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The Feminism Portal

Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern societies are patriarchal—they prioritize the male point of view—and that women are treated unjustly in these societies. Efforts to change this include fighting against gender stereotypes and improving educational, professional, and interpersonal opportunities and outcomes for women.

Originating in late 18th-century Europe, feminist movements have campaigned and continue to campaign for women's rights, including the right to vote, run for public office, work, earn equal pay, own property, receive education, enter into contracts, have equal rights within marriage, and maternity leave. Feminists have also worked to ensure access to contraception, legal abortions, and social integration; and to protect women and girls from sexual assault, sexual harassment, and domestic violence. Changes in female dress standards and acceptable physical activities for women have also been part of feminist movements.

Many scholars consider feminist campaigns to be a main force behind major historical societal changes for women's rights, particularly in the West, where they are near-universally credited with achieving women's suffrage, gender-neutral language, reproductive rights for women (including access to contraceptives and abortion), and the right to enter into contracts and own property. Although feminist advocacy is, and has been, mainly focused on women's rights, some argue for the inclusion of men's liberation within its aims, because they believe that men are also harmed by traditional gender roles. Feminist theory, which emerged from feminist movements, aims to understand the nature of gender inequality by examining women's social roles and lived experiences. Feminist theorists have developed theories in a variety of disciplines in order to respond to issues concerning gender.

Numerous feminist movements and ideologies have developed over the years, representing different viewpoints and political aims. Traditionally, since the 19th century, first-wave liberal feminism, which sought political and legal equality through reforms within a liberal democratic framework, was contrasted with labour-based proletarian women's movements that over time developed into socialist and Marxist feminism based on class struggle theory. Since the 1960s, both of these traditions are also contrasted with the radical feminism that arose from the radical wing of second-wave feminism and that calls for a radical reordering of society to eliminate patriarchy. Liberal, socialist, and radical feminism are sometimes referred to as the "Big Three" schools of feminist thought.

Since the late 20th century, many newer forms of feminism have emerged. Some forms, such as white feminism and gender-critical feminism, have been criticized as taking into account only white, middle class, college-educated, heterosexual, or cisgender perspectives. These criticisms have led to the creation of ethnically specific or multicultural forms of feminism, such as black feminism and intersectional feminism. Some have argued that feminism often promotes misandry and the elevation of women's interests above men's, and criticize radical feminist positions as harmful to both men and women. (Full article...)

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the 1969 autobiography about the early years of writer and activist Maya Angelou. The first in a six-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how strength of character and a love of literature can help overcome racism and trauma. In the course of Caged Bird, Maya transforms from a victim of racism with an inferiority complex into a self-possessed, dignified young woman capable of responding to racism. Because Angelou uses thematic development and other techniques common to fiction, reviewers often categorize Caged Bird as autobiographical fiction, but the prevailing critical view characterizes it as an autobiography, a genre she attempts to critique, change, and expand. The book covers topics common to autobiographies written by black American women in the years following the civil rights movement: a celebration of black motherhood; a critique of racism; the importance of family; and the quest for independence, personal dignity, and self-definition. Angelou uses her autobiography to explore subjects such as identity, rape, racism, and literacy. She also writes in new ways about women's lives in a male-dominated society. Caged Bird has been used in educational settings from high schools to universities, and the book has been celebrated for creating new literary avenues for the American memoir. However, the book's graphic depiction of childhood rape, racism, and sexuality have caused it to be challenged or banned in some schools and libraries.

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Credit: Bain News Service

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands with her daughter and successor Princess Juliana, circa 1914. Wilhelmina was queen regnant from 1890 to 1948, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Outside the Netherlands she is primarily remembered for her role in the Second World War, in which she proved to be a great inspiration to the Dutch resistance, as well as a prominent leader of the Dutch government in exile. Juliana became queen regnant in 1948 after her mother's abdication and ruled until her own abdication in 1980, succeeded by her daughter, Beatrix.

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In this month

May 1892 – Publication of "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (pictured), a prominent American writer, and utopian feminist who argued for women's economic independence in Women and Economics
16 May 1929 – Birth of Adrienne Rich, award-winning lesbian American poet and feminist
20 May 1806 – Birth of John Stuart Mill, British philosopher whose essay The Subjection of Women argued for the equality of women
21 May 1970 – First Women's studies program established in the United States at San Diego State College after a year of intense consciousness raising, rallies, petitions, and unofficial classes
24 May 1990 – Judi Bari Day, honoring the American ecofeminist and labor leader who worked to protect the redwood forests of Northern California

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[Feminism is] about women having intrinsic value as persons rather than contingent value as a means to an end for others: fetuses, children, the "family", men.

— Katha Pollitt

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Aspasia was a renowned woman of ancient Greece, famous for her romantic involvement with the Athenian statesman Pericles. She was born in the city of Miletus in Asia Minor, but at some point she travelled to Athens, where she spent the rest of her life. After Pericles' death, she was allegedly involved with Lysicles, another Athenian statesman and general. She had a son with Pericles, Pericles the Younger, who was elected general and was executed after the Battle of Arginusae. Aspasia appears in the philosophical writings of Plato and other philosophers and is regarded by modern scholars as an exceptional person who distinguished herself due to her political influence and intellectual charisma. However, almost nothing is certain about her life. While ancient writers report that Aspasia was a brothel keeper and a harlot, many of these were comic poets who intended to ridicule Pericles and the war rather than document anything factual about Aspasia, and their accounts are disputed. Some researchers question even the assessment that she was a hetaera, or courtesan.

