Feminist Meaning: What Feminism Is and How the Word Is Used

Feminist meaning and the feminism definition

At its simplest, to define feminism is to describe a belief that women should have the same rights, chances and respect as men, and the effort to make that true in law and daily life. The word covers three things at once:

1. A belief: that the sexes should be equal in rights and opportunities.
2. A set of movements: organized campaigns, past and present, for things like voting rights, equal pay and protection from violence.
3. A field of study: scholarship that looks at how gender shapes history, work, family and culture.

So what does feminist mean as an adjective? It describes things linked to these ideas: a feminist writer, feminist history, a feminist reading of a novel.

How the word came into English

English borrowed feminism from French féminisme. In the mid nineteenth century the English word first meant simply "the qualities of females". The modern sense, advocacy of women's rights, dates from the 1890s in English records, and feminist in the matching sense appeared around the same time. Before that, campaigners more often spoke of "the woman question" or "women's rights".

The waves: a short history

Historians often describe the movement in waves. The picture is simplified, and many countries had their own timelines, but it helps beginners.

• First wave (nineteenth and early twentieth centuries): property rights, education, and above all suffrage, the right to vote.
• Second wave (1960s and 1970s): equality at work, in the family and in law, along with reproductive rights.
• Third wave (from the 1990s): greater attention to differences among women, such as race, class and culture.
• A fourth wave is sometimes named for campaigning that grew online in the early twenty-first century, often about harassment and violence.

In India, the United States and elsewhere, campaigns for girls' schooling, inheritance rights and safety at work all form part of this broader story.

Different schools of thought

Feminists do not all agree with each other. Common branches include:

These groups can disagree sharply on topics such as sex work, gender identity and the role of the state.

Arguments over the word

Supporters say feminism simply means equality and point to gaps they see in pay, safety, political representation or unpaid care work. Critics hold a range of views. Some feel the main legal goals have been met in their country. Some argue that parts of the movement overlook problems men face, or promote ideas they find extreme. Others support equal rights but avoid the word because of what it has come to suggest to them. Debates also happen inside feminism, about priorities and methods. Readers will meet all of these positions, and the word alone does not tell you which view a speaker holds.

Opposite of feminist and words often confused

There is no single agreed opposite of feminist. The closest direct opposite is antifeminist, a person or idea opposed to feminism. Some other words are often wrongly treated as opposites:

• Misogyny means hatred of or deep prejudice against women. It is not the same as disagreeing with feminism.
• Patriarchy is a social system where men hold most power; it is a concept feminists study, not a person's view.
• A chauvinist, or male chauvinist, is someone who believes men are superior to women.
• Egalitarian describes belief in equality for everyone, and some people prefer it to the word feminist.

Examples in sentences

• The library is hosting a talk on early feminist writers of the nineteenth century.
• My grandfather calls himself a feminist because he believes his daughters deserved the same chances as his sons.
• Her thesis offers a feminist reading of folk tales.
• The two panelists both supported equal pay but disagreed about whether feminism is the right word for their views.