Feminism: Difference between revisions

Feminism is a collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies largely motivated by or concerned with the liberation of women. In simple terms, feminism is the belief in social, political and economic equality of the sexes, and a movement organized around the belief that gender should not be the pre-determinant factor shaping a person's social identity or socio-political or economic rights. A large portion of feminists are especially concerned with what they perceive to be the social, political and economic inequality between the sexes which favours the male gender; some have argued that gendered and sexed identities, such as "man" and "woman", are socially constructed. Feminists disagree over the sources of inequality, how to attain equality, and the extent to which gender and gender-based identities should be questioned and critiqued.

Modern feminist political activists commonly campaign on issues such as reproductive rights, including the right to safe, legal abortion, access to contraception and quality prenatal care, protection from violence within a domestic partnership, sexual harassment, street harassment, discrimination and rape, and rights to maternity leave, and equal pay. Many feminists today argue that feminism is a grass-roots movement that seeks to cross boundaries based on social class, race, culture and religion. They also argue that an effective feminist movement should be culturally specific and address issues relevant to the women of the society in question such as female genital cutting in some parts of Africa and the Middle East and the "glass ceiling" issue in developed economies. They also debate the extent to which certain societal issues such as rape, incest and mothering are universal. Themes explored in feminism include patriarchy, stereotyping, sexual objectification and oppression.

History

Main article: History of feminism

Asking how long feminism has existed is a different question from that of asking when history defines its birth. Feminism, as a construct, has probably existed as long as there have been women, although the word, derived from the French "féminisme", did not enter the English language until the end of the nineteenth century. If a broad concept of feminism includes women acting, speaking and writing on women's issues and rights, then we can see that these concerns go back as far as recorded history. Unfortunately many talented women's contributions to history have been forgotten or ignored, but modern scholarship is redressing this imbalance. Although feminist thinkers have always existed, many people consider Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) to be one of the first written works that can unambiguously be called feminist philosophy.

First International Convention of Women in Washington D.C. Susan B. Anthony is third from the left, front row.

Feminism as an organized movement appeared in the late 19th century in a number of countries, with agitation for women's suffrage becoming widespread by the early 20th century. After the granting of suffrage, women's movements turned to other issues of social reform and equality. After the Second World War, feminism entered a second stage or wave with campaigns for reproductive rights and removal of discrimination.

Feminism in many forms

Most feminist social movements promote women's rights, interests and issues. Several subtypes of feminist ideology have developed over the years. Early feminists and primary feminist movements are often called the first-wave feminists, and feminists after about 1960 the second-wave feminists . More recently, some younger feminists have identified themselves as third-wave feminists while the second-wave feminists are still active.

In her book A Fearful Freedom: Women's Flight from Equality, Wendy Kaminer identifies another conflict between forms of feminism: the conflict between what she calls "egalitarian" and "protectionist" feminism. She sees egalitarian feminism as promoting equality between women and men through the granting of equal rights. Protectionist feminists prefer to focus on legal protections for women, such as employment laws and divorce laws that protect women, sometimes advocating restricting men's rights, such as free speech (specifically, the right to produce and consume pornography). Though the book predates third-wave feminism, Kaminer identifies both protectionist and egalitarian currents within first-wave feminism and second-wave feminism.

Some radical feminists, such as Mary Daly, Charlotte Bunch and Marilyn Frye, have advocated separatism—a complete separation of male and female in society and culture— others question not only the relationship between men and women, but the very meaning of "man" and "woman" as well (see Queer theory). Some argue that gender roles, gender identity and sexuality are themselves social constructs (see also heteronormativity). For these feminists, feminism is a primary means to human liberation (i.e., the liberation of men as well as women).

Most— certainly not all— feminists are women . There are exclusively male organizations sympathetic to the feminist view who believe the dominant model of manhood or masculinity is oppressive to women and limiting for men.

While many ideas are held in common between its various forms, there is debate about feminism concerning which of them should be labeled or considered part of the philosophy.

Relationship to other movements

Some feminists take a holistic approach to politics, following the concept expounded by Martin Luther King Jr., "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." In that belief, some self-identified feminists support other movements such as the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement. At the same time, many black feminists such as bell hooks criticize the movement for being dominated by white women. Feminist claims regarding disadvantages faced by women in Western society may be less relevant to the lives of black women, especially as compared to oppression they face which white women do not. This idea is the key in postcolonial feminism. Many black feminist women prefer the term womanism for their views.

