“Feminism” and “Feminist”  are  probably  words  you’ve  heard before. But do you  know  the meaning and message behind  them?  Everyone has their own idea  or opinion  on  Feminism. Some  think that Feminism focuses on the empowerment of women, while others think Feminism stands for  equality with the focus on the women's side.  But in fact,  Feminism stands for equality between sexes, men, women, transgender, everyone. Did you know for instance,  that  women  in the United States were not able to obtain their own credit card prior to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974?  Strange, right?  I will enlighten you more with facts like this further in the article.     

The actual meaning of Feminism

At its core, Feminism is the collective name for social and political movements that question the equality between men and women and to break gender stereotypes. In addition to this, Feminism is a belief in full social, economic, and political equality of the sexes. This doesn’t mean  Feminism wants  women  to have more power than  men. Their only goal is to be equal. No judgment, no limits, no disadvantages.      

History of Feminism

It all began, in the 3rd  century  before the common era, at least this  was  the first-time Feminist movements appeared in history books.  Roman women filled the Capitoline Hill and blocked every entrance  in rebelling against consul Marcus Porcius Cato. He  resisted attempts to repeal laws limiting woman’s use of expensive goods.  It was a great  movement, but  unfortunately,  it didn’t  have any impact at that time.  But it did inspire other women to stand up for their rights and beliefs.  For example,  Emmeline Pankhurst became famous for her strong opinions and  deeds in the name of equal  treatment of women  in 1914, the United Kingdom.  She inspired women  like  Wilhelmina Drucker, Marie Popelin, Emilie Claeys, and Nellie van  Kol  to do the same in their countries. These women  are seen as  the “power women” who established the emancipation movement, Feminism.     

Nowadays

Nowadays, the equality between sexes has changed a lot in comparison  to the past.  Feminists can be proud of everything we accomplished.  This  doesn’t mean Feminists are done  with  fighting  for their rights and beliefs.  At the end of the nineteens, Feminists  started  focusing  mainly on issues such as abortion,  (un)paid labor, and sexual violence.  So, as you can see Feminists  are not done yet.  There  is still  a lot  they want  to improve in society.  

I would love to  tell  you more about Feminism, that’s why there will be a series on this topic.  In the future, I will go more in-depth on the current  issues  Feminism is approaching and  present you with more fun  facts you probably didn’t know about.  But for now, you can follow the Instagram page @feminist if you would like to see more content and information on Feminism.  It will help you educate  and maybe inspire you  about Feminism and the  current issues in  society  nowadays.