Be-a-bá of feminism: from the first wave to contemporary trends

Much is said, but little is known. Do you know what feminism is? Understand more about and learn about the history of this important movement. Also discover great feminist achievements that make your life much better today than in previous centuries. Finally, there is still a lot to fight for. See the agendas and battles of current feminists!

But what exactly is feminism?

Feminism is a social, political and philosophical movement created and led by women to fight gender inequality. The feminist struggle has as its main objective to achieve social, political, economic, civil and cultural equality for women. Fighting, therefore, the socio-historical models that are supported by patriarchal practices, whose consequences are increasingly inhumane, such as, for example, violence against women.

The feminist movement was and is very important for the advancement of society. Without the defenses and conquests of rights, women would probably still be treated as they used to be, subjugated to the male figure of the father or husband and having reproduction as their sole objective in life. Of course, throughout history, there have fortunately been women who have subverted the order of patriarchy and challenged the status quo, but they were the exception. In recent years, the feminist agenda has advanced a lot and the struggle for the emancipation of women has gained strength. However, there is still much to be done.

What Feminism Stands for

The main defense of feminism is the emancipation of women and the struggle for gender equality. For the feminist movement, there should be no superiority between the genders, much less the subjugation and exploitation of one by the other. Contrary to what conservative people think, feminism is not a movement that seeks the superiority of women, on the contrary, the agenda is one of equality, equity and justice.

Feminism advocates that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men. It also advocates that women have the same financial conditions as men. Recently, cases have been reported of companies in which men are paid more than women performing the same charge and the same occupation.

Also part of the feminist agenda is the fight for women’s right to education, the right to culture, the right to sexual freedom, the right to frequent places that are not limited to space or the interests of domestic space. Ultimately, feminism defends that women have the right to enjoy society and everything that permeates it, just as men do.

And why is feminism so important?

The first thing to understand when talking about political, social and ideological movements is that, in (especially Western) history, society has developed through the struggle for power. In other words, a certain social group competed for power with other groups (through wars, political arrangements, financial control, religious persecution, exploitation of the workforce, etc.) to be able to govern according to their interests.

The second essential item for understanding social movements are laws and legislation. As much as there is a Constitution that legislates over all people, guarantees rights and postulates the duties of each one, its laws were made by a select group of people who made them for their own benefit and to continue in power. Over time and with arbitrary legislation in place, the influential group begins to structure society, that is, patriarchy, machismo, racism, LGBTQIAPN+phobia are structural problems, because these discriminations and exploitations were the model that shaped society as it is today.

That is why not every law is fair and some legislation needs to change, because not everything was written and granted thinking about humanity in its plurality (women, blacks, indigenous people, LGBTQIAPN+ etc.), but rather a specific group that wants to maintain itself. in power: the heterosexual and cisgender white man, who dictates all the standards that must be followed. Thus, the movement also seeks to reformulate and create laws that can protect women. In this sense, feminism is a very important movement to combat this standardization, exploitation and abuse of power. Here are some of the social problems that feminism fights:

Domestic violence

Professor at the Department of Psychology at UNESP-Bauru, Nilma Renildes da Silva, specialist in violence against women, children and adolescents, talks about domestic violence, one of the expressions of violence against women. According to the researcher, their confrontation has gained strength in recent years with feminist struggles, especially from a legal perspective, as in the Maria da Penha Law (nº 11.340/2002) and in the Feminicide Law (nº 13.104/2015). However, according to the specialist, in recent years, with the COVID-19 pandemic, crimes against women have escalated and their reaffirmation in the domestic role.

The professor emphasizes that “the participation of women in the struggle for demanding compliance and for the implementation of these laws is fundamental”, and goes further by explaining that domestic violence devastates women’s lives not only in the manifestation of physical damage, but also verbally. , psychological, moral, patrimonial and sexual abuse.

