Feminism

History of Feminism

  • Early Advocates:

    • Christine de Pizan (15th century): First woman to defend women's rights in "The Book of the City of Ladies."

    • Anne Bradstreet (Mid 1600s): Wrote the poem "The Author to Her Book" which examines women's lack of rights.

    • Mary Wollstonecraft (1782): Authored "Vindication of the Rights of Woman" advocating for social and moral equality of women to men.

Context of the 19th Century

  • Influences on Gender Roles:

    • Industrial Revolution: Sharp differentiation of gender roles; improved living conditions for ordinary people.

    • Marriage Norms: Arranged marriages were typical; divorce was uncommon.

    • Early Marriages: Legal age for girls to marry was as young as 12.

    • Education: Wealthy girls had access to schooling, focusing on 'accomplishments' like music and embroidery, rather than academics.

    • Mary Wollstonecraft: Published "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" by the end of the 18th century.

Virtues of a 19th Century Woman

  1. Pious: Adhering to religious values.

  2. Pure: Uncontaminated, chaste, and clean.

  3. Submissive: Yielding to others.

  4. Domestic: Responsible for home and household tasks.

Notable Women in Revolution

  • Mary Wollstonecraft:

    • British writer and advocate for women's rights.

  • Marie Antoinette:

    • The "Tragic Queen of France" who was beheaded.

  • Charlotte Corday:

    • Assassinated Jean-Paul Marat, highlighting women's active participation in political turmoil.

  • Women's March on Versailles (October 5, 1789): An armed mob of women demanded the royal family return to Paris.

Olympe de Gouges

  • Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen:

    • Quote: "Woman has the right to mount the scaffold; she must equally have the right to mount the rostrum."

  • Executed in 1793 for her revolutionary ideas.

The British Debate

  • Intellectual Discourse:

    • Confrontation between Burke and Wollstonecraft, defining contrasting views on revolution.

  • Edmund Burke:

    • Published "Reflections on the Revolution in France" (1790), criticized revolution and women's roles in it.

  • Mary Wollstonecraft:

    • Authored "A Vindication of the Rights of Man" (1790) and reasserted her viewpoints in subsequent works on women’s rights.

The Aftermath of the French Revolution

  • Not a Feminist Revolution:

    • Major changes did not necessarily advance women’s rights.

  • Emerging Influence of Women:

    • Women transitioned from being viewed as victims to emerging as heroes.

Links to Other Movements

  • Socialism and Marxism:

    • Connections drawn between women's oppression and Marxist ideas of exploitation and labor issues.

    • Socialist feminists focus on recognizing the domestic and societal roles of women as undervalued labor, aiming for broad societal change rather than individual reforms.