504-418: Was not their traditionalism, but the dominance-dependence relationship between rich and poor, powerful and weak counties." What brought about much of the dependency, was the push to become modernized. After World War II, the U.S. made effort to assist developing countries financially in attempt to pull them out of poverty. Modernization theory "sought to remake the Global South in the image and likeliness of
31683-593: Was offered by The Polytechnic of Central London from 1977, and in 1978 an MA course on the subject of 'Rights', including women's rights, was organised by Margarita Rendel at the London Institute of Education. In 1980, the University of Kent launched the first named MA degree in Women's Studies, with Mary Evans leading the development of the course. Following Kent, Bradford (1982), Sheffield City Polytechnic (1983), Warwick (1983) and York (1984) opened MA courses. In 1990, part-time BAs in Women's Studies launched at
31862-404: 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
32041-739: Was the Centro Paraguayo de estudios de la Mujer (Paraguayan Center of Women's Studies) at the Universidad Católica "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción" . It was founded in 1983 by Olga Caballero , Manuelita Escobar , Marilyn Godoy and Edy Irigoitia . The Grupo de Estudios de la Mujer Paraguaya (GEMPA, Paraguayan Women's Studies Group) was founded at the Paraguayan Center for Sociological Studies in 1985 by Graziella Corvalán and Mirtha Rivarola . Gender studies also began to be established in universities in Brazil in
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