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Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that Margareth Rago seeks to establish a methodology for what she calls "feminist science"?
... that after dying in her daughter's arms in an asylum in 1897, Maria Trubnikova was remembered as the "heart and soul" of feminist activism in Russia?

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... that the novels of Jane Austen (pictured) became popular with the public only after the publication of A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1869?
... that feminist Jo Freeman was moved from Mississippi by the SCLC in 1966 after the Jackson Daily News published her photo and denounced her as a professional agitator?
... that Anna Borkowska, the mother superior of a Polish convent of Dominican Sisters in World War II, was the first to smuggle in grenades for the Vilnius Jewish ghetto insurgents?

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The following are images from various feminism-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Frances Cobbe (from History of feminism)
Image 2Betty Friedan 1960 (from History of feminism)
Image 3Yellow mimosa is the symbol of IWD in Italy as well as in Russia, Ukraine and many other ex-Soviet Union republics (from International Women's Day)
Image 4Elizabeth Cady Stanton (seated) and Susan B. Anthony (from History of feminism)
Image 5
  Official holiday
  Holiday for women
  Non-official holiday
(from International Women's Day)
Image 6Board of directors of "Jam'iat e nesvan e vatan-khah", a women's rights association in Tehran (1923–1933) (from History of feminism)
Image 7Emily Davison (from History of feminism)
Image 8Matilda Joslyn Gage (from History of feminism)
Image 9The Nineteenth Amendment (from History of feminism)
Image 10Catharine MacKinnon (from History of feminism)
Image 11Camilla Collett (from History of feminism)
Image 12Sylvia Pankhurst (from History of feminism)
Image 13John Neal (from History of feminism)
Image 14Female members of the Australian Builders Labourers Federation march on International Women's Day 1975 in Sydney (from International Women's Day)
Image 15Author and scholar Helen Kendrick Johnson opposed women's suffrage. (from History of feminism)
Image 16Wealthy Chinese women with bound feet (Beijing, 1900). Foot binding was a symbol of women's oppression during the reform movements in the 19th and 20th centuries. (from History of feminism)
Image 17First edition print of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (from History of feminism)
Image 18Nellie McClung (from History of feminism)
Image 19Women on the street celebrating International Women's Day in Cameroon (from International Women's Day)
Image 20Lucy Stone (from History of feminism)
Image 218M 2018 in Pamplona (from International Women's Day)
Image 228M 2019 in Spain (from International Women's Day)
Image 238M 2020 in Spain (from International Women's Day)
Image 24Margaret Sanger (from History of feminism)
Image 25Cover of WSPU's The Suffragette, April 25, 1913 (after Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, 1830) (from History of feminism)
Image 26Clara Zetkin (left) and Rosa Luxemburg (right) in January 1910 (from International Women's Day)
Image 27Ida B. Wells (from History of feminism)
Image 28Huda Shaarawi, founder of the Egyptian Feminist Union (from History of feminism)
Image 29Simone de Beauvoir (from History of feminism)
Image 30Marie Stopes (from History of feminism)
Image 31Germaine Greer in June 1972 (from History of feminism)
Image 32Women's Liberation march in Washington, D.C., 1970 (from History of feminism)
Image 33Suffrage parade in New York, May 6, 1912 (from History of feminism)
Image 34Christine de Pizan presents her book to Queen Isabeau of Bavaria. (from History of feminism)
Image 35Florence Nightingale (from History of feminism)
Image 36Irena Krzywicka (from History of feminism)
Image 37Gloria Steinem at news conference, Women's Action Alliance, January 12, 1972 (from History of feminism)
Image 38Bessie Rayner Parkes (from History of feminism)
Image 39bell hooks (from History of feminism)

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Feminism}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

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Alice Manfield - Guide Alice, Mt Buffalo, c1900-30, SLV
Alice Park - Records of the National Woman's Party
Alice Paul (1915) by Harris & Ewing
Angela Davis in a half-length portrait by Bernard Gotfryd - crop
Anne Dallas Dudley LOC
Avril de Sainte-Croix - Restored, cropped
Bertha Lutz 1925
Cabinet Card of Sojourner Truth - Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Convicts Lunatics and Women! Have No Vote for Parliament, ca. 1907-1918
Dr. Caroline Spencer 275029v
Ethel Smyth
Frances Benjamin Johnston, Self-Portrait (as "New Woman"), 1896
Fredrikke Mørck
George Charles Beresford - Virginia Woolf in 1902 - Restoration
Henrietta Rodman from the George Grantham Bain Collection
Henry Mayer, The Awakening, 1915 Cornell CUL PJM 1176 01 - Restoration
Hester Jeffrey
Hubertine Auclert 1910
Iris Calderhead
Joy Young Rogers outside the White House
Lucretia Mott, signed photo, by F. Gutekunst
Mabel Vernon, c. 1917, by Edmonston, Washington, D.C.
Marguerite Durand 1910 - Restoration
Marie Stopes in her laboratory, 1904 - Restoration
Mary Garrity - Ida B. Wells-Barnett - Google Art Project - restoration crop
Millicent Fawcett
Mrs. Crystal Eastman Benedict by Edmonston, Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Lillian Ascough, chairman of the Connecticut branch of the Woman's Party
Mrs. Pauline Adams 147002v
Portrett av Gina Krog (6276081582) - Restoration
Poster by Anna Soós Korànyi for the Seventh Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance
Ray Strachey restored
Sojourner Truth, 1870 (cropped, restored)
Victoria Claflin Woodhull by Mathew Brady - Oval Portrait
Voltairine de Cleyre (Age 35)
We Can Do It! NARA 535413 - Restoration 2