Feminism

Origins

Susan B. Anthony is third from the left, front row.]] Feminism as a philosophy and movement in the modern sense may be usefully dated to The Age of Enlightenment|The Enlightenment with such thinkers as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and the Marquis de Condorcet championing women's education. The first scientific society for women was founded in Middelburg, a city in the south of the Dutch republic, in 1785. Journals for women which focused on issues like science became popular during this period as well. Mary Wollstonecraft's ''A Vindication of the Rights of Woman'' (1792) is one of the first works that can unambiguously be called feminist. Feminism became an organized movement in the 19th century as people increasingly came to believe that women were being treated unfairly. The feminist movement was rooted in the progressive movement and especially in the reform movement of the 19th century. The utopian socialist Charles Fourier coined the word ''féminisme'' in 1837; as early as 1808, he had argued that the extension of women's rights was the general principle of all social progress. The organized movement was dated from the first women's rights convention at Seneca Falls convention|Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. In 1869, John Stuart Mill published The Subjection of Women to demonstrate that "the legal subordination of one sex to the other is wrong...and...one of the chief hindrances to human improvement." Many countries began to grant women the suffrage|vote in the early years of the 20th century, especially in the final years of the World War I|First World War and the first years hence. The reasons varied, but they included a desire to recognize the contributions of women during the war, and were also influenced by rhetoric used by both sides at the time to justify their war efforts. For example, since Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points recognized self determination as vital to society, the hypocrisy of denying half the population of modern nations the vote became difficult for men to ignore.

Feminism in many forms

Some forms of feminist theory question basic assumptions about gender, gender difference, and sexuality, including the category of "woman" itself as a holistic concept, further some are interested in questioning the male/female binary completely (offering instead a multiplicity of genders). Other forms of feminist theory take for granted the concept of "woman" and provide specific analyses and critiques of gender inequality, and most feminist social movements promote women's rights, interests, and issues. Feminism is not a single ideology. Over-time several sub-types of feminist ideology have developed. Early feminists and primary feminist movements are often called the first-wave feminism|first-wave feminists, and feminists after about 1960 the second-wave feminism|second-wave feminists. More recently, a new generation of feminists have started third-wave feminism. Whether this will be a lasting evolution remains to be seen as the second-wave has by no means ended nor has it ceded to the third-wave feminists. Moreover, some commentators have asserted that the silent majority of modern feminists have more in common ideologically with the first-wave feminists than the second-wave. For example, many of the ideas arising from Radical feminism and Gender feminism (prominent second-wave movements) have yet to gain traction within the broader community and outside of Gender Studies departments within the academy. Some radical feminists advocate separatism—a complete separation of male and female in society and culture—while 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 constructionism|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.) Other feminists believe that there may be social problems separate from or prior to patriarchy (e.g., racism or class divisions); they see feminism as one movement of liberation among many, each affecting the others. The various types of feminism include:

Egalitarian forms:

equity feminism

individualist feminism (also known as libertarian feminism) - Same as above.

liberal feminism

Gynocentrism|Gynocentric forms:

cultural feminism

gender feminism

radical feminism

Belief in oppression by patriarchy:

anarcha-feminism

French feminism

radical feminism

Belief in oppression by capitalism:

socialist feminism

Marxist feminism

Differences are solely or mostly cultural, not biological:

Amazon feminism

psychoanalytical feminism|psychoanalytic feminism

Segregationalist:

lesbian feminism (Lesbian separatism)

separatist feminism

African-American

Black Feminism

Womanism

non-Western:

third-world feminism

Postcolonial feminism|post-colonial feminism

pro-sex feminism (also known as sexually liberal feminism, sex-positive feminism)

Subtypes of feminism

Amazon feminism

Anarcha-Feminism

Anti-racist feminism

cultural feminism

ecofeminism

equity feminism

existentialist feminism

French feminism

gender feminism

individualist feminism (also known as libertarian feminism)

lesbian feminism

liberal feminism

male feminism or men's feminism

Marxist feminism (also known as socialist feminism)

material feminism

pop feminism

Postcolonial feminism|post-colonial feminism

postmodern feminism which includes queer theory

pro-sex feminism (also known as sexually liberal feminism, sex-positive feminism)

