The Dreaded "F" Word... Feminism. Part One: The First Wave

Feminism

NOUN

The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.

When I first started this post I had no intention of making it a multi-part piece. However, the more I researched the topic the more I came to realise that it would be doing a disservice to the subject if I attempted to cover it all in a single post. ​​

Yeah, I am a Feminist, with a capital “F.” In all honesty, I don’t understand why anyone (especially women) wouldn’t be, other than they simply don't understand what being one really means. Quite simply, feminism is about equality. What it's not about is female superiority or the subjugation of men.

There have been at least three waves of feminism (some say four). The first wave started in the late 19th century and ended in the early part of the 20th. The second was 1960 to the mid 1980s. The third and current wave is said to be from the mid 90s to today.

The first inklings of what could be considered "modern feminism" can be seen as early as the 18th century with the publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft in 1792. Her writings were in response to Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord's report to the French National Assembly, where he asserted that women only had need of a domestic education. Wollstonecraft asserted, however, that a woman's education was beneficial to her children and, in turn, society as a whole. Furthermore, she stated that women should have the same fundamental rights as men and should be treated as companions to their husbands as opposed to property to be traded.

The official first wave of feminism, sometimes referred to as the Suffragette movement, began in the early 19th century and continued until the early part of the 20th. Prior to this movement women had little to no say in regards to their lives. Most women would have their lives dictated firstly by their fathers and then by their husbands. Under the law when a couple married they become one entity and the husband was the representation of this entity. Women were property and had no legal rights to own property, money and earnings, her children, or even her own body. A woman's purpose, it was believed, was to take care of the home, children, and her husband.

Many women, who were tired of their subjugation, would chain themselves to railings or smashed windows. They also set fire and bombed male dominated places such as horse tracks. Many were imprisoned and would stage hunger strikes. To prevent these women from becoming martyrs for the movement they were eventually force fed.

Force feeding is a very difficult process, especially when the participant is unwilling. As a result, these women were strapped down and considerable force was used to insert feeding tubes. This process was found to, not only, do short term physical damage, but also long term mental and psychological damage to those subjected to it. This eventually led to the release of many suffragettes because of the liability they had become.

Thanks to the tenacity of these women by the end of the first wave of feminism, we had gained the right to vote, right to own property, right to run for political office, and the right to an education. We also saw progress in regards to a woman's right to work and family planning, including access to birth control and abortion rights. It also planted the idea that women have far more to offer to society than was previously believed.

Historically, feminism has ALWAYS been a dirty word to those who fear change and the ramifications of women being empowered. Society tries to scare women away from feminism the same way it tries to scare them away from so many other pursuits and beliefs. The irony of young women speaking out against feminism on college campuses always makes me laugh and die a little on the inside. They are doing a disservice to the women (and men) who fought for the rights that we benefit from every day.