A Brief Overview of Feminism

 

When we talk about “feminism” in the singular, we leave out so much of the diversity in the term, which is one of the reasons why scholars and critics will often use the term “feminisms.”  While there are many ways to define feminism or feminisms, at the core it is about recognizing shared humanity, supporting the rights and responsibilities of women, and changing cultures that are do not recognize these.    

 

One of the popular ways to think about the feminist movement is in terms of different “waves” of activism that are categorized by different issues and approaches. First Wave feminism appeared in strength in the early 20th century and was characterized by a fight for equal legal rights, such as the right to vote.  Second Wave feminism was especially strong during the 1970s and focused on reproductive rights and equal rights in the workplace.  Third Wave feminism has emerged more recently, and includes a broad range of approaches such as supporting the woman’s ability to choose family over career and focusing on feminism in the developing world.  Rory Dicker in her 2008 study A History of U.S. Feminisms describes the metaphor as follows: “The wave metaphor has been meaningful because it captures the forward and backward movement, the ebb and flow, of feminism. … The idea of continual motion, even if it isn’t always forward movement, is part of the appeal of the metaphor” (5). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Wave Feminism had a strong impact on the writers of the first half of the 20th century.  Women writers like Virginia Woolf spoke up about the challenges faced by female writers.  In her 1929 essay “A Room of One’s Own,” Woolf described the importance of economically empowering women, arguing that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” (2435).  She also focused on the way that gendered stereotypes for women, such as the pressure to be the domestic Angel of the House held women back from participating fully in literary culture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inkling writers like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were writing in the aftermath of first wave feminism.  In this project, I will be focusing on how the only female writer associated with the Inklings, Dorothy Sayers, interacted with ideas about women at the time.

 

Works Cited

 

Dicker, Rory. A History of U.S. Feminisms. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press, 2008. Print.

 

Woolf, Virginia. “A Room of One’s Own.” The Norton Anthology of British Literature: The Major Authors. 8th Ed. Eds. Stephen Greenblatt and M.H. Abrams. NY: Norton, 2006. Print.