psychoanalytical feminism|psychoanalytic feminism

radical feminism

separatist feminism

socialist feminism

spiritual feminism

standpoint feminism

third-world feminism

transnational feminism

transfeminism

womanism

Certain actions, approaches and people can also be described as proto-feminism|proto-feminist or post-feminism|post-feminist. Although many leaders of feminism have been women, not all feminists are women. Some feminists argue that men should not take positions of leadership in the movement, because men, having been socialized to aggressively seek positions of power or direct the agendas within a leadership hierarchy, would apply this tendency to feminist organizations; or that women, having been socialized to defer to men, would be hindered in developing or expressing their own self-leadership in working too closely with men. However, some feminists do believe that men should be accepted as leaders in the movement. Compare pro-feminist, humanism, masculism, masculinism®. Today, some young women associate "feminism" with radical and gender feminism, and this has put off some of these women from being active in feminism, spurring a move away from second-wave feminism|second-wave labels. However, the basic values of feminism (women's rights and gender equality for women) have become so integrated into Western culture as to be accepted overwhelmingly as valid, and non-conformity to those values characterized as unacceptable, by the same men and women who reject the label "feminist".

Relationship to other movements

Some feminists take a holistic approach to politics, believing the saying of 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 about the alleged disadvantages women face in Western society are often less relevant to the lives of black women. This idea is the key in postcolonial feminism. Many black feminist women prefer the term womanism for their views. Feminists are sometimes wary of the transgender movement because it challenges the distinctions between men and women. Transgender and transsexual women are excluded from some "Women-only spaces|women-only" gatherings and events and are rejected by some feminists who say that no one born male can fully understand the oppression that women face, and that there is sexism inherent in the notion that femaleness is a default gender that one can enter after shedding externally recognizable male traits. This exclusion is criticized as transphobic by transwomen who assert that the discrimination and various struggles (such as that for legal recognitions) that they face due to asserting their gender identity is closely linked to many feminist efforts, and that discrimination against gender-variant people is another face of heterosexism and the so-called patriarchy. See transfeminism and gender studies.

Effects of feminism in the West

Some feminists would argue that there is still much to be done on these fronts, while others would disagree and claim that the battle has basically been won.

Effects on civil rights

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 keep children from their fathers, the right to obtain Birth control|contraception and safe abortions; the right to not allow men to face a woman who accuses them of rape, the right to be allowed admittance into any university in the US; and the right to have over 60 female-only universities in the US. Feminism is a pro-choice movement, although there are some exceptions. The national organization http://www.feministsforlife.org for instance, condemns the act of abortion, claiming that the reason that abortion is so common is because women do not have access to alternate resources and information. Feminists for Life even suggest that what they refer to as the "abortion industry" is part of a system which allows the abuse of women and women's rights.

Effect on language

English 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, for example, or the ironic use of the term "herstory" instead of "history". Feminists are also often proponents of using ''gender-inclusive'' language, such as "humanity" instead of "mankind", or "he or she" (or other gender-neutral pronouns) in place of "he" where the gender is unknown. Feminists in most cases advance their desired use of language either to promote what they claim is an equal and respectful treatment of women or to affect the tone of political discourse. This can be seen as a move to change language which has been viewed by some feminists as imbued with sexism, providing 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''). These feminists argue that language then directly affects perception of reality (compare Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis). However, to take a postcolonial analysis of this point, many languages ''other'' than English may not have such a gendered pronoun instance and thus changing language may not be as important to some feminists as others. Yet, English is becoming more and more universal, and the issue of language may be seen to be of growing importance. On the other hand, quite a different tendency can be seen in French language|French. Gender, as a grammatical concept, is much more pervasive in French than in English, and as a result, it has been 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 quite common in Canada, but practically unknown in European and African French-speaking countries.