Feminism is often linked with gay, lesbian and transgender studies and Psychoanalytic feminism places focus on psychosexual development. Some feminists are wary of the transgender movement because they view it as challenging the distinction between men and women. Transgender and transsexual individuals who identify as female are excluded from some "women-only" gatherings and events and are rejected by some feminists, who say that no one who was assigned as male at birth can fully understand the oppression that women face. This exclusion is criticized as "transphobic" by some feminists and transgender people, who assert that their political and social struggles are linked to those of feminists, and that discrimination against gender-variant people is a facet of the patriarchy. (See transfeminism and gender studies.)

In the 1800s the women's rights movement in the United States splintered over questions concerning the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution granting African American men the right to vote. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, among others, contended that black men should not be franchised unless similar rights were granted to all women. From 1868 to 1870, when the 15th Amendment was passed, this created division in the broader U.S. civil rights movement and, in 1869, caused a schism the women's suffrage movement, leading to the creation of the separate National Woman's Suffrage Association (NWSA) and the American Woman's Suffrage Association (AWSA) in the United States .

Modern feminism

Most feminists believe discrimination against women still exists worldwide. But there is disagreement within the movement regarding the severity of current problems, what the problems are, and how to confront them .

Extremes on the one hand include some radical feminists, such as Mary Daly, who argue that human society would be better off with dramatically fewer men. On the other hand, figures such as Christina Hoff Sommers and Camille Paglia identify themselves as feminist but accuse the movement of anti-male prejudice.

Many feminists question the use of the term feminist by groups or people who do not recognize a fundamental equality between the sexes. Some feminists, like Katha Pollitt (see her book Reasonable Creatures) or Nadine Strossen (President of the ACLU and author of Defending Pornography: a treatise on freedom of speech), consider feminism to hold simply that "women are people." Views that separate the sexes rather than unite them are considered by these writers to be sexist rather than feminist.

There are also debates between difference feminists such as Carol Gilligan, who believe that there are important differences between the sexes (which may or may not be inherent, but which cannot be ignored), and those who believe that there are no essential differences between the sexes, and that the roles observed in society are due to conditioning.

In Marilyn French's seminal works she defines patriarchy as a system that values power over life, control over pleasure and dominance over happiness. According to French, "it is not enough either to devise a morality that will allow the human race simply to survive. Survival is an evil when it entails existing in a state of wretchedness. Intrinsic to survival and continuation is felicity/pleasure. Pleasure has been much maligned, diminished by philosophers and conquerors as a value for the timid, the small-minded and the self-indulgent. 'Virtue' too often involves the renunciation of pleasure in the name of some higher purpose, a purpose that involves power (for men) or sacrifice (for women). Pleasure is described as shallow and frivolous in a world of high-minded, serious purpose. But pleasure does not exclude serious pursuits or intentions, indeed, it is found in them, and it is the only real reason for staying alive.".

Issues in defining feminism

One of the difficulties in defining and circumscribing a complex and heterogeneous concept such as feminism is the extent to which women have rejected the term from a variety of semantic and political standpoints. Many women engaged in activities intimately grounded in feminism have not considered themselves feminists. From a political vantage, the term "feminism" has been rejected both because of fears of labeling, and because of its innate ability to attract broad misogyny. Historically Virginia Woolf was one of the more prominent women to reject the term early in its history in 1938, although it would be easy to overstate Woolf's position, considering that she is regarded as an icon of feminism. However Betty Freidan would revisit this concern in 1981 in The Second Stage.

Nevertheless, defining ideas does not necessarily imply tagging the individual. Ann Taylor, for instance, offers the following definition, after Karen Offen: A person (male or female) who recognizes "the validity of women's own interpretation of their lived experiences and needs," protests against the institutionalized injustice perpetrated by men as a group against women as a group, and advocates the elimination of that injustice by challenging the various structures of authority or power that legitimate male prerogatives in a given society. Another way of expressing this is that one of the main goals is to correct androcentric bias.

