A History of Western Feminism...in 101 Seconds

Knowledge Punk proudly presents...A History of Western Feminism in 101 Seconds. Although often radically different in terms of their methods and specific goals, in general the term feminism relates to the movement to obtain increased legal, social and political rights for women. The history of the modern western feminist movements is usually divided into three so-called "waves". The first wave focused on de jure (officially mandated) inequalities, which focused in particular on increased political rights. One of the key texts which shaped first wave feminism was Mary Wollstonecraft's 1792 A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. The movement reached its culmination with the rise of the women's suffrage movement of the early 20th century, which demanded women be given the right to vote. The second wave was associated with the demands of the women's liberation movement, starting around the 1960s, and campaigned against de facto (unofficial) inequalities. It focused particularly on legal and social equality for women, concentrating on issues such as equality in the workplace, reproductive rights and divorce law. The third wave, emerging in the 1990s, seeks to address what it considers the "essentialism" of second wave feminism and its emphasis on upper-middle class white women. Its focus is more disparate than the previous two waves, concentrating on issues such as gender violence and the "reclamation" of derogatory terms.