Effect on heterosexual relationships

The feminist movements have certainly affected the nature of heterosexual relationships in Western and other societies affected by feminism. While these effects have generally been seen as positive, there have been some consequences that can be catalogued as negative from the traditional point of view on morals. In some of these relationships, there has been a change in the power relationship between men and women. In these circumstances, women and men have had to adapt to relatively new situations, sometimes causing confusions about role and identity. Women can now avail themselves more to new opportunities, but some have suffered with the demands of trying to live up to the so-called "superwomen" identity, and have struggled to 'have it all', i.e. manage to happily balance a career and family. In response to the family issue, many socialist feminists blame this on the lack of state-provided child-care facilities. Others have advocated instead that the onus of child-care not rest solely on the female, but rather that men partake in the responsibility of managing family matters. Some men counter that this expectation is unrealistic, claiming a deemphasis on breadwinning would be injurious to their ability to attract mates; while many women have the choice to try to "have it all", they claim that societal expectations placed on men preclude them from devoting themselves further to domestic responsibilities. Proponents of this position cite the following anecdotal observation: While 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. (''In Defense of Working Fathers'' Sacks, Glenn. http://www.hisside.com/7_10_05.htm) There have been changes also in attitudes towards sexual morality and behavior with the onset of second wave feminism and "Oral contraceptive|the Pill": women are then more in control of their bodies, and are able to experience sex with more freedom than was previously socially accepted for them. This sexual revolution that women were then able to experience was seen as positive (especially by Sexually liberal feminism|sex-positive feminists) as it enabled women and men to experience sex in a free and equal manner. However, some feminists felt that the results of the sexual revolution were beneficial only to men. Feminists have debated whether marriage is an institution that oppresses women and men. Those who do view it as oppressive sometimes opt for cohabitation or more recently to live independently reverting to casual sex to fulfill their sexual needs.

Effect on religion

Feminism has had a great effect on many aspects of religion. In liberal branches of Protestant Christianity (and in some theologically conservative dominations as well, such as Assemblies of Godhttp://ag.org/top/beliefs/position_papers/4191_women_ministry.cfm, women are now ordained as clergy, and in Reform Judaism|Reform, Conservative Judaism|Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist Judaism, women are ordained as rabbis and cantors. Within these Christianity|Christian and Judaism|Jewish groups, women have gradually become more nearly equal to men by obtaining positions of power; their perspectives are now sought out in developing new statements of belief. In Islam women have historically contributed to all aspects of Islamic life, from religious edicts to aid on the battlefield. Around half of the sayings of Muhammad are taken from his wife Aisha, whom men often consulted on religious matters. In this day you will often see many women scholars on Arabic satellite television answering Islam-related questions, asked by both genders. One matter remains debatable nowadays, which is whether or not a woman can lead men in prayers. These trends, however, have been resisted within Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholicism has historically excluded women from entering priesthood and other positions in clergy, allowing women to hold positions as nuns or as laypeople. Feminism also has had an important role in embracing 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 is a religion whose 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 to the Catholic belief in the Coredemptrix, as counterexamples. However, criticism of these efforts as unable to salvage corrupt church structures and philosophies continues. Some argue that Mary, with her status as mother and virgin, and as traditionally the main role model for women, sets women up to aspire to an impossible ideal and also thus has negative consequences on human sense of identity and sexuality. There is a separate article on God and gender; it discusses how monotheistic religions reconcile their theologies with contemporary gender issues, and how modern feminism has influenced the theology of many religions.

Effect on moral education

Opponents of feminism claim that women's quest for external power, as opposed to the internal power to affect other people's ethics and values, has left a vacuum in the area of moral training, where women formerly held sway. Some feminists reply that the education, including the moral education, of children has never been, and should not be, seen as the exclusive responsibility of women. Paradoxically, it is also held by others that the moral education of children at home in the form of homeschooling is itself a women's movement. Such arguments are entangled within the larger disagreements of the Culture Wars, as well as within feminist (and anti-feminist) ideas regarding custodianship of societal morals and compassion.

Effects of feminism in the East

Worldwide statistics

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

According to the http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/pdf/hdr04_HDI.pdf women work on average more than men, when both paid employment and unpaid household tasks are accounted for. In rural areas of the developing countries surveyed, women perform an average of 20% more work than men, or an additional 98 minutes per day. In the OECD countries surveyed, on average women performed 5% more work than men, or 18 minutes per day.

Women own only 1 percent of the world's wealth, and earn 10 percent of the world's income, despite making up 49.5 percent of the population.

Women are underrepresented in all of the world's major legislative bodies (see http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm. 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, Sweden has the highest number of women at 45 percent. The United States has just 14 percent. The world average is just 9 percent. In contrast, half of the members of the recently established Welsh Assembly Government are women.

