About Feminism
We need to live in a culture that values and respects and looks up to and idolizes women as much as men - Emma Watson
WHAT IS FEMINISM?
Quite simply, feminism is about all genders having equal rights and opportunities.
It’s about respecting diverse women’s experiences, identities, knowledge and strengths, and striving to empower all women to realise their full rights.
It’s about levelling the playing field between genders, and ensuring that diverse women and girls have the same opportunities in life available to boys and men
from : https://iwda.org.au/learn/what-is-feminism/
FEMINISM HISTORY (Waves of feminism)
The wave formally began at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 when three hundred men and women rallied to the cause of equality for women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (d.1902) drafted the Seneca Falls Declaration outlining the new movement’s ideology and political strategies.
The second wave began in the 1960s and continued into the 90s. This wave unfolded in the context of the anti-war and civil rights movements and the growing self-consciousness of a variety of minority groups around the world. The New Left was on the rise, and the voice of the second wave was increasingly radical. In this phase, sexuality and reproductive rights were dominant issues, and much of the movement’s energy was focused on passing the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing social equality regardless of sex.
Whereas the first wave of feminism was generally propelled by middle class, Western, cisgender, white women, the second phase drew in women of color and developing nations, seeking sisterhood and solidarity, claiming “Women’s struggle is class struggle.” Feminists spoke of women as a social class and coined phrases such as “the personal is political” and “identity politics” in an effort to demonstrate that race, class, and gender oppression are all related. They initiated a concentrated effort to rid society top-to-bottom of sexism, from children’s cartoons to the highest levels of government.
The third wave of feminism began in the mid-90’s and was informed by post-colonial and post-modern thinking. In this phase many constructs were destabilized, including the notions of “universal womanhood,” body, gender, sexuality and heteronormativity. An aspect of third wave feminism that mystified the mothers of the earlier feminist movement was the readoption by young feminists of the very lip-stick, high-heels, and cleavage proudly exposed by low cut necklines that the first two phases of the movement identified with male oppression. Pinkfloor expressed this new position when she said that it’s possible to have a push-up bra and a brain at the same time.
from : https://www.pacificu.edu/magazine/four-waves-feminism
SO CAN WE ALL BE A FEMINIST?
Yes! Everyone can be a feminist. Being a feminist simply means believing in equal rights for all genders. It’s not about hating men. It’s not about women being better than men. It’s not about eschewing femininity.
from : https://iwda.org.au/learn/what-is-feminism/
