How Did John Locke Support Feminism?

“[T]yrants of every denomination are all eager to crush reason...; yet always assert that they usurp its throne only to be useful. Do you not act a similar part, when you force all women, by denying them civil and political rights, to remain immured in their families groping in the dark?” (Wollstonecraft 6). The Enlightenment was a period of intellectual and social reforms. During this time, new ideas about human rights presented themselves and caused changes in society. One of the newly emerged philosophies was feminism. Many intellectual thinkers began to alter the way women were portrayed and fought for gender equality. Although some Enlightenment thinkers resisted women's rights, the Enlightenment introduced and endorsed feminist ideologies.

John Locke was one philosopher who supported feminism. His writing not only supported Enlightenment ideas, but also that of women. Locke disapproved of the patriarchal society and fought for natural rights for all, supporting the claims of feminists (Taylor 265). Locke is an example of the male support that was present for feminists in the Enlightenment. Mary Astell was a Christian advocate for women’s rights and “was [a] profoundly devout… sexual egalitarian, who often borrowed [her] rhetoric from theology rather than philosophy when advocating the equality of women” (268). Astell not only used philosophies that began during the Enlightenment, but also took advantage of the theological aspect of the Enlightenment to support her views on equality and the rights of women. One of the most outspoken feminist during the Enlightenment was Mary Wollstonecraft. Wollstonecraft spoke of the injustices towards women that were present during the Enlightenment. She fought against the thought that women were useless and unable to think and learn at the same intellectual level as men. Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women and in her writings brought light to the feminist claims. In that book, Wollstonecraft “persuade[d] women to endeavor to acquire strength, both of mind and body” (11). She not only wrote of how men could assist in bringing equality, but provided instruction for women as well. She called for equality, not only for the wellbeing of women, but also wrote how justice could affect others . “There must be more equality established in society, or morality will never gain ground, and this virtuous equality will not rest firmly even when founded on a rock, if one half of mankind be chained to its bottom by fate, for they will be continually undermining it through ignorance or pride” (166). Many of the thinkers during the Enlightenment were