Perspective: the nature of the modern movement

Most feminists believe discrimination against women still exists in North American and European nations, as well as worldwide. But there are many ideas within the movement regarding the severity of current problems, what the problems are, and how best to confront them. Extremes on the one hand include some radical feminists such as Mary Daly who argues that human society would be better off with dramatically fewer men. There are also dissidents, such as Christina Hoff Sommers or Camille Paglia, who identify themselves as feminist but who accuse the movement of anti-male prejudice. On the other hand, many feminists question the use of the term ''feminist'' to groups or people who fail to 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'' , consider feminism to be, solely, the view that "women are people." Views that separate the sexes rather than unite them are considered by these people to be ''sexist'' rather than ''feminist''. There are also debates between difference feminism|difference feminists such as Carol Gilligan on the one hand, 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. There is no consensus among modern scientists on whether inborn differences exist between men and women (other than physical differences such as anatomy, chromosomes and hormones). In Marilyn French's seminal works analyzing patriarchy and its effects on the world at large--including women, men and children--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, the self-indulgent. "Virtue" 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" http://www.fragmentsweb.org/stuff/10french.html|This philosophy is what French offers as a replacement to the current structure where power has the highest value--and it is this feminism to which many (women and men) subscribe. However many believe this view is flawed, simply because one who desires power will usually obtain power over one who does not.

Contemporary criticisms of feminism

Feminism, in some forms and to varying degrees, has become generally accepted in Western society. However, the attention it has attracted, due to the social changes it has effected, has resulted in many dissenting voices. Criticism has come from within the movement, from masculists, and from social conservatives. Postcolonial feminism|Postcolonial feminists criticise Western forms of feminism, notably radical feminism and its most basic assumption, universalization of female experience. They argue that this assumption is based on the experience of white, middle-class women, for whom gender oppression is primary; and that it cannot so easily be applied to women for whom gender oppression comes second to racial or class oppression. Non-feminist critics suggest that the continual emphasis on women's issues throughout the evolution of the movement has resulted in gynocentric ideology. They think that modern-day feminists are biased by the lens that filters their world views. They would like to see a gender-neutral term such as "gender egalitarianism" replace "feminism" when used in reference to the belief in basic equal rights and opportunities for both sexes. 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. Their view as expressed by Warren Farrell in "The Myth of Male Power" is that the traditional world was a bi-sexist world, not a uni-sexist one, and that the issues men faced then still exist plus several new ones created by feminist organizations. One complaint is that feminists promote misandry, even male inferiority - it has been demonstrated that replacing the words "male" and "female" in some feminist writings with "black" and "white" respectively would make these texts racist. However, this is applicable to non-feminist writing as well, as Douglas Hofstadter tried to show in http://www.bloomington.in.us/~abangert/person.html Another interesting word substitution is substituting "male" and "female" with each other in texts, like Gerd Brantenberg's ''Egalia's Daughters''. Others still dismiss this word substitution argument as overly simplistic, and state that changing "men oppress women" to "blacks oppress whites" says as little about the speaker of the original sentence as would changing "I love Jews" to "I hate Jews". Another concern is that the belief in a glass ceiling for women may have resulted in affirmative action programs that promote women more for the purpose of public relations than for merit. Sexual harassment is also a topic of dispute: critics claim that, in the name of protecting women, men are discriminated against when they are the subject of claims; and that they are treated less seriously when claiming cases. The same is true with domestic violence, and even though oft-quoted feminist research suggests that over 30% of the victims of domestic violence are male, only a handful of the thousands of tax-funded shelters in the US will even admit men. Other concerns include inequity in health funding (particularly breast vs. prostate cancer), societal sympathy for women vs. vilification of men (e.g., emphasis on "violence against women"), and fears of censorship. Feminists disagree on the importance of men's issues; some argue that these issues are not important because society is male-dominated, others point out that the fact that a small group of men have much power doesn't contradict the idea that many men (especially poor, non-white, or non-straight men) might be oppressed. The concept of "patriarchy" is also questioned by masculists, largely because masculists examine whether a government's actions are more in line with men's interests or women's interests, not based on the gender of the people performing the actions, but on the actions themselves. Conservative criticism includes the claim that the feminist movement is trying to destroy traditional gender roles. Proponents argue that men and women have many natural differences, and that everyone benefits from recognizing them. They consider children to benefit from having a masculine father and a feminine mother, and that divorce, single parenthood, and non-traditional gender roles harm children. There is also a group of Paleoconservatives including George Gilder and Pat Buchanan who argue that feminism has produced a fundamentally unworkable, self-destructive, stagnant society. They note that societies in which feminism has developed the furthest have below-replacement rates of fertility and high rates of immigration (frequently from countries with cultures and religions hostile to feminism). In the US, "liberal" religious groups most accepting of feminism have noted fewer conversions and less natural increase. Some forms of Islam are hostile to feminism.

