Feminism

== Societal impact ==
{{Main|Feminist effects on society}}
The feminist movement has effected change in Western society, including women's suffrage; greater access to education; more equal payment to men; the right to initiate divorce proceedings; the right of women to make individual decisions regarding pregnancy (including access to contraceptives and abortion); and the right to own property.<ref name="Messer-Davidow"/>

=== Civil rights ===

[[File:CEDAW Participation.svg|thumb|upright=2|Participation in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. {{legend|#00aa00|Signed and ratified}}{{legend|#008000|Acceded or succeeded}}{{legend|#008080|Unrecognized state, abiding by treaty}}{{legend|#eeee00|Only signed}}{{legend|#ff1111|Non-signatory}}]]
From the 1960s on, the campaign for women's rights<ref name="quarterly">{{Cite book |author=Lockwood, Bert B. |title=Women's Rights: A Human Rights Quarterly Reader |year=2006 |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-8374-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/womensrightshuma0000unse }}</ref> was met with mixed results<ref>{{cite web |author-link=Jo Freeman |last=Freeman |first=Jo |url=http://www.jofreeman.com/feminism/suffrage.htm |title=From Suffrage to Women's Liberation: Feminism in Twentieth Century America}}</ref> in the U.S. and the U.K. Other countries of the [[European Economic Community|EEC]] agreed to ensure that discriminatory laws would be phased out across the European Community.

Some feminist campaigning also helped reform attitudes to [[child sexual abuse]]. The view that young girls cause men to have sexual intercourse with them was replaced by that of men's responsibility for their own conduct, the men being adults.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rush |first=Florence |author-link=Florence Rush |year=1988 |title=The Best Kept Secret: Sexual Abuse of Children |publisher=Prentice-Hall |location=Englewood Cliffs |isbn=978-0-07-054223-5}}</ref>

In the U.S., the [[National Organization for Women]] (NOW) began in 1966 to seek women's equality, including through the [[Equal Rights Amendment]] (ERA),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://now.org/about/history/statement-of-purpose/|title=Statement of Purpose |newspaper=National Organization for Women |date=October 29, 1966 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202154147/https://now.org/about/history/statement-of-purpose/ |archive-date= Dec 2, 2023 }}</ref> which did not pass, although [[Equal Rights Amendment#State constitutions|some states enacted their own]]. Reproductive rights in the U.S. centred on the court decision in [[Roe v. Wade|''Roe'' v. ''Wade'']] enunciating a woman's right to choose whether to carry a pregnancy to term.

The [[division of labor|division of labour]] within households was affected by the increased entry of women into workplaces in the 20th century. Sociologist [[Arlie Russell Hochschild]] found that, in two-career couples, men and women, on average, spend about equal amounts of time working, but women still spend more time on housework,<ref name="Hochschild1">{{Cite book |author=Hochschild, Arlie Russell |author2=Machung, Anne |title=The Second Shift |year=2003 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-14-200292-6 }}</ref><ref name="Hochschild2">{{Cite book|author=Hochschild, Arlie Russell |title=The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work |year=2001 |publisher=Henry Holt & Co. |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8050-6643-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/timebind00arli_0 }}</ref> although [[Cathy Young]] responded by arguing that women may prevent equal participation by men in housework and parenting.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.salon.com/2000/06/12/gatekeeping/|title=The Mama Lion at the Gate |access-date=17 December 2015 |work=Salon.com |author=Young, Cathy |author-link=Cathy Young|date=12 June 2000 }}</ref> Judith K. Brown writes, "Women are most likely to make a substantial contribution when subsistence activities have the following characteristics: the participant is not obliged to be far from home; the tasks are relatively monotonous and do not require rapt concentration and the work is not dangerous, can be performed in spite of interruptions, and is easily resumed once interrupted."<ref>{{cite journal | first = Judith K. | last = Brown | title = A Note on the Division of Labor by Sex | date = October 1970 | volume = 72 | issue = 5 | pages = 1073–78 | journal = [[American Anthropologist]] | doi=10.1525/aa.1970.72.5.02a00070| doi-access =  }}</ref>

In international law, the ''[[Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women]]'' (CEDAW) is an international convention adopted by the [[United Nations General Assembly]] and described as an international [[bill of rights]] for women. It came into force in those nations ratifying it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CEDAW.aspx|title=Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women New York, 18 December 1979 |publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|access-date=31 March 2013}}</ref>

