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Feminism is one theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes,[1] even though many feminist movements and ideologies differ on exactly which claims and strategies are vital and justifiable to achieve equality.
However, equality, while supported by most feminists, is not universally seen as the required result of the feminist movement, even by feminists. Some consider it feminist to increase the rights of women from an origin that is less than man's without obtaining full equality.[2][3][4] Their premise is that some gain of power is better than nothing. At the other end of the continuum, a minority of feminists have argued that women should set up at least one women-led society and some institutions.[5][6][7]
Feminism and equality came in waves over the course of history, seeing some of the first actions in the early 18th century. According to Martha Rampton, a professor and director at Pacific University, "The wave formally began at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 when three hundred men and women rallied to the cause of equality for women.[8] " Nonetheless, forms of feminism and equality had reached political goals, ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment guaranteed all American women the right to vote. And as some presumed this would only do so much for women.
Freedom is sought by those among feminists who believe that equality is undesirable or irrelevant, although some equate gaining an amount of freedom equal to that of men to the pursuit of equality, thus joining those who claim equality as central to feminism.[9][10]
^Merriam-Webster dictionary, as accessed April 1, 2018, entry feminism, sense 1.
^Wollstonecraft (2009), p. 158
^Echols (1989), pp. 144
^Echols (1989), pp. 289, citing Snitow, Ann, Retrenchment vs. Transformation: The Politics of the Anti-Pornography Movement, in Caught Looking: Feminism, Pornography and Censorship (N.Y.: Caught Looking, 1986), pp. 11–12.
^Andrea Dworkin: "Take No Prisoners", in The Guardian, May 13, 2000, as accessed September 6, 2010.
^Spender, Dale, For the Record: The Making and Meaning of Feminist Knowledge (London: The Women's Press, 1985 (ISBN 0-7043-2862-3)), p. 151 (on institutions) but see p. 214 (antibureaucratic).
^Chesler, Phyllis, Women and Madness (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1972 (ISBN 0-385-02671-4)), pp. 298-299.
^"Four Waves of Feminism". Pacific University. 2015-10-25. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
^Zerilli (2005), passim, esp. p. 96 & nn. 11–15
^Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, What is "Feminism"?, in The Sunday Herald, Sep. 3, 1916, [§] Magazine, p. [7] [of §], of The Boston Herald (Boston, Mass.).
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substantive gender equality in order to improve the race. Thus, in the years between 1915 and 1935, eugenic feminism existed distinct from, and in increasing...
Christian feminism is a branch of feminist theology which seeks to interpret and understand Christianity in light of the equality of women and men. Because...
Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic...