Feminist History

First wave

Feminism as philosophy and movement can be traced in the history of his birth with the birth of the Enlightenment era in Europe spearheaded by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and the Marquis de Condorcet. The scientific community association for women was first established in Middelburg, a city in the south of the Netherlands in 1785. By the 19th century feminism was born into a movement that was enough to get the attention of white women in Europe. Women in European colonies fight for what they call universal sisterhood. The word feminism was first created by utopian socialist activist Charles Fourier in 1837. The movement of the European center moved to America and grew rapidly since the publication of John Stuart Mill, the Subjection of Women (1869). Their struggle marked the birth of First Wave feminism. At first this movement was needed at that time, where there were periods of protection for women's freedom.

World history shows that in general women (feminine) feel disadvantaged in all fields and numbered by men (masculine) especially in patriarchal societies. In social fields, work, education, and even more political the rights of these people are usually inferior to what can be enjoyed by men, especially traditional societies oriented to agriculture tend to place men in front, outside home and women at home. This situation began to experience change when the era of Liberalism in Europe and the French Revolution in the XVIII century began and the echoes then hit the United States and throughout the world. Such an atmosphere is exacerbated by the existence of religious fundamentalism which tends to oppress women.

In the Christian religion, there are practices and sermons that support this situation. This is evident in the fact that many churches reject the presence of female pastors and even elders of the congregation can only be held by men. Many pulpit sermons put women as creatures who must "submit to their husbands!"

From such a background in Europe a movement has developed to "raise the degree of women" but its echo is less intense, only after the social and political revolution has taken place, attention to the rights of women began to emerge. In 1792 Mary Wollstonecraft made a paper entitled Vindication of the Right of Woman whose contents can be said to lay the foundations of feminist principles in the future. In the years 1830-1840 in line with the eradication of the practice of slavery, the rights of women began to be considered, working hours and salaries of these people began to be repaired and they were given the opportunity to participate in education and given the right to vote, something that had only been enjoyed by men man.

In general, in the first and second waves the following are the momentum of its struggle: gender inequality, women's rights, reproductive rights, political rights, gender roles, gender identity and sexuality. The feminism movement is a women's liberation movement from: racism, stereotyping, sexism, women's oppression, and phalogocentrism.

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