=== Jurisprudence ===
{{Main|Feminist legal theory}}

Feminist jurisprudence is a branch of [[jurisprudence]] that examines the relationship between women and law. It addresses questions about the history of legal and social biases against women and about the enhancement of their legal rights.<ref name="blacks">{{cite book |year=2014 |editor-last=Garner |editor-first=Bryan |editor-link=Bryan A. Garner |title=[[Black's Law Dictionary]] |edition=10th |location=St. Paul, Minn. |publisher=Thomson Reuters |page=985 |isbn=978-0-314-61300-4 |quote=Feminist jurisprudence examines&nbsp;... the history of legal and social biases against women, the elimination of those biases in modern law, and the enhancement of women's legal rights and recognition [status] in society.}}</ref>

Feminist jurisprudence signifies a reaction to the [[Philosophy of law|philosophical approach]] of modern [[Law#Legal theory|legal scholars]], who typically see the law as a process for interpreting and perpetuating a society's universal, gender-neutral ideals. Feminist legal scholars claim that this fails to acknowledge women's values or legal interests or the harms that they may anticipate or experience.<ref name="minda">{{cite book |last=Minda |first=Gary |year=1995 |title=Postmodern Legal Movements: Law and Jurisprudence at Century's End |publisher=[[New York University Press|NYU Press]] |location=N.Y.C. |isbn=978-0-8147-5510-5 |pages=129–30 |quote=Feminist legal scholars, despite their differences, appear united in claiming that 'masculine' jurisprudence&nbsp;... fails to acknowledge, let alone respond to, the interests, values, fears, and harms experienced by women.}}</ref>

=== Language ===
{{further|Gender-neutral language in English}}
Proponents of gender-neutral language argue that the use of gender-specific language often implies male superiority or reflects an unequal state of society.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Casey |author-link1=Casey Miller |last2=Swift |first2=Kate |author-link2=Kate Swift |year=1988 |title=The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofnonsex00millrich |url-access=registration |publisher=Harper & Row |location=N.Y.C. |isbn=978-0-06-181602-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofnonsex00millrich/page/45 45], 64, 66}}</ref> According to ''The Handbook of English Linguistics'', generic masculine pronouns and gender-specific job titles are instances "where English linguistic convention has historically treated men as prototypical of the human species."<ref name="handbook linguistics">{{cite book |year=2006 |editor1-last=Aarts |editor1-first=Bas |editor2-last=McMahon |editor2-first=April |title=The Handbook of English Linguistics |location=Malden, Mass. |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-1382-3}}</ref>

[[Merriam-Webster]] chose "feminism" as its 2017 Word of the Year, noting that "Word of the Year is a quantitative measure of interest in a particular word."<ref>{{cite web|title=Word of the Year 2017|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/woty2017-top-looked-up-words-feminism|website=[[Merriam-Webster]]}}</ref>

=== Theology ===
{{see also|Feminist theology|Gender of God|Goddess movement}}
[[File:US Navy 080123-N-3385W-028 Cmdr. Adrienne Simmons, medical provider for Provincial Reconstruction Team Khost and only woman on the team, speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for a women's mosque and park in downtown Khost City.jpg|thumb|Cmdr. Adrienne Simmons speaking at the 2008 ceremony for the only women's mosque in [[Khost|Khost City]], a symbol of progress for growing women's rights in the [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] belt]]
Feminist theology is a movement that reconsiders the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of religions from a feminist perspective. Some of the goals of feminist theology include increasing the role of women among the clergy and religious authorities, reinterpreting male-dominated imagery and language about God, determining women's place in relation to career and motherhood, and studying images of women in the religion's sacred texts.<ref name=Bundesen>{{cite book |author=Bundesen, Lynne |title=The Feminine Spirit: Recapturing the Heart of Scripture |publisher=Jossey-Bass |isbn=978-0-7879-8495-3|date=30 March 2007 }}</ref>

[[Christian feminism]] is a branch of feminist theology which seeks to interpret and understand Christianity in light of the [[Christian egalitarianism|equality]] of [[Women in Christianity|women]] and men, and that this interpretation is necessary for a complete understanding of Christianity. While there is no standard set of beliefs among Christian feminists, most agree that God does not discriminate on the basis of sex, and are involved in issues such as the [[ordination of women]], male dominance and the balance of parenting in [[Christian views on marriage|Christian marriage]], claims of moral deficiency and inferiority of women compared to men, and the overall treatment of women in the church.<ref name=Haddad>{{cite journal |author=Haddad, Mimi |title=Egalitarian Pioneers: Betty Friedan or Catherine Booth? |journal=[[Priscilla Papers]] |volume=20 |issue=4 |date=2006 |url=http://www.cbeinternational.org/sites/default/files/pp204_10ep.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713193304/http://www.cbeinternational.org/sites/default/files/pp204_10ep.pdf |archive-date=13 July 2015 }}</ref><ref name=andeson>{{cite book |author=Anderson, Pamela Sue |author2=Clack, Beverley |title=Feminist Philosophy of Religion: Critical Readings |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-25749-7}}</ref>

