First-wave feminism

First-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and thought that occurred during the 19th and early 20th century throughout the Western world. It focused on legal issues, primarily on securing women's right to vote. The term is often used synonymously with the kind of feminism espoused by the liberal women's rights movement with roots in the first wave, with organizations such as the International Alliance of Women and its affiliates. This feminist movement still focuses on equality from a mainly legal perspective.

The term ''first-wave feminism'' itself was coined by journalist Martha Lear in a ''New York Times Magazine'' article in March 1968 entitled "The Second Feminist Wave: What do these women want?" First wave feminism is characterized as focusing on the fight for women's political power, as opposed to ''de facto'' unofficial inequalities. While the wave metaphor is well established, including in academic literature, it has been criticized for creating a narrow view of women's liberation that erases the lineage of activism and focuses on specific visible actors.

Origins

Movements to broaden women's rights began much earlier than the 20th century. In her book '' The Second Sex,'' Simone de Beauvoir wrote that the first woman to "take up her pen in defense of her sex" was Christine de Pizan in the 15th century. Feminists