Feminism

Feminism is a social and political movement that promotes women's rights and issues. Feminists claim that women are oppressed by men and disadvantaged in what they see as a patriarchy?, or male controlled society. In contrast to humanism or masculism, feminism approaches gender issues from a proudly female perspective. Historically, the feminist movement is rooted in the West and especially the [reform movement]? of the 19th century. The organised movement is dated from the first woman's rights convention at [Seneca Falls]?, New York, in 1848. Over a century and a half the movement has grown to cover different perspectives on what constitutes discrimination against women, and to what extent men are to blame. Early feminists are often called the [first wave]? and feminists after about 1960 the [second wave]?.

Attitude towards men and women

Feminists disagree over the role of men within the movement. Some female feminists on college campuses feel that it is inappropriate to call feminist men 'feminist' and instead prefer the title pro-feminist man; however, in most of American society this terminology has not caught on. One of the largest and most influential feminist organizations in the U.S., the [National Organization for Women]? (NOW) generally embraces male members and supporters. Members are wont to point out that their organization's name says for women, not of women. Most local chapters have male members.

Feminists are sometimes wary of the transgendered movement because they blur the distinction between men and women. Transgendered women are rejected by some feminists who say that no one born male can truly understand the oppression women face.

Relation to other movements

Feminists in general take a holistic approach to politics, believing the saying of Martin Luther King Jr., "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". In that belief, feminists usually support other movements such as the [civil rights movement]? and the [gay rights movement]?. At the same time many black feminists such as [bell hooks]? criticise the movement as dominated by white women. Feminist claims about the disadvantages women face are often less relevant to the lives of black women. Many black feminist women prefer the term womanism? for their views. This, however, is not strictly feminism; rather this is an intersection between feminism and other social movements.

Impact

Feminism has effected many changes on society, including womens' suffrage, broad employment for women at more equitable wages ("equal pay for equal work"); the right to initiate divorce? proceedings and "no fault" divorce; the right to control their own bodies and medical decisions, including obtaining birth control devices if unmarried, abortion, and many others. Most feminists would argue, however, that there is still much to be done on these fronts. As society has become increasingly accepting of feminist principles, some of these are no longer seen as specifically feminist, because they have been adopted by all or most people. Some beliefs that were radical for their time are now mainstream political thought. Almost no one in Western societies today questions the right of women to vote or own land, a concept that seemed quite strange 200 years ago.

In some cases (notably equal pay for equal work) major advances have been made but feminists still struggle to achieve their complete goals.

Feminists are often proponents of using non-sexist language, using "Ms." to refer to both married and unmarried women, for example, or the ironic use of the term herstory instead of history. They are also often proponents of using gender-inclusive language, such as "humanity" instead of "mankind", or "he or she" in place of "he" where the gender is unknown. Feminists in most cases advance their desired use of language either to promote a respectful treatment of women or to affect the tone of political discourse, rather than in the belief that language directly affects perception of reality (compare Sapir-Whorf hypothesis).

Perspective: the nature of the modern movement

Some modern feminists believe that much discrimination against women still exists in the USA and European nations, other feminists practise extreme forms of prejudice against men. There is a great variety of ideas within the movement as to how much of a problem exists, and how to confront it. Extremes on the one hand include radical feminists such as [Mary Daly]? who advocate the genocide of men altogether as the solution to relations between men and women, and on the other hand [dissident feminists]? such as [Christina Hoff Sommers]? who criticise the movement's anti-male prejudices so much that they are often branded as anti-feminist?.

Notable female North American feminists:

First wave,

• Mary Wollstonecraft
• [The Grimké sisters]?
• Lucretia Mott
• [Elizabeth Cady Stanton]?
• Susan B. Anthony
• [Lucy Stone]?
• Victoria Woodhull
• Virginia Woolf

Second wave,

• [Betty Friedan]?
• [Simone de Beauvoir]?
• [Germaine Greer]?
• [Gloria Steinem]?
• [Robin Morgan]?
• [Marilyn French]?
• [Mary Daly]?
• [bell hooks]?
• [Andrea Dworkin]?
• [Catharine MacKinnon]?
• Susan Faludi
• Naomi Wolf

Dissident feminists,

• [Camile Paglia]?
• [Christina Hoff Sommers]?
• [Wendy McElroy]?
• [Donna LaFramboise]?

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See also Feminist Spirituality, Feminist theology, Feminist science fiction

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