Criticism of feminists' claim to favor equality

Many critics argue that feminists really do not support equality, but actually support female-favoring sexism while only giving lip service to equality. Such critics offer lists of quotations such as the following in an attempt to illustrate this claim. Others argue that such criticism is dishonest, since a quotation by itself lacks context, and since any legitimate political movement may be misrepresented by compiling a list of the most extreme views of some of its members. Though some of the quotations below come from feminist leaders, they do not necessarily represent feminism--or even the actual views of those quoted. For example, they may be meant metaphorically (as in the Robin Morgan quotation), or may be intended as humor (the Feminist Dictionary quotation).

Feminist Quotations

''Definitions... MAN: An obsolete life form, an ordinary creature who needs to be watched, a contradictory baby-man; MISANDRY: A refusal to suppress the evidence of one's experience with men, A woman's defense against fear and pain, An affirmation of the cathartic effects of justifiable anger; STRANGERS: Unknowns who, if male, are not to be trusted. Knowns are not to be trusted either; TESTOSTERONE POISONING: ... Until now it has been thought that the level of testosterone in men is normal simply because they have it. But if you consider how abnormal their behavior is, then you are led to the hypothesis that almost all men are suffering from "testosterone poisoning.'' Source - A Feminist Dictionary, ed. Kramarae and Treichler, Pandora Press, 1985

''We are, as a sex, infinitely superior to men.'' Source - Elizabeth Cady Stanton, One Woman, One Vote, pg 58

''If you are a woman you are the center of the home, so when you walk into an empty flat you don't feel there is something missing, the way a man does... I think at the end of the day you have to look at men like elephants; they are wonderful and fascinating, but would you really want one in your living room?'' Source - Marcelle D'argy Smith, (former editor of Cosmopolitan), The Sunday Times, March 24th, 1996

''Perhaps ... women have always been in closer contact with reality than men: it would seem to be the just recompense for being deprived of idealism.'' Source - Germaine Greer, "The Female Eunuch"

''As a sex, we are vastly superior to men, but it is taboo to show it'' Source - Kate Saunders, The Sunday Times, July 16th 1995

Feminist Quotations

''When one thinks of the mistreatment of Jewish people during World War II, they are disgusted. When one thinks of the oppression suffered by African Americans during the years of slavery, one is repulsed. But one must never forget that women as a group continue to be the largest group of people to ever be victimized for the longest period of time. This is truly sickening'' Source - Yashar Keramati

''The most dangerous situation for a woman is not an unknown man in the street, or even the enemy in wartime, but a husband or lover in the isolation of their home'' Source - Gloria Steinem, Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem, pg 259

''All men are rapists, and that is all they are'' Source - Marylin French, People, February 20th, 1983

''Rape is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear.'' Source - Susan Brownmiller, "Against Our Will", pg 6

''In everything men make, they hollow out a central place for death, let its rancid smell contaminate every dimension of whatever still survives. Men especially love murder. In art they celebrate it, and in life they commit it. They embrace murder as if life without it would be devoid of passion, meaning, and action, as if murder were solace, stilling their sobs as they mourn the emptiness and alienation of their lives.'' Source - Andrea Dworkin, "Letters from a War Zone", pg 214

Feminist Quotations

''WIE: In your latest book, Quintessence, you describe a utopian society of the future, on a continent populated entirely by women, where procreation occurs through parthenogenesis, without participation of men. What is your vision for a postpatriarchal world? Is it similar to what you described in the book? MD: You can read Quintessence and you can get a sense of it. It's a description of an alternative future. It's there partly as a device and partly because it's a dream. There could be many alternative futures, but some of the elements are constant: that it would be women only; that it would be women generating the energy throughout the universe; that much of the contamination, both physical and mental, has been dealt with.'' Source - Mary Daly, 2001 interview with "What is Enlightenment" magazine

''And let's put one lie to rest for all time: the lie that men are oppressed, too, by sexism--the lie that there can be such a thing as 'men's liberation groups.' Oppression is something that one group of people commits against another group specifically because of a 'threatening' characteristic shared by the latter group--skin color or sex or age, etc. The oppressors are indeed FUCKED UP by being masters (racism hurts whites, sexual stereotypes are harmful to men) but those masters are not OPPRESSED. Any master has the alternative of divesting himself of sexism or racism--the oppressed have no alternative--for they have no power--but to fight. In the long run, Women's Liberation will of course free men--but in the short run it's going to COST men a lot of privilege, which no one gives up willingly or easily. Sexism is NOT the fault of women--kill your fathers, not your mothers.'' Source - Robin Morgan, Goodbye to All That, pg 245, (emphasis hers)

Famous Feminists

Lila Abu-Lughod - Anthropologist

Rachel Adler - Jewish theologian

Susan B. Anthony

Gloria E. Anzaldúa - Poet

Bettina Aptheker - Writer, Activist, and Educator

Simone de Beauvoir - Philosopher

Ruth Behar - Anthropologist

Judith Butler - Philosopher

Margaret Cho - Actress, Comedian

Kate Chopin - Writer

Sandra Cisneros - Writer

Hélène Cixous - Philosopher

Nellie McClung - Writer, Teacher, one of the "Famous Five"

Mary Daly - Christian theologian

Andrea Dworkin - Writer

Henrietta Muir Edwards

Jean Bethke Elshtain - Philosopher

Marilyn French - Writer, author of ''Beyond Power'', an extensive "history" of patriarchy

Betty Friedan - Writer

Diana Fuss - Professor of English

Jane Gallop - Professor of English

Sandra Gilbert - Professor of English

Emma Goldman - Anarchist, writer

Jane Gomeldon - 18th century Essayist

Deborah Gordon - Anthropologist

Germaine Greer - Writer

Sandra Harding - Philosopher

Donna Haraway - Anthropologist

Susannah Heschel - Jewish theologian

bell hooks -Writer and critic

Luce Irigaray - Philosopher

Alison M. Jagger - Philosopher

Kumari Jayawardena - Sri Lankan feminist scholar

Maxine Hong Kingston - Novelist

Biddy Martin - Professor of German studies

Suzanne MacNevin - Writer/chemist

Emily Martin - Anthropologist

Nellie McClung - writer, one of the "Famous Five"

Louise McKinney

Kate Millett - Critic

Chandra Talpade Mohanty - Sociologist

Toril Moi - Professor of literature

Henrietta Moore - Anthropologist

Iris Murdoch - Novelist and philosopher

Emily Murphy - Writer, Magistrate, one of the "Famous Five"

Judith Newton Professor of English

Susan Okin - philsophical and political theorist

Emmeline Pankhurst

Sylvia Pankhurst

Irene Parlby

Judith Plaskow - Jewish theologian

Janice Raymond - Writer

Rayna Rapp Reiter - Anthropologist

Audre Lorde - Poet, essayist, activist

Adrienne Rich - Poet and essayist

Gayle Rubin - Anthropologist

Margaret Sanger

Alice Schwarzer - Writer

Joan Wallach Scott - Historian

Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick - Professor of English

Barbara Smith - Black lesbian feminist and activist

Cindy Sherman - Artist/photographer

Dorothy Smith - Sociologist

Kiki Smith - Artist/sculptor

Valerie Solanas - Author of the SCUM Manifesto

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak - Professor of English

Judith Stacey - Sociologist

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Carolyn Kay Steedman - Professor of Arts Education

Gloria Steinem - Journalist and publisher

Martha Stewart- Television and magazine personality

Trinh T. Minh-ha - Writer, filmmaker, composer

Sojourner Truth

Alice Walker - Novelist

Monique Wittig - Novelist and critic

Virginia Woolf - Writer

Mary Wollstonecraft - Writer

Sylvia Yanagisako - Anthropologist

Iris Marion Young - Philosopher

Mitsuye Yamada - Writer, Poet, Activist

See also

Anarcha-feminism

Anti-racist math

Domestic violence

Equal pay for women

Female roles in the world wars

Feminazi

Feminist history in the United States

Feminist history in the United Kingdom

Feminist history in Latin America

Gendercide

Gender-neutral language

History of feminism

Igbo Women's War of 1929

Islamic feminism

Lesbian feminism

List of feminism topics

List of notable feminists

Marriage strike

Misogyny

Misandry

Radical feminism

Rape

Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan|RAWA

Sex in advertising

Sisterhood is Powerful

Testosterone poisoning

Trafficking in human beings

Women's Cinema

Books

Antrobus, Peggy. ''The global women's movement - Origins, issues and strategies'', London, Zed Books 2004

Bradley, Martha Sonntag. ''http://www.signaturebooks.com/excerpts/pedestals.htm', Salt Lake City, Signature Books 2005

Judith Butler|Butler, Judith (1994). "Feminism in Any Other Name", ''differences'' 6:2-3: 44-45.

