The Three WAVES Of Feminism Essays Examples

Feminism is a movement which is aimed at defending women’s rights and social equality both for men and women which opens up opportunities for women such as gaining money, participating in business and professional careers, right to vote in political elections and getting access to education. Feminism is regarded as a three-wave chronological movement in the United States (Hannam, 2007).
The first wave began in the 19th-20th centuries at the Seneca Falls Convention which only men were allowed to attend, they voted against the attendance of the two female US delegates Elizabeth Candy Stanton and Lucretia Mott who drafted the Seneca Falls Declaration comprising the ideology of the equality of men’s and women’s rights. The first wave was aimed at suffrage for women mainly.
The second-wave feminism started in 1960s when the bestselling book “The Feminine Mystique” was written by Betty Friedan; it contained the objections to the image of a woman caring of home without having any opportunities. Unlike the first-wave feminism which was focused on suffrage primarily, this wave was based on reaching freedom and gaining rights for minority groups. Sex and gender have also been differentiated: the first one was mentioned with the meaning of biological distinction, and the second one as a social contrast.
The third-wave feminism in the USA took place in the early 1990s and was designed to backlash against the ideas created by the second-wave movement. The last wave of feminism in the United States regarded sexuality as the main means of women empowerment. In this regard, women returned aesthetics of the appearance saving the idea of their independence.
Trying to insist on their possibilities and options, women forget about their initial biological purpose. Females now thrive for economic independence from men and try to make a wonderful career, as a result, marriages are delayed to a later age and the birthrate declined. All this creates social problems in the United States; it seems that women may have rights, possibilities and privileges but it shouldn’t be reflected at social order.

References

Hannam, J. (2007). Feminism. Harlow, England: Pearson/Longman.