Other attempts at definition have been made by the United Nations. However, one of feminism's unique characteristics, strengths and weaknesses is its persistent defiance of being confined by definition. Charlotte Witt observes that this reflects the "contested nature of the "us" of contemporary feminism...and is a part of, on-going debates within feminism over its identity and self-image..in the final analysis, the result of debate within feminist philosophy over what feminism is, and what its theoretical commitments should be, and what its core values are." This is the subject of one of the more lively debates in feminism, that which Nannerl Keohane has called the "perpetual oscillation between essentialism and nominalism (constructionism) in feminist theory." Briefly, "to essentialise is to reduce a complex idea or object to simplistic characteristics, thereby denying diversity, multiple meanings and alternative interpretations" in the words of Joan Marler, an opponent of essentialism in feminism.

Effects of feminism in the West

While a number of feminists argue that there are many battles for equity to be waged, others disagree and observe that many challenges have been overcome. For example, in developed nations, women now outnumber men in both high school graduation rates [2] and university enrollment [3].

Effects on civil rights

Securing women's suffrage has been a defining issue for the feminist movement.

Feminism has effected many changes in Western society, including women's suffrage, broad employment for women at more equitable wages, the right to initiate divorce proceedings and the introduction of "no fault" divorce, the right to obtain contraception and safe abortions, and the right to university education.

Effect on language

English-speaking feminists are often proponents of what they consider to be non-sexist language, using "Ms." to refer to both married and unmarried women, or "he or she" (or other gender-neutral pronouns) in place of "he" where the gender is unknown. Feminists are also often proponents of using gender-inclusive language, such as "humanity" instead of "mankind". Feminists in most cases advance their desired use of language either in the interest of equal and respectful treatment of women or in order to affect the tone of political discourse. These feminists argue that language directly affects perception of reality (compare Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis), and move to change language which may be viewed as imbued with sexism, for example the case in the English language in which the word for the general pronoun is "he" or "his" (The child should have his paper and pencils), which is the same as the masculine pronoun (The boy and his truck).

In postcolonial feminism the issue of language is often less emphasized as many non-Indo-European languages do not have grammatical gender.

A different tendency can be seen in feminism-inspired changes to the French language. Grammatical gender is much more pervasive in French than in English, making it virtually impossible to create inclusive language. Instead, nouns that originally had only a masculine form have had feminine counterparts created for them. "Professeur" ("teacher"), once always masculine regardless of the teacher's sex, now has a parallel feminine form "Professeure". In cases where separate masculine and feminine forms have always existed, it was once standard practice for a group containing both men and women to be referred to using the masculine plural. Nowadays, forms such as "Tous les Canadiens et Canadiennes" ("all Canadians", or literally "all the male Canadians and female Canadians") are becoming more common. Such phrasing is common in Canada and in France, where President Jacques Chirac routinely uses "Françaises et Français" (French women and French men) in political speeches, but is practically unknown in other French-speaking countries.

An equivalent tendency in Germany, where male and female terms are both required in the plural, is to use the male term followed by the female plural ending. An example of this is, instead of the bulky phrase sehr geehrte Kollegen und Kolleginnen, meaning dear male colleagues and female colleagues, one uses sehr geehrte KollegInnen, which expresses the plurality of both genders.

Effect on heterosexual relationships

The entry of women into the workplace has affected gender roles and division of labor within households. Some men claim that the de-emphasis on the male as a primary provider harms their ability to attract mates. They argue that, while many women can try to "have it all," societal expectations placed upon men preclude them from devoting themselves fully to domestic activities and child-rearing. Some studies support the idea that although men are derided for not devoting enough time to childrearing and domestic tasks, few women seem attracted to men who engage in these activities to the detriment of their careers. Another argument is that men devote less time to household chores because they devote more time to work outside the home. According to the International Labour Organization, "the average American father works 51 hours a week, whereas those mothers of young children who do work full time (themselves in the minority) work a 41-hour week." It has also been argued that women often hold the power in a relationship because they direct the majority of purchases made by a household, whereas men direct the few large purchases.

Sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild presented counter-evidence in books The Second Shift and The Time Bind. According to the studies she cites, in two-career couples, men and women on the average spend about equal amounts of time working, but women still spend more time on housework. Feminist critiques of men's contributions to child care and domestic labour are typically centred around the idea that it is unfair for women to be expected to perform more than half of a household's domestic work and child care when both members of the relationship also work outside the home. Several studies provide statistical evidence that married men contribute a smaller share of housework, regardless of whether or not they earn more than their wives. However, in general, in couples where one or both partners do not work outside the home, gender-based division of labour is less of a point of contention for feminists.

