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First Wave Feminism: Seneca Falls Convention
During the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, many abolitions such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott proclaimed in their Declaration of Sentiments that "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal." -
First Wave Feminism: The 19th Amendment
The feminists demanded the right to vote and over time the suffragettes became successful. In 1893 New Zealand gave women the right to vote, Australia in 1902, Finland in 1906. During World War I, women's participation in the war proved to many that they were deserving of equal rights. In 1920 thanks to suffragettes such as Susan B Anthony the 19th Amendment was passed giving women the right to vote. -
Second Wave Feminism: Women's Liberation
The Equal Rights Amendment which aimed to create legal equality for women and banned discrimination on the basis of sex. This was passed by Congress in 1972 but due to Conservative backlash, it was never able to become a law. A year after this, feminists celebrated the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade which guaranteed a woman's right to choose an abortion. -
Third Wave Feminism: Who really benefits from this movement?
Throughout the 19th century, it has been debated who really benefits from the feminist movement. Critics have believed that the feminist movement is limited to college- educated women and that feminism has failed to address the concerns for women of colour, immigrants, LGBTQ, and religious minorities. As well as many feminists, being racist or racially biased. -
#MeToo Movement and Women's Marches
Feminists had pointed to prominent cases of sexual assault and rape culture, thus the MeToo Movement igniting. This movement really took off in 2017 when the New York Times had published an investigation into allegations of sexual assault towards Harvey Weinstein. Following this, many other women decided to come forward with allegations against many other men in power such as Donald Trump. During the first day of Trump's presidency, many feminists joined the Women's March as a massive protest. -
Feminism Today
The feminist movement is not only a movement supported by women, but many members of the community. It works towards issues such as Roe v. Wade, and other rising issues that need combatting in society. As time progresses, and new issues arise, the feminist movement waves will be influenced. Feminism fights toward equal rights for everyone, and freedom to make their own decisions. As social media has progressed, more people are getting involved in this movement than ever, and more are educated.