[[Islamic feminism|Islamic feminists]] advocate women's rights, gender equality, and [[social justice]] grounded within an Islamic framework. Advocates seek to highlight the deeply rooted teachings of equality in the [[Women in the Quran|Quran]] and encourage a questioning of the patriarchal interpretation of Islamic teaching through the Quran, ''[[hadith]]'' (sayings of [[Muhammad]]), and ''[[Sharia#Women|sharia]]'' (law) towards the creation of a more equal and just society.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/international/Islamic-Feminism-01.html|title=Islamic Feminism: What's in a Name?|author=Badran, Margot |access-date=17 December 2015 |date=17–23 January 2002}}</ref> Although rooted in Islam, the movement's pioneers have also used [[Islam and secularism|secular]] and Western feminist discourses and recognize the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.feminismeislamic.org/eng/index.htm|publisher=feminismeislamic.org |author=Catalonian Islamic Board |title=II International Congress on Islamic Feminism|access-date=9 July 2008 |date=24–27 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070114144940/http://www.feminismeislamic.org/eng/index.htm|archive-date=14 January 2007}}</ref>

[[Buddhist feminism]] is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and [[social status]] of [[Women in Buddhism|women within Buddhism]]. It is an aspect of [[feminist theology]] which seeks to advance and understand the equality of men and women morally, socially, spiritually, and in leadership from a Buddhist perspective. The Buddhist feminist [[Rita Gross]] describes Buddhist feminism as "the radical practice of the co-humanity of women and men".<ref>{{cite book |title= Buddhism After Patriarchy: A Feminist History, Analysis, and Reconstruction of Buddhism|last= Gross|first= Rita M.|year= 1992|publisher= [[State University of New York Press]]|location= Albany, New York|isbn= 978-0-7914-1403-3|page= [https://archive.org/details/buddhismafterpat00gros/page/127 127]|access-date=7 October 2012 |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhismafterpat00gros |url-access= registration}}</ref>

[[Jewish feminism]] is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and social status of [[Women in Judaism|women]] within Judaism and to open up new opportunities for religious experience and leadership for Jewish women. The main issues for early Jewish feminists in these movements were the exclusion from the all-male prayer group or ''[[minyan]]'', the exemption from positive time-bound ''[[Mitzvah|mitzvot]]'', and women's inability to function as witnesses and to initiate [[Jewish view of marriage#Divorce|divorce]].<ref name=Plaskow1997>{{cite book |author=Plaskow, Judith |editor=Frank, Daniel H. |others=Leaman, Oliver |title=History of Jewish Philosophy |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-32469-4 |chapter=Jewish Feminist Thought}}</ref> Many Jewish women have become leaders of feminist movements throughout their history.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The Forward]]|title= Why are there so many Jewish feminists? |author= Marjorie Ingall |url= http://forward.com/articles/2305/why-are-there-so-many-jewish-feminists/ |date= 18 November 2005 |access-date= 31 May 2015}}</ref>

[[Dianic Wicca]] is a feminist-centred [[thealogy]].<ref>Wisdom's Feast: Sophia in Study and Celebration, p. 9, Susan Cole, Marian Ronan, Hal Taussig. 1996</ref>

Secular or [[atheist feminism|atheist feminists]] have engaged in feminist criticism of religion, arguing that many religions have oppressive rules towards women and [[misogynistic]] themes and elements in religious texts.<ref>Gaylor, Annie Laurie, ''Woe to the Women: The Bible Tells Me So'', Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. (1 July 1981) {{ISBN|1-877733-02-4}}</ref><ref>Ali, Ayaan Hirsi ''The Caged Virgin: A Muslim Woman's Cry for Reason'', Free Press 2004, {{ISBN|978-0-7432-8833-0}}</ref><ref>Miles, Rosalind, ''Who cooked the Last Supper?'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2001, {{ISBN|0-609-80695-5}}</ref>