It should be noted that the preceding arguments mainly apply to middle-class women.

In her 1996 book Dubious Conceptions, Kristin Luker discusses the effect of feminism on teenage women's choices to bear a child, both in and out of wedlock. She argues that as childbearing without being married has become more socially acceptable, young women, especially poor young women, while not bearing children at a higher rate than in the 1950s, now see less reason to get married before having a child. Her explanation for this, is that economic prospects for poor men are slim, and so poor women have a low chance of finding a husband who will be able to provide reliable financial support.

There have also been changes in attitudes towards sexual morality and behaviour with the onset of second wave feminism and "the Pill." Women are more in control of their bodies, and are freer to experience sex with fewer repercussions. This sexual revolution was seen as positive (especially by sex-positive feminists) as it enabled women and men to experience sex in a more free and equal manner.

Evangelical (Christian) feminists sometimes argue that life-long monogamy ideally promotes egalitarianism in sex, especially when viewed in light of some other alternatives to monogamy (e.g., polygamy, swinging, open marriages, or infidelity). However, some feminists endorse, cohabitation, open marriage and other forms of responsible non-monogamy as egalitarian lifestyles (see sex-positive feminism).

Friedrich Engels, in his essay The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State expresses his belief that monogamy was originally conceived as a way for men to control women.

Effect on religion

Main article: God and gender

Feminism has affected many aspects of religion. In liberal branches of Protestant Christianity (and, notably, in some theologically conservative dominations, such as Assemblies of God) women are ordained as clergy, and in Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism, women are ordained as rabbis and cantors. Within these Christian and Jewish groups, women have gradually obtained more positions of power; their perspectives now have greater influence in developing new statements of belief.

The leadership of women in religious matters has been resisted by many denominations, for example Roman Catholicism, which has historically excluded women from entering the priesthood and other clerical positions, limiting women to the roles of nuns or laypeople.

Feminism also has had an important role in spreading new forms of religion. Neopagan religions especially tend to emphasize the importance of Goddess spirituality, and question what they regard as traditional religion's hostility to women and the sacred feminine. In particular, Dianic Wicca's origins lie within radical feminism. Among traditional religions, feminism has led to self examination, with reclaimed positive Christian and Islamic views and ideals of Mary, Islamic views of Fatima Zahra, and especially the Catholic belief in the Coredemptrix.

Worldwide statistics

Female share of seats in elected national chambers in November 2004 (percent)

Rwanda	49.0		Iceland	30.2
Sweden	45.3		New Zealand	28.3
South Africa	42.0		Austria	27.5
Namibia	42.0		Pakistan	21.3
Denmark	38.0		Canada	21.1
Finland	37.5		China	20.2
Norway	36.4		UK(Commons)	17.8
Spain	36.0		Mauritius	17.0
Netherlands	35.0		United States	15.0
Germany	32.8		Japan	7.1

The following is a sampling of statistics related to the relative status of women worldwide.

• According to studies cited by the United Nations, on average, women work more than men, when both paid employment and unpaid household tasks are accounted for. In rural areas of selected developing countries, women performed an average of 20% more work than men, or an additional 102 minutes per day. In the OECD countries surveyed, on average women performed 5% more work than men, or 20 minutes per day.
• In fact, UN statistics cited by the May 2001 Pan Pacific Southeast Asia Women's Association 21st International Conference, are even more specific, stating that "in the world as a whole, women comprise 51 percent of the population, do 66 percent of the work, receive 10 percent of the income and own less than one percent of the property."
• By population, women are underrepresented in all of the world's major legislative bodies. In 1985, Finland had the largest percentage of women in national legislature at approximately 32 percent (P. Norris, Women's Legislative Participation in Western Europe, West European Politics). Currently, Rwanda has the highest number of women at 49 percent. The United States has 14 percent. The world average is 9 percent. In contrast, half of the members of the recently established Welsh Assembly Government are women and 40% of members of the Scottish Parliament are female.[4]

• In the US in 2003, for every $1 males earn, women earned 75.5 cents on average. The median income of men working full-time was $40,668, while the median income for women working full time was $30,724[5].

