History of Feminism

Foundations and Overview of First Wave Feminism

First wave feminism is historically recognized as starting around the turn of the twentieth century in Western industrialized cultural contexts. While struggles for gender equality and liberation in gender expression existed prior to this, the first wave serves as the starting point for mainstream bird's eye view narratives of feminist history. This movement primarily focused on expanding the franchise, which refers to the legal right to vote. Occurring generally from the $1880\text{s}$ until the $1930\text{s}$, first wave feminism saw women fighting for full participation in society and the right to be recognized as citizens in their own right, rather than being legally attached to the citizenship of a husband, father, or brother. Key demands of this era included the right to vote, the right to own property, the right to obtain a divorce, and the right to access birth control.

It is critical to note that citizenship and voting rights at the turn of the century were highly exclusive. Historically, the first individuals granted the right to vote in Canada were property-owning white men over the age of $35$. This excluded non-white individuals, the poor, and young people. While the definition of a citizen gradually expanded to include younger men and those without property, white women achieved the right to vote within a social movement that was multiracial and multiclassed, yet often marred by internal biases. In $1917$, when history books state that women achieved the right to vote, they are specifically referring to white elite women.

Racial and Class Dynamics in First Wave Suffrage

Suffrage, which refers specifically to the right to vote (not to be confused with suffering), was advanced in part through overtly racist arguments. Historians note that wealthy white women, often the wives of powerful politicians, lawyers, and doctors, argued that white women should receive the vote before people of color. These suffragettes embedded class and racial bias within the movement. A significant and controversial connection existed between first wave feminists and the eugenics movement. The human race was metaphorically compared to a tree or garden that needed to be "pruned." Proponents of birth control and abortion often shared interests with eugenicists who held racist and ableist views, arguing that poor people were genetically defective rather than victims of systemic poverty. This alliance sought to control the reproductive capacity of marginalized groups, a pattern that persists throughout certain historical analyses of feminism.

Second Wave Feminism and Post-War Prosperity

The second wave of feminism is associated with the post-World War II era, specifically the $1960\text{s}$ and $1970\text{s}$. This wave emerged during a period of significant economic expansion in the West, characterized by the growth of suburbs and the establishment of new universities, libraries, and hospitals. Women in this context sought to expand the scope of their citizenship and participation in public life. Major demands included the right to safe, accessible abortion on demand and entry into middle-class professional jobs.

One critical analysis by bell hooks highlights that while a common narrative suggests women entered the workforce in the $1960\text{s}$, poor women had always been working. The second wave's fight for workplace equity was largely driven by the wives of professionals (doctors, lawyers, professors) who wanted access to those same high-status roles. These women were not fighting to be maids, secretaries, or nurses, as they had already occupied those lower-tier positions. As women entered professional fields, they faced overt economic discrimination and pay inequity. The prevailing cultural logic suggested that men required higher wages to support families, while women were viewed as "temporary professionals" who would inevitably leave to raise children.

The Royal Commission on the Status of Women and Shared Understandings

In Canada, the government addressed feminist concerns through the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. A Royal Commission is a traditional Canadian administrative process where researchers travel the country to gather testimony and data on a social issue before making policy recommendations. Archival footage from the "Status Quo" documentary captures hearings held in hotel ballrooms during this time, where women recounted experiences of domestic violence, employment discrimination, and lack of childcare or abortion services.

These hearings also documented the "arrangements of shared understandings"—prevalent social attitudes that normalized sexism. For example, when testimony regarding domestic violence was presented, some commissioners questioned the legality of removing a husband's liberty based on a wife's report. In the House of Commons, politicians famously laughed when informed that $1$ in $10$ women were abused at home. While domestic violence still occurs today, the shared social understanding has shifted to the point where such public laughter would now be considered socially inappropriate.

Third Wave Feminism: Backlash and New Contexts

The third wave of feminism is flexibly defined but generally recognized as beginning in the $1990\text{s}$. This era followed the gains of the $1970\text{s}$ and $1980\text{s}$, such as legalized abortion and pay equity laws. However, a significant cultural backlash emerged (notably documented in the book Backlash published in $1991$ or $1992$). This backlash manifested as moral panics regarding daycare safety and the social standing of liberated women.

Several watershed moments defined the third wave context. In the United States, the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court was challenged by Anita Hill, a prominent lawyer and professor who accused him of sexual harassment. The subsequent Senate hearings were criticized for being flagrantly sexist and racist. Other defining factors of the third wave included the first US invasion of Iraq, an economic recession leading to social program cutbacks, and the AIDS epidemic, which was exacerbated by government homophobia. Third wave feminists are sometimes called "post-feminists" because they were the first generation raised by second wave activists, entering society with the expectation of workplace equity and reproductive freedom, which influenced their navigation of patriarchal structures.

The Theoretical Contributions of bell hooks

bell hooks was a prolific second wave and black feminist theorist who published approximately one book per year for thirty years before her passing in $2021$. "Black feminism" as a school of thought centers the experiences of Black women to theorize how power operates for everyone. hooks famously prioritized community-level struggle over elite academia, leaving a prestigious Ivy League position to teach at a community college. She also challenged academic norms by writing a trilogy on love and relationships, using her prestige to bring serious scholarly attention to those topics.

Late in her career, hooks wrote Feminism is for Everybody, a booklet designed to clear up common misconceptions about the movement. She defined feminism simply and powerfully as a movement to end all oppression, specifically sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. Crucially, she defined patriarchy as "institutionalized sexism." hooks argued that patriarchy is a system that socializes all people—male and female—from birth to accept sexist thought and action. She noted that patriarchy often intimidates or shames men, rewarding them only if they participate in the systemic "game."

Solidarity and the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy

hooks critiqued utopian visions of "Sisterhood" that were based solely on the shared victimization of women by male domination. She argued that such visions were disrupted by the realities of class and race. True solidarity, according to hooks, can only occur when women confront the ways they exploit other women through race and class differences. She advocated for a political platform that addresses racism, sexism, and homophobia simultaneously.

In her terminology, hooks moved beyond the simple term "patriarchy" to use the phrase "white supremacist capitalist patriarchy" (later expanded by others to include cissexist, heterosexist, and imperialist). This language identifies that power does not operate through sexism alone, but through a consolidated system of racism, capitalism, and imperialism. She asserted that for Black women and their allies, equality was impossible within the existing system; true equality requires a fundamental transformation of the economy and social structure.

Reformist versus Revolutionary Feminism

bell hooks identified a divide within the movement between reformist and revolutionary thinkers. Reformist feminism emphasizes gender equality within the existing system—frequently referred to as "add women and stir." This approach seeks to alter society so women have the same rights as men without changing the underlying structure. Examples of reformist demands include:

• Equal pay for equal work.

• Sexual harassment laws.

• The right for women to have bank accounts without a co-signer.

• The right to serve in the military.

• Marriage equality (same-sex marriage).

In contrast, revolutionary feminism seeks to transform the system entirely to end patriarchy and sexism. hooks identified herself as a revolutionary. Revolutionary demands include:

• Abolishing capitalism and private property in favor of communal ownership.

• Abolishing the military and standing armies.

• Free childcare, healthcare, and transit for all.

• Eliminating government regulation of marriage and family contracts.

hooks noted that as white women in the second wave achieved economic mobility and entered positions of power (becoming the doctors and lawyers they were once told to marry), they often shifted from revolutionary to reformist viewpoints. This pattern highlights how the possession of privilege and power can influence one's dedication to systemic change.