The Evolution of Feminism

2015 Words5 Pages

First wave European feminism sought to fight for women's suffrage and the liberal women's rights movements, while the second wave fought for the empowerment of women and differential rights in society, and third wave currently challenges both second wave feminism and patriarchy through a desire to embrace diversity and an idea of universal womanhood. The principal goals in emerging Ukrainian feminist movements was to reveal the conditions that women in Ukrainian society endured. The Ukrainian society held, and still holds, an emphasis on the political view of national solidarity, this was also prevalent through the feminist movements, and dominated over the solidarity of women . In the Ukraine, an exhibitionist feminist protest group called FEMEN challenges both what is viewed as normative and proper feminist activism, as well as patriarchy through the newly defined sextremism protesting that encourages topless protests. FEMEN is at the forefront of this movement in what they describe as a bid to reclaim women's bodies from patriarchal sexualization.
Desexualizing the female body was one of many goals in second wave European feminism in the early 1970s, made more widespread through the myth of bra burning. Though the feminists did not actually engage in bra burning, they did engage in various protests against the objectification of women in beauty pageants and competitions. By throwing “oppressive” gender artifacts, such as bras, girdles, false eyelashes, high heels, and makeup, into a trash can in front of reporters , American feminist movements sparked the myth that became synonymous with feminist movements from that point on.
One of the more prevalent forms of desexualizing the perceived social views on women, is through the u...

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