Contemporary criticisms of feminism

Template:ActiveDiscuss Criticism of feminism as a whole ideology, criticism of specific types of feminism, and criticism of specific feminist ideas have come from feminists themselves, non-feminists, masculists, social conservatives, and social progressives.

Perhaps the greatest area of concern to general society, has been the manipulation, and corruption of social programs dealing with spousal abuse, that have tended to polarize the sexes. Statistics, logic and terminology have been corrupted to paint a 'male abuser', 'female victim' scenario.

Postcolonial feminists criticize certain ideas of Western forms of feminism, notably radical feminism and its most basic assumption, universalisation of the female experience. They argue that this assumption cannot so easily be applied to women for whom gender oppression comes second to, for example, racial or class oppression.

From the perspective of some strands of feminism, as well as the men's movement and queer theory, inequalities and stereotypes based on gender are detrimental to both men and women and both sexes suffer from the expectations of traditional gender roles.

Many who support masculism argue that because of both traditional gender roles and sexism infused into society by feminists, males are and have been oppressed. Marriage Rights advocates oppose feminist aspirations to replace the traditional family, as illustrated by statements made by a variety of feminist leaders such as Shelia Cronan's view that marriage constitutes slavery for women, and the women's movement must concentrate on attacking this institution and that freedom for women cannot be won without the abolition of marriage. Dr. Mary Jo Bane, associate director of Wellesley College's Center for Research on Woman suggested that to raise children with equality, they should be taken from families and communally raised. Men and Family rights groups oppose feminists such as Robin Morgan, the openly lesbian editor of Ms. Magazine, who advocated 'man-hating' (misandry) as an honourable and viable political act and concludes the inequities between men and women cannot be resolved until marriage is destroyed. Family and Men's Rights groups are also critical of Feminist encouragement of Lesbian agendas which undermine the traditional role of men in the family, such as Sheila Cronan's National NOW Times January 1988 interview statements declaring every woman must be willing to be identified as a lesbian to be fully feminist. Many critics of feminism are alarmed by the prevalence of lesbians such as Patricia Ireland, the head of NOW, in feminist leadership roles. Men's Rights advocates view much of contemporary feminist issues "extremist" due to their perception that feminist demands such as equal rights has been achieved. Issues such as the Violence Against Women Act are viewed as discriminatory of men. Father's Rights advocates are critical of feminist efforts to block shared parenting, or joint custody, after divorce.

Ann Widdecombe, a British Conservative politician and former leadership candidate, claimed that feminism slowly evolved into its antithesis[6]. She argues that 1970s rhetoric emphasized equal rights and self-sufficiency, whereas 1990s rhetoric demanded special assistance for women and implied that women could not look after themselves. She identifies with the former variant, and describes the latter as "absolute tosh".

Academic research about feminist issues

Some natural and social scientists have used science in order to question theories of innate social or cognitive differences between men and women, feminist ideologies and feminist scholarship.

• Daphne Patai's and Noretta Koertge's studies of scholarship and indoctrination within Women's Studies argue this discipline is used a front for feminist indoctrination rather than an authentic discipline that engages in genuine scholarship. They argue assaults on exact science, opposition to logic, and the denial of well-established biological sex differences in favor of what they call feminist social constructs within Women's Studies. They also argue there exists widespread and ongoing abuses of academic priviledge for political proselytizing among the majority of Women's studies programs in the United States.

• Paul Nathanson's and Katherine K. Young's research on the hatred of men (see misandry) explore what they call 'fascist' forms of feminism they believe underly militant misandry, gynocentric reverse-sexism, and systemic discrimination against men in popular culture, law and society.

• Anne Fausto-Sterling's book Myths of Gender explores the assumptions embodied in scientific research that purports to support a biologically essentialist view of gender.

• Carol Tavris, in The Mismeasure of Woman, uses psychology, sociology, and analysis of biological studies and conclusions to voice the failure to identify certain perceived innate differences between males and females and to pin down how these differences dictate, and account for, perceived differences between men and women. She identifies misrepresentations and exaggeration and argues there is a reliance on ever-changing hypothesizes (and attention they garner instead of actual evidence) to justify inequality and perpetuate stereotypes. She further argues there is a societal tendency to punish women for not conducting themselves on traditional male terms - such as in cases of rape and in the workplace - or for being too masculine, which provides a counter-argument for Warren Farrell's wage-gap explanations.