Kate Chopin|Chopin, Kate. ''The Awakening''. 1899.

Lorraine Code, ed., ''Encyclopedia of feminist theories'', 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 0385425074)

Farrell, Warren. ''Why Men Earn More'' 2005 (ISBN 0-8144-7210-9)

French, Marilyn. ''Beyond Power''; ''War Against Women''; ''From Eve to Dawn'', a 3-volume history of women

Kampwirth, Karen. ''Feminism and the Legacy of Revolution: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas'', Ohio UP 2004

Gerda Lerner | Lerner, Gerda. ''The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-Seventy'', Oxford University Press 1994

Margaret Mead|Mead, Margaret. ''Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies'' (1935)

Silverman, Kaja. ''Male Subjectivity at the Margins'', p.2-3. New York: Routledge 1992

Sommers, Christina Hoff. ''Who Stole Feminism? - How women have betrayed women'' (1996)

Thomas, Calvin. (ed.) "Introduction: Identification, Appropriation, Proliferation", ''Straight with a Twist: Queer Theory and the Subject of Heterosexuality'', p.39n. University of Illinois Press (2000)

Wertheim, Margaret. ''Pythagoras' Trousers - God, Physics, and the Gender Wars'', W.W. Norton & Co. (1995, 1997)

External links

Feminist organizations

http://www.awpsych.org/

http://www.cawinfo.org/

http://www.feministinitiative.bc.ca/

http://feminist.org

http://feministsforlife.org- Anti-abortion group in the United States.

http://naral.org

http://now.org- National Organization for Women in the United States

http://ppfa.org

http://www.wluml.org/english/

Supportive of feminism

http://www.amynelson.co.uk/womenswikiWomen's Wiki Organization

http://www.asian-nation.org/gender.shtml

http://www.wifp.org/DWM/DirectoryWomensMedia.html

http://www.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/femsup.htm

http://www.womenorganizingwomen.com/wgs3150/index.html

http://www.egs.edu/faculty/donnaharaway.html

http://www.fnsa.org/

http://montages.blogspot.com/2004/07/i-had-abortion.html

http://www.liberalislam.net/women.htmlfrom LiberalIslam.net

http://www.egs.edu/faculty/judithbutler.html

http://www.synaptic.bc.ca/ejournal/wolf.html

http://www.fembio.org/default.shtml

http://www.synaptic.bc.ca/ejournal/faludi.html

http://personalispolitical.tripod.com/

http://www.yourquotations.net/Feminism.html

http://www.ladywiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/LadyWiki

http://www.ericdigests.org/2002-1/women.html

http://www.library.arizona.edu/branches/spc/treadwell/

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-approaches/

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/femapproach-analytic/

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/femapproach-pragmatism/

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-topics/

http://www.che-lives.com/home/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=191

Critical of feminism

http://Mensactivism.org/

http://www.shethinks.org/

http://www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com

http://www.savethemales.ca/

http://www.ifeminists.net

http://www.cblpolicyinstitute.org/

http://www.nvsh.nl/Website_Engels/Texts/Issues/Feminism_Frameset.htm

http://www.debunker.com/patriarchy.html

http://www.users.bigpond.com/sarcasmo/femo.html

http://jkalb.org/book/view/2

http://www.equityfeminism.com

http://www.ejfi.org/DV/dv.htm

http://www.eagleforum.org

http://www.debunker.com/texts/noblelie.html

http://www.ukmm.org.uk/issues/masc.htm

http://www.cooltools4men.com

Feminism and religion

http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_101_150/religious_conservatism.htm

http://www.jwa.org/feminismfrom the Jewish Women's Archive

History of feminism

http://gerritsen.chadwyck.com/

http://www.jwa.org/feminism/from the Jewish Women's Archive