To conclude, Renildes explains that verbal violence (shouting, cursing, humiliation and manipulation), moral (defamation, etc.) and property (obstructing or preventing women’s financial independence) should not be neglected, as they also result in psychological and possible psychosomatic illnesses.

violence against women

Still according to the expert, violence against women is a more complex phenomenon that goes through the social, educational, cultural, political and economic spheres, “not just the perversions of men”. Renildes warns how much of society benefits from the maintenance of violence against women, as it is a structural problem.

The teacher encourages the question: what would it be like, for society, if the domestic work performed by women were paid? Or even, “who cares that women receive less than men?” The article begins by explaining the power struggle that moves much of western society. This is the converging point between the structural issues of violence against women. Gender oppression, like racism, is in the service of maintaining a specific class in power.

Finally, the teacher instructs to understand how all exclusions (of black women, indigenous, etc.), as well as the imposition of the stereotype of “housewife”, are, in fact, forms of control and oppression. Fact that feminist struggles try to cease, both by theoretical and practical means.

Harassment

The issue of harassment is extremely profound, because it is not limited to the act itself – which must be repudiated and criminalized in any and all circumstances – but also to the conception that a society based on forms of exploitation has about the female body.

A woman’s body does not belong to her. The government, employers, husbands, men in general see themselves in the right to legislate on the female body and to understand it as an object to be used in the way that suits them. This is one of the reasons for the maintenance of harassment and rape culture. The act is, therefore, driven by a sexist and misogynist ideology.

The feminist agenda for the emancipation of women is necessary for women to take control of their bodies and politically empower themselves in society. Feminism becomes a theoretical and practical instrument, as it teaches women to understand themselves as beings (fighting the objectified sexist view) and to express themselves, providing them with resources to face this network of oppression.

Although it is difficult and painful to break this system, it is necessary to remember and believe that it is possible to transform reality. With the advancement and popularization of feminist discussions, many women managed to create a support network and were able to denounce their tormentors.

A good example of this is the #MeToo movement, started at the end of 2017, to denounce sexual harassment and sexual assaults suffered mainly in the workplace. The accusations made against film producer Harvey Weinstein, carried by the world’s major media, prove that it is possible to fight against machismo and have positive results.

Salary Gap

The pay gap between men and women is a problem that continues today. According to the IBGE, women receive 20.5% less than men, occupying the same positions, performing the same functions, having the same age, color and education. The data are more alarming when it comes to black women, given that, according to the IBGE, blacks earn 31% less than whites.

When thinking about the issue more broadly, considering opportunities and working conditions, the situation for women has always been worse. Domestic work, mostly performed by women, is not remunerated or even recognized and acts as a second working day.

In a society rooted in machismo, racism and class oppression, women end up working more than men, because the work of taking care of the house and children, known as social reproduction work, is not shared. Although it is in the Constitution, in art. 226, § 5, that “the rights and duties related to the conjugal society are exercised equally by the man and the woman”.

Feminism, in this sense, is essential to fight for equal rights and the search for women’s financial independence and autonomy. An example of reality transformation was the achievement of maternity and paternity leaves, since fathers are as responsible for their children as mothers. The movement now seeks to match the period of maternity and paternity leave, which is currently 120 days for mothers and only 5 to 20 days for fathers.

Discover the history of feminism

So far you have known some ways of acting for feminism, but how did it all start? Feminism is usually divided into three waves, each with a main objective and a different conception of the world. Which is natural, given that society develops and changes throughout history.

However, before understanding the three waves of feminism, it is important to know that the historical view is centered on Europe and the United States, so when classifying the moments of feminism, the lines of womanism are rarely considered (a theory that places the issue of race at the heart of the problem) and post-colonial feminism (which works with the impacts of colonization) developed by women in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia.

First wave of feminism

The first wave of the feminist movement was marked, in the Eurocentric view, by middle-class white English and French women at the end of the 19th century. Inspired by the achievements of the French Revolution (1789), they fought for equality,…