Feminism is the belief in the political, cultural, and economic equality of women, and the history of this movement is as long as it is complicated. This is a look at the modern history of feminism, specifically the policies and political changes that have affected this movement.
The Seneca Falls Convention, the first-ever women’s rights convention in the US, marked the beginning of first-wave feminism. The 14th amendment, passed in 1868, was the first amendment to specify voters as “male”. Though not many states had granted women the right to vote by the end of the 19th century, significant strides had been made in areas such as property ownership and child custody. White women in the US finally gained the right to vote in 1920 when the 19th amendment passed largely thanks to suffragists such as Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth.
Second-wave feminism started in the 1960s. In 1963 the Equal Pay act marked the first attempt towards fixing a problem many women are still faced with today. Another legal victory was Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, banning sex discrimination in employment. In 1965, birth control was legalized for married couples, and by 1972 married and unmarried couples had access to birth control. Also in 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 made sex discrimination in public schools and colleges illegal.
Third-wave feminism began in the early 90s. In 1992, Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas, a supreme court nominee, of sexual harassment and lost. In an article titled “Becoming the Third Wave” written in response to this case, Rebecca Walker said, “I am not a post-feminism feminist. I am the third wave.” The third wave of feminism changed to encompass a much broader view of equality, with concepts like anti-essentialism, the difference between sex and gender, and rejections of concepts such as the gender binary. There is controversy surrounding a possible 4th wave of feminism, but little is agreed upon.
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