• Evelyn Fox Keller has argued that the rhetoric of science reflects a masculine perspective, and questions the idea of scientific objectivity. Many anthropologists (Haviland, Prins, Walrather, McBride) noted that in studies of human evolution and culture taking a non masculine-centric perspective is a relatively new concept. Primatologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy (Infanticide: Comparative and Evolutionary Perspectives, Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants and Natural Selection) notes the prevalence of masculine-coined stereotypes and theories, such as the non-sexual female, despite "the accumulation of abundant openly available evidence contradicting it" (Hrdy, 1988, p.120).

• Other researchers who have exposed flaws in social and scientific theories cited by some anti-feminist authors include Barbara Ehrenreich, Kristin Luker, and Stephanie Coontz.

Quotations about feminism

Nancy Cott: "Feminism asks for sexual equality that includes sexual difference. It aims for individual freedoms by mobilizing sex solidarity. It posits that women recognize their unity while it stands for diversity among women. It requires gender consciousness for its basis yet calls for the elimination of prescribed gender roles."

Estelle Freedman: "Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are necessary to achieve equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies."

Betty Friedan: “Man is not the enemy here, but the fellow victim. Men are not the enemy, but the fellow victims. The real enemy is women's denigration of themselves.”

Timothy Leary "Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition."

Famous feminists

• See List of feminists
• See Famous Feminists
• See History of feminism - list of feminists

Further reading

• Lorenne M. G. Clark, "Liberalism and Pornography," in Michael J. Gorr and Sterling Harwood, eds., Crime and Punishment: Philosophic Explorations (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 2000, formerly Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 1996), pp. 176-187.
• Anne Fausto-Sterling, "Gender Benders: How Many Sexes Are There?," in Sterling Harwood, ed., Business as Ethical and Business as Usual (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1996), pp. 168-170.
• Joel Feinberg, "Pornography, Feminism and Liberalism," in Michael J. Gorr and Sterling Harwood, eds., Crime and Punishment: Philosophic Explorations (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 2000, formerly Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 1996), pp. 187-204.
• Cathryn Jo Rosen, "The Battered Woman's Defense," in Michael J. Gorr and Sterling Harwood, eds., Controversies in Criminal Law: Philosophical Essays on Responsibility and Procedure (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1992), pp. 89-99.
• Lawrence Taylor and Katharina Dalton, "Premenstrual Syndrome: A New Criminal Defense?," in Michael J. Gorr and Sterling Harwood, eds., Controversies in Criminal Law: Philosophical Essays on Responsibility and Procedure (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1992), pp. 163-179.
• Anita Silvers and Sterling Harwood, "Womb for Rent: Surrogate Motherhood and the Case of Baby M," in Sterling Harwood, ed., Business as Ethical and Business as Usual (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1996), pp. 190-193.

See also

• Anarcha-feminism
• Domestic violence
• Equal pay for women
• Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
• Feminazi
• Feminist history in the United States
• Feminist history in the United Kingdom
• Feminist history in Poland
• Feminist history in Latin America
• Feminist theology
• Gender studies
• Gender-neutral language
• History of feminism
• Islamic feminism
• Lesbian feminism
• List of feminism topics
• List of notable feminists
• Masculism
• New feminism
• Radical feminism
• Suffragettes
• Women's cinema
• Women's Environment & Development Organization
• Women's music
• Sex/gender distinction

