[feminist] brief history

There are three "waves" of feminism in the United States:

1st wave: abolition movement, suffrage
1848 Seneca Falls Convention
1869 National Women's Suffrage Association (NWSA) founded
1878 "Anthony Amendment" (women's suffrage) introduced to Congress
1890 National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)-- today the League of Women Voters
1920 the 19th amendment was ratified, giving women the vote
important names: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Sarah M. and Angelina Grimke, Henry Blackwell, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman

2nd wave: 60's  and 70's (academic) push for women's studies in academia
coining of the term: "the personal is political"
1963 Equal Pay Act
1964 Title VII in the Civil Rights Act-- forbidding workplace discrimination
1967 Affirmative Action extended to women
early 1970's creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
1970 first women's studies department was founded at San Diego State University
1972 Title IX of the Education Amendments Act-- equal education, forbid gender discrimination in schools (especially in sports-- this was why I was able to participate in my high school wrestling team)

3rd wave: "contemporary" feminism
today we can define two core principles of feminism, despite the definition of feminism varying from person to person
-- concerns equality and justice for all women; seeks to eliminate systems of inequality and injustice in all aspects of women's lives
-- inclusive, affirming; celebrates women's achievements and struggles; works to provide a positive and affirming view towards women and womanhood

Feminism is personal perspective, political theory, and social movement