What IS feminism?

Feminism = gender equality (political, social, economic) Although the word has been misconstrued over the years, it does not mean or imply anything else.

First Wave Feminism  19th century and early 20th century  primary focus was on gaining the right of women's suffrage  in the UK and US, they also worked to promote equal marriage, parenting, and property rights for women  some feminists of this era were active in campaigning for women's sexual and reproductive rights as well

Second Wave Feminism  1960s-1970s  largely concerned with issues of equality other than suffrage, such as ending discrimination against women in all forms  saw women's cultural and political inequalities as inextricably linked and encouraged women to understand aspects of their personal lives as deeply politicized reflections of sexist power structures  often criticized as being too radical, as some feminist thinkers of this era suggested that women should not bear children in order to “fight against the man”  Equal Pay Act

Third Wave Feminism  mid-1990s-onward  began as a response to perceived failures of the second wave  seeks to challenge the second wave's over- emphasis on the experiences of upper middle-class white women  many also argue for consideration of femininity as diverse among races and ethnicities and seek more well-rounded perspectives on the issue  some argue that gender differences are entirely socially conditioned, not biological

Post-Feminism  used to describe a range of viewpoints reacting to feminism since the 1980s  while not being "anti-feminist", post- feminists believe that women have achieved most feminist goals, and that there is little work left to be done towards gender equality

Where are we now?  focus on lack of equality in positions of political or economic power  focus on ending discrimination against single people (singlism) or people who choose not to marry and/or have children  recent explosion of pop culture figures declaring themselves feminists or misunderstanding what feminism is has brought the issue into the forefront  He for She campaign- Emma Watson (involving men in the fight for gender equality)  continued work towards true equal pay (the gender pay gap persists, though not legally)  focus on the struggle for women to achieve a balance between work and family life  the work-family life issue was greatly publicized in 2013 by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, who wrote a book titled Lean In, who claims that women shy away from powerful positions in the workforce due to family obligations, and that they can do both if they set their mind to it  Lean In was heavily criticized as only portraying the perspective of the rich, who have more resources for child care