The word “feminism” comes from the French word “feminisme”. This word originally came into circulation during the end of the 1800’s. However, the first documented use was by Charles Fourier in 1837. Fourier was a French philosopher, and, while he wished for an improved social status for women, he did not preach gender equality. The word “feminism” was brought to America by a French article written by Madeleine Pelletier. The article was In 1895, the Oxford English Dictionary provided society with the first English definition of feminism: “advocacy of the rights of women (based on the theory of equality of the sexes). This was just the beginning for a movement that would last for decades. The history of feminism is most commonly categorized
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The increased unrest of this wave has been partially contributed to the civil rights movement and the the student activity with the Vietnam War coinciding with the feminist movement. The issues of this wave were dominantly reproductive rights, sexuality, and the Equal Rights Amendment. The "start" of this wave is considered to be the 1969 Miss America Pageant. During the event, radical feminists arrived on the open boardwalk and performed several radical demonstrations. One demonstration was of a live sheep being crowned Miss America. Another was throwing feminine beauty products (i.e. makeup, bras, eyelash curlers) into a trash can, named the "Freedom Trash Can." The demonstrators were going going to burn the contents, however the police deemed it a hazard to the wooden boardwalk and the idea was put to rest. Songs about the sexualization of women in everyday life were sung by by the demonstrators: "Ain't she sweet; making profits off her meat." A puppet mean to look like a tall, thin Miss America was brought to the makeshift stage and and auctioned off as well. This extremist approach to the movement was to draw attention to eradicating all sexism, both in the workplace and in everyday society. Other key topics of this wave included rape, domestic violence, abortion, and access to childcare. Feminist groups were mostly mostly about creating awareness in society. The phrase "The personal is political" was created to assist in spreading the word about the feminist movement. These historical waves established feminism in society, now society needed to establish feminism in writing.
The 1966 version of the Standard College Dictionary defines feminism as:
A doctrine advocating the granting of the same social, political, and economic rights to women as the ones granted to men; also a movement designed to support this doctrine and gain such rights ("Feminism").
The 1981 version of Webster's
The increased unrest of this wave has been partially contributed to the civil rights movement and the the student activity with the Vietnam War coinciding with the feminist movement. The issues of this wave were dominantly reproductive rights, sexuality, and the Equal Rights Amendment. The "start" of this wave is considered to be the 1969 Miss America Pageant. During the event, radical feminists arrived on the open boardwalk and performed several radical demonstrations. One demonstration was of a live sheep being crowned Miss America. Another was throwing feminine beauty products (i.e. makeup, bras, eyelash curlers) into a trash can, named the "Freedom Trash Can." The demonstrators were going going to burn the contents, however the police deemed it a hazard to the wooden boardwalk and the idea was put to rest. Songs about the sexualization of women in everyday life were sung by by the demonstrators: "Ain't she sweet; making profits off her meat." A puppet mean to look like a tall, thin Miss America was brought to the makeshift stage and and auctioned off as well. This extremist approach to the movement was to draw attention to eradicating all sexism, both in the workplace and in everyday society. Other key topics of this wave included rape, domestic violence, abortion, and access to childcare. Feminist groups were mostly mostly about creating awareness in society. The phrase "The personal is political" was created to assist in spreading the word about the feminist movement. These historical waves established feminism in society, now society needed to establish feminism in writing.
The 1966 version of the Standard College Dictionary defines feminism as:
A doctrine advocating the granting of the same social, political, and economic rights to women as the ones granted to men; also a movement designed to support this doctrine and gain such rights ("Feminism").
The 1981 version of Webster's