To the uninformed, feminism is about women gaining equal rights with men. This is a simplistic way of looking at it but feminism is more complex and profound than just a matter of equality with men. The philosophy of the feminist movement encapsulated the hidden and unexpressed desires of all peoples everywhere for human equality. Yes, feminism is a movement that stands for women’s rights but it does not end at simply claiming equal rights with men. It is a movement which knows that every human being was created equal and pushes for the expression of that certainty in every sphere of life from professional to public life and also in personal life.

A Brief History of Feminism

Although it was not until the late 19^th Century that the terms ‘feminism’ and ‘feminists’ were used, it was a concept that had existed for a very long time. Wherever women’s rights were at the forefront of a struggle, that term could be ascribed to those who were leading the struggle. However, in feminist studies, the term Protofeminism is what is given to these movements that took place before the modern feminist movements.

The modern movements are usually classified into three waves: The first wave feminism; second wave feminism and the third wave feminist movement. For the first wave movement, there had been women who were at the forefront of the argument against the inequalities suffered by women and these women were quite vocal. Women like Mary Wollstonecraft who was an author and thought leader in early 19^th Century Britain.

But it was much later that an organized movement was formed by a group of middle class women. This movement had as its major focus, issues touching on the education and employment of women. They also focused on the marriage laws of the time. Their struggle was personal and the movement was formed in protest to the lack of women’s rights experienced by all. Although they are now referred to as feminist, they did not give themselves that name and it is highly doubtful that they even saw themselves as such. But thanks to their struggle, the rights of women to own property was finally recognized and the Married Women’s Property Act of 1870 was the direct result.

The second wave of feminism refers to the feminist movements that seemed to take place almost, but not quite simultaneously, around the world. During this wave, several feminist movements were taking place in New Zealand, India, the United States and Britain. All around, the call for the protection of women’s rights was being made. It was during this period that feminism got its negative association mostly because there were different divergent thoughts guiding the different movements and even in the US, there was no unity. Lesbian and racial issues were at the forefront of this wave along with issues such as contraceptive health and abortion.

The second wave left a sour taste for a lot of people and to address the inadequacies of that movement, the third wave was born. This was in the 20^th Century and it looked for means of changing the perception of feminism associated with the second wave; that it was a movement of a group of upper middle class, white women. As a result, this wave focused a lot on racial prejudices and work place inequality. It is what is now known as modern feminism and what is popularly practiced by most feminists.

Feminism today is a mixture of all the different waves. It is not a separate movement but an extension of what has gone before. The main focus was, and still is, the protection and propagation of women’s rights wherever they are being trampled upon.