First Two Waves Of Feminism

The definition of feminism is not concrete nor is there a definition that is agreed upon unanimously. It is always subject to change as we come to a more complex understanding of oppression and equality. During the first and second wave of feminism the definition of feminism was fighting for equality for men and women, which meant slight different things in each movement. In the third wave, we define feminism less as the fight for equality and more as the fight to stop oppression in all its forms.

In the first two waves of feminism, feminists were working towards the equality of men and women. In the first wave, this was primarily the right of women to vote. In the second wave this was more about social issues such as equality in the workplace and reproductive rights. Both waves were criticized for being exclusively concerned with the rights of white women. The white women would say they were fighting for the equality of men and women, but many simply meant the equality of middle to upper class white women and white men.

Ironically, a definition of feminism that is still relevant today came from Barbra Smith - a black lesbian feminist who was a member of the Combahee River Collective, a black feminist organization that ran in Boston from 1974-1980 - in then middle of the second wave. She said, “feminism is the political theory and practice to free nil women: women of color, working-class women, poor women, physi­cally challenged women, lesbians, old women, as well as white economically privileged heterosexual women.” She even went as far as to say that anything less was not feminism at