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Four Waves of Feminism By: Anusha Natarajan
The fight for gender equality and suffrage has been long embedded in our society for centuries to come. Feminism has continued to evolve throughout time based on the events defining society at that time. The feminism movement occurs in four waves, and will be detailed below about how these waves have opened up more advocacy opportunities. The movement has also strengthened the passion amongst women around the world. First Wave The first wave of feminism is central to women’s suffrage. This wave was started in the late nineteenth century and ended in the early twentieth century. The Seneca Falls Convention in the northern region of the United States began when a group of women’s rights activists and abolitionists came together to protest the right for women to vote. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the prominent names that powered this wave because of her organization of the convention and strong efforts to ensure female equality within the work place, the home, and more.
"We hold these truths to be selfevident: that men and women must be equal" - Cady B. Stanton Shortly after the end of the Civil War, organizations such as the National Women Suffrage Association (NWSA) and American Women Suffrage Association (AWSA), were formed to advocate the right to vote for women. With the efforts of these organizations, Wyoming (a territory at that time) gave women the right to vote in 1869, becoming the first state to do so. In the 1870s, women’s temperance began to gain more prominence. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) did not support the purchase and consumption of alcohol. At that time, alcohol was viewed as a deterrent for women to be a positive influence on society. Women were still known to be the loving mothers and caretakers of the family.
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