Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. In addition, feminism seeks to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist is a "person whose beliefs and behavior are based on feminism."

Feminist theory, which emerged from these feminist movements, aims to understand the nature of gender inequality by examining women's social roles and lived experience; it has developed theories in a variety of disciplines in order to respond to issues such as the social construction of sex and gender. Some of the earlier forms of feminism have been criticized for taking into account only white, middle-class, educated perspectives. This led to the creation of ethnically-specific or multiculturalist forms of feminism.

Feminist activists campaign for women's rights – such as in contract law, property, and voting – while also promoting bodily integrity, autonomy and reproductive rights for women. Feminist campaigns have changed societies, particularly in the West, by achieving women's suffrage, gender neutrality in English, equal pay for women, reproductive rights for women (including access to contraceptives and abortion), and the right to enter into contracts and own property. Feminists have worked to protect women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. They have also advocated for workplace rights, including maternity leave, and against forms of discrimination against women. Feminism is mainly focused on women's issues, but because feminism seeks gender equality, some feminists argue that men's liberation is a necessary part of feminism, and that men are also harmed by sexism and gender roles.

Noun

feminism (countable and uncountable; plural feminisms)

1. A social theory or political movement supporting the equality of both sexes in all aspects of public and private life; specifically, a theory or movement that argues that legal and social restrictions on females must be removed in order to bring about such equality.

Quotations

• 1996, Jan Jindy Pettman, Worlding Women: A feminist international politics, pages ix-x:

  There are by now many feminisms (Tong, 1989; Humm, 1992). Alongside and often overlapping with older-identified distinctions between liberal, socialist, radical and cultural feminisms, for example (important as they are in their different accounts of sexual difference and gender power), are variously named black, third-world ethnic-minority feminisms, themselves far from homogenous.

Honchette and Feminism @ Honchette.com
An informational site about Honchette and Feminism. ... Welcome to Honchette.com! Honchette.com is a highly categorized in-depth informational resource for all terms ...
www.honchette.com

---

Women's Suffrage Information (Women S Suffrage, Vote) @ Honchette.com
Women's Suffrage Information. Includes Women's Suffrage, Women S Suffrage Association, Elections, Women S Suffrage In Germany, Elected and Rights information plus ...
www.honchette.com/women%27s_suffrage/encyclopedia.htm

---

Florence Nightingale Information (Nursing) @ Honchette.com
Florence Nightingale Information. Includes Collected Works of Florence Nightingale, Florence Nightingale the Woman and Florence Nightingale Museum information plus ...
www.honchette.com/florence_nightingale/encyclopedia.htm

---

www.honchette.com
http://www.honchette.com/ http://www.honchette.com/%c4%b0znik/ http://www.honchette.com/abigail_adams/ http://www.honchette.com/abigail_adams/quotes.htm
www.honchette.com/urllist.txt

	New Location:
city:
state/region:
country:

• Anarcha Feminism@ (15)
• Gender Law@ (3)
• Transgendered@ (4)

---

• History (5)
• Humor (2)
• Opposing Views (4)

See also:

• Arts: Movies: Theory and Criticism: Feminist (7)
• Society: People: Women: Issues (489)
• Society: People: Women: Women's Rights (65)
• Society: Philosophy: Feminist Philosophy (16)

• Off Our Backs
  offourbacks.org
  Provides news and information about women's lives, feminist activism, ideas, and theory, the status of women around the world, and women and lesbian culture. Features archived articles.
• Feminist Net
  feminist.net.tripod.com
  Goals, contact information, and links.
• Feminist Parents
  btinternet.com
  Forums about raising children and other issues. Members only.

---

• Usenet alt.feminism - news: - Google Groups
• Usenet soc.feminism - news: - Google Groups