Books

• Antrobus, Peggy. "The global women's movement - Origins, issues and strategies", London, Zed Books 2004
• Butler, Judith (1994). "Feminism in Any Other Name", differences 6:2-3: 44-45.
• Chopin, Kate. "The Awakening". 1899.
• Code, Lorraine, ed., "Encyclopedia of feminist theories", Routledge 2000
• Patricia Hill Collins, "Black Feminist Thought. Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment", Second Edition, Routledge 2000
• Echols, Alice. "Daring to Be Bad: Radical Feminism in America, 1967-1975", University of Minnesota Press 1990
• Faludi, Susan. "Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women". 1992 (ISBN 0-385-42507-4)
• Friedan, Betty. "The Feminine Mystique," Penguin Books, 1963.
• French, Marilyn. "Beyond Power"; "War Against Women"; "From Eve to Dawn", a 3-volume history of women
• J.F. del Giorgio. The Oldest Europeans:Who are we? Where do we come from? What made European women different?.A.J.Place 2006 (ISBN 980-6898-00-1)
• Gossett, Hattie. "Presenting sister noblues" 1989
• Gossett, Hattie. "This bridge called my back: writings by radical women of color", 1981
• Jaggar, Alison M., "Feminist Politics and Human Nature," Rowman and Littlefield Publishers 1989, 416pp.
• Hochschild, Arlie Russell. "The Second Shift" 1990 (ISBN 0-380-71157-5)
• Hochschild, Arlie Russell. "The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work" 1997 (ISBN 0-8050-4470-1)
• hooks, bell. (1984). "Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center". ISBN 0-89608-614-3
• Jacobson, Joyce P. "The Economics of Gender" 1998. (ISBN 0-631-20726-0)
• Kaminer, Wendy. "A Fearful Freedom: Women's Flight from Equality", Addison Wesley 1990 (ISBN 0-201-09234-4)
• Kipnes, Laura, "The Female Thing: Dirt, Sex, Envy, Vulnerability", ISBN 0-375-42417-2
• Lerner, Gerda. "The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-Seventy", Oxford University Press 1994
• Luker, Kristin. "Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of the Teenage Pregnancy Crisis". (Harvard University Press, 1996) (ISBN 0-674-21703-9)
• Schneir, Miriam. "Feminism : The Essential Historical Writings", New York: Vintage 1994
• Sommers, Christina Hoff. "Who Stole Feminism? - How women have betrayed women" (1996) (ISBN 0-684-80156-6)
• Tavris, Carol. "The Mismeasure of Woman: Why Women Are Not the Better Sex, the Opposite Sex, or the Inferior Sex". Simon and Schuster, 1992. ISBN 0-671-66274-0
• Walters, Margaret. "Feminism: A very short introduction". Oxford 2005 (ISBN 0-19-280510-X)
• Wertheim, Margaret. "Pythagoras' Trousers - God, Physics, and the Gender Wars", W.W. Norton & Co. (1995, 1997)

Collections

• Berk, Sarah Fenstermaker, ed. Women and Household Labor, Sage 1980.
• Mitchell, Julie and Ann Oakley (eds.). Who's Afraid of Feminism?: Seeing Through the Backlash, New Press, 1997. ISBN 1-56584-385-1
• Morgan, Robin, ed. Sisterhood Is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings from the Women's Liberation Movement, 1970.
• Spender, Dale (ed.) Feminist theorists: Three centuries of key women thinkers, Pantheon 1983, ISBN 0-394-53438-7

External links

Feminist organizations Ansar Burney Trust Association for Women in Psychology Encyclopaedia Britannica, Feminism - free access article The Association of Libertarian Feminists Center for the Advancement of Women Committee for Asian Women FemINist INitiative of BC Feminist Majority NOW - National Organization for Women in the United States. Women living under Muslim laws Feminists for Free Expression ifeminists: the home for individualist feminism on the net 1001 Feminist Links - The Lilith Gallery of Toronto. Independent Women's Forum Women's Forum Australia Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) Older Women's League - The Voice of Midlife and Older Women (OWL) Supportive of feminism Feminism & Nonviolence Studies Susan Brownmiller.com: Where Feminism Lives Judith Butler - Bibliography Naomi Wolf - Resources FemBio - Notable Women International Susan Faludi - Resources Hattie Gossett - Biography EServer Feminism and Women's Studies The Seneca Falls Convention: Teaching about the Rights of Women and the Heritage of the Declaration of Independence Women's Freedom Network Critical of feminism, or specific types of feminism RADAR Equity feminism Eagle Forum The Masculist Perspective: Response to Feminist Claims Why Congress Should Ignore Radical Feminist Opposition to Marriage Female Anti-Feminism for Fame and Profit, by Jennifer Pozner criticizes so-called "dissident" feminists such as Christina Hoff-Sommers Step up and be vocal Interviews about Queer Punk and Feminism. Documentation, 2001, 60Min, Germany, English OmU Feminism and religion Riffat Hasan on Religious conservatism: Feminist theology as a means of combating injustice towards women in Muslim communities/culture Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution from the Jewish Women's Archive Islam from Patriarch