Feminism

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"Feminists" redirects here. For other uses, see Feminists (disambiguation).
International Women's Day rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 8 March 2005, organized
by the National Women Workers Trade Union Centre
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Feminism
Women Girls Femininity
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Woman-power emblem.svg Feminism portal
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Part of a series on
Feminist philosophy
Major works
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
The Subjection of Women (1869)
The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (1884)
The Second Sex (1949)
The Feminine Mystique (1963)
The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution (1970)
The Female Eunuch (1970)
The Creation of Patriarchy (1986)
Gender Trouble (1990)
Feminism and the Mastery of Nature (1993)
Major theorists
Mary Wollstonecraft John Stuart Mill Simone de Beauvoir Betty Friedan Shulamith
Firestone Germaine Greer Gloria Steinem Angela Davis bell hooks Gerda Lerner Jud
ith Butler Val Plumwood
Key concepts
Feminism Gender
Gender equality
Gender performativity
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Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements tha
t share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve political, economic, pe
rsonal, and social rights for women.[1][2] This includes seeking to establish eq
ual opportunities for women in education and employment.
Feminist movements have campaigned and continue to campaign for women's rights,
including the right to vote, to hold public office, to work, to earn fair wages
or equal pay, to own property, to receive education, to enter contracts, to have
equal rights within marriage, and to have maternity leave. Feminists have also
worked to promote bodily autonomy and integrity, and to protect women and girls
from rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence.[3]
Feminist campaigns are generally considered to be a main force behind major hist
orical societal changes for women's rights, particularly in the West, where they
are near-universally credited with achieving women's suffrage, gender neutralit
y in English, reproductive rights for women (including access to contraceptives
and abortion), and the right to enter into contracts and own property.[4] Althou
gh feminist advocacy is, and has been, mainly focused on women's rights, some fe
minists, including bell hooks, argue for the inclusion of men's liberation withi
n its aims because men are also harmed by traditional gender roles.[5] Feminist
theory, which emerged from feminist movements, aims to understand the nature of
gender inequality by examining women's social roles and lived experience; it has
developed theories in a variety of disciplines in order to respond to issues co
ncerning gender.[6][7]
Numerous feminist movements and ideologies have developed over the years and rep
resent different viewpoints and aims. Some forms of feminism have been criticize
d for taking into account only white, middle class, and educated perspectives. T
his criticism led to the creation of ethnically specific or multicultural forms
of feminism, including black feminism and intersectional feminism.[8]