=== Patriarchy ===
{{main|Patriarchy}}
[[File:"Female Muslims- The tsar, beys and khans took your rights away" – Azeri, Baku, 1921 (Mardjani).jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|"Female Muslims- The tsar, beys and khans took your rights away" – Soviet poster issued in [[Azerbaijan]], 1921]]
Patriarchy is a social system in which society is organized around male authority figures. In this system, fathers have authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege and is dependent on female subordination.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Encyclopedia of sex and gender |year=2007 |publisher=Macmillan Reference |location=Detroit, Mich.}}</ref> Most forms of feminism characterize patriarchy as an unjust social system that is oppressive to women. [[Carole Pateman]] argues that the patriarchal distinction "between masculinity and femininity is the political difference between freedom and subjection."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pateman|first=Carole|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJM6AwAAQBAJ|title=The Sexual Contract|date=25 March 2014|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-7456-8035-4|location=|pages=207}}</ref> In [[feminist theory]] the concept of patriarchy often includes all the social mechanisms that reproduce and exert male dominance over women. Feminist theory typically characterizes patriarchy as a social construction, which can be overcome by revealing and critically analyzing its manifestations.<ref>{{cite book|author=Tickner, Ann J.|chapter=Patriarchy|title=Routledge Encyclopedia of International Political Economy: Entries PZ|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2001|isbn=978-0-415-24352-0|pages=1197–98|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lSmU3aXWIAYC&pg=PA1197}}</ref> Some radical feminists have proposed that because patriarchy is too deeply rooted in society, separatism is the only viable solution.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hoagland|first=Sarah Lucia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ljaGAAAAIAAJ|title=Lesbian Ethics: Toward New Value|date=1988|publisher=Institute of Lesbian Studies|isbn=978-0-934903-03-5}}</ref> Other feminists have criticized these views as being anti-men.<ref>Friedan, Betty. The Second Stage: With a New Introduction. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Univ. Press, 1981 1986 1991 1998, 1st Harvard Univ. Press pbk. ed. ({{ISBN|0-674-79655-1}}) 1998.</ref><ref>Bullough, Vern L. Human sexuality: an encyclopedia, Taylor & Francis, 1994, {{ISBN|0-8240-7972-8}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Echols|1989|loc=p.&nbsp;78 & n.&nbsp;124 ("124. Interview with Cindy Cisler".) and see p.&nbsp;119}}</ref>

=== Men and masculinity ===
{{main|Men and feminism}}
Feminist theory has explored the social construction of masculinity and its implications for the goal of gender equality. The social construct of masculinity is seen by feminism as problematic because it associates males with aggression and competition, and reinforces patriarchal and unequal gender relations.<ref name="Faludi" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Tong |first=Rosemarie Putnam |title=Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction |location=Boulder, Colo. |publisher=Westview Press |edition=2nd |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-8133-3295-6 |page=70}}</ref> Patriarchal cultures are criticized for "limiting forms of masculinity" available to men and thus narrowing their life choices.<ref name="Gardiner">{{cite book |last1=Gardiner |first1=Judith Kegan |title=Masculinity Studies and Feminist Theory |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-231-12278-8 |pages =96, 153}}</ref> Some feminists are engaged with men's issues activism, such as bringing attention to male rape and spousal battery and addressing negative social expectations for men.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Uviller | first1 = Rena K. | year = 1978 | title = Fathers' Rights and Feminism: The Maternal Presumption Revisited | journal = [[Harvard Journal of Law & Gender|Harvard Women's Law Journal]] | page = 107 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Shanley |first=Mary |date=January 1995 |title=Unwed fathers' rights, adoption, and sex equality: Gender-neutrality and the perpetuation of patriarchy |jstor=1123127 |journal=[[Columbia Law Review]] |volume=95 |issue=1 |pages=60–103 |doi=10.2307/1123127}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Levit |first=Nancy |title=Feminism for Men: Legal Ideology and the Construction of Maleness |journal=[[UCLA Law Review]] |volume=43 |number=4 |year=1996 |ssrn=1297365}}</ref>

Male participation in feminism is generally encouraged by feminists and is seen as an important strategy for achieving full societal commitment to gender equality.<ref name="hooks" /><ref>Digby, Tom (1998). Men Doing Feminism. New York: Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-91625-7}}.</ref><ref>Phillips, Layli, ''The Womanist reader'', CRC Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-415-95411-8}}</ref> Many male feminists and [[Pro-feminism|pro-feminists]] are active in both women's rights activism, feminist theory, and masculinity studies. However, some argue that while male engagement with feminism is necessary, it is problematic because of the ingrained social influences of patriarchy in gender relations.<ref>Jardine, Alice, Paul Smith, ''Men in feminism '', {{ISBN|0-415-90251-7}}</ref> The consensus today in feminist and masculinity theories is that men and women should cooperate to achieve the larger goals of feminism.<ref name="Gardiner" /> It has been proposed that, in large part, this can be achieved through considerations of women's [[Agency (sociology)|agency]].<ref name=coerced_parenthood />
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