A

PROJECT
ON
“FIRST WAVE OF
FEMINISM”

SUBJECT: SOCIOLOGY

PANJAB UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

DR. NAVNEET ANMOL PARTAP SINGH
PROFESSOR, UILS B.A.L.L.B 2nd YEAR
PANJAB UNIVERSITY 3rd SEMESTER
SECTION-A
ROLL NO- 10
 ACKNOWLEGDEMENT

I would like to express my warm gratitude towards

almighty that provided me such a fortunate
opportunity to study this respective course in UILS,
PU. I would like to thank my professor,
Navneet ma'am, who guided me to make this
project report on such a knowledgeable topic.
Secondly, I would thank my parents who provided
me with the resources required to complete this
project report I will also thank my sibling and
friends who helped me in completing the project on
time.

ANMOL PARTAP
SINGH
B.A.L.LB 2nd YEAR
3rd SEMESTER
ROLL NO. 10
 CONTENTS

1.Introduction:

(i) Meaning of Feminism

2.What led to the rise of the 1st

wave of feminism?

3.Conclusion

4.Bibliography
 Feminism

Meaning:

Feminism is a belief, ideology which advocates for social,

economic and political equality for both sexes. Any person who
advocates for the rights of women is a feminist. A simple meaning
of term feminism is “looking at the world from women’s point of
view”.

Feminists

Feminism is an ideology, philosophy, an attitude of mind, a way of

looking at anything. Feminism is mainly concerned with women’s
inferior position in society and with discrimination encountered by
women because of their sex. Hence, all feminists call for change in
social, cultural, religious, political and economic fields.

Feminism owes its origination to the west. It started with women’s

demand of legal rights (right to vote, right to property, and right to
contract) and has come up with the protests of the women
demanding equal pay as their male counterparts. Feminists have not
only protested for the equality and rights of women but they have
also strengthened the movements demanding rights for LGBT
community and other communities whose voices were suppressed
in the society.

Feminism is not a novel concept, it has always existed. Its existence

was seen in the ancient Greek as well. Plato in his classic Republic,
advocated the provision of equal rights of women. The feminist
ideology has evolved through various struggles, movements and
conventions.

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton: “I would have girls regard themselves

not as adjectives but as nouns.”

• Alice Paul: “Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.”

Feminism is divided majorly into four waves. The first wave

feminism concerned itself with demand of property rights, contract
rights and right to vote. The second wave dealt with equality and
anti-discrimination. While, the third wave was actually a backlash
to the second wave, which restricted itself to the white and straight
women. It was an expansion to the second wave and spread to other
parts as well. The fourth concerned itself with the issues of sexual
harassment, rape culture and body shaming.

The Growth & Development of Feminism can be studied by the

various waves of feminism which have occurred during different
time periods.
 First Wave of Feminism (Right to Vote):

• Time: In early 19th and 20th century in United States.

• Background: At that time women were confined to the
household work and did not have any control.
• Politics & business were completely dominated by powerful men
who didn’t consider women capable enough to be a threat.
• Unmarried women were considered as property of their father
and married women that of their husband.
• Women didn’t have ability to file a divorce or be granted custody
of their children.
• Women had no right to vote, right to study and right to
participate in public life.

What led to the rise of 1st wave of feminism?

The first wave of feminism generally refers to the nineteenth and

early twentieth century in the western world. This phase revolved
largely around gaining basic legal rights for women that today we
cannot imagine reality without. Politics and business were
completely dominated by powerful men who didn’t consider
women capable enough to be a threat.
Women were confined to their households and didn’t retain any
control there as well. Unmarried women were seen as the property
of their fathers, and married women the property of their husbands.
They didn’t have the ability to file for divorce or be granted custody
of their children. Marital rape as a concept was unheard of because
it would require treating women as individuals with the power to
make their own choices. Women who did work held low positions
such as secretaries and worked largely in factories managed and
controlled by men. As they had no right to vote in elections, calling
them second-class citizens was an understatement.

In medieval Europe, women were denied the right to vote, right to

property, right to contract, right to study and right to participate in
public life. In France, women were supposed to cover their heads
in public and in most of the parts of Europe, women were at the
mercy of men and could be sold by him according to his
convenience. For a very long time, the women in USA were not
given the right of suffrage. Married women had no right over their
children and were required to seek the permission from their
husbands. They could not run a business without their husbands,
brother or some other male representative.

The first wave was connected with the abolitionist movement in

the USA at the time. Both the movements aimed at social
reformation and liberation from oppression. The former from the
patriarchy and the latter from racial bias.
The wave is often demarcated as officially beginning with signing
the ‘Declaration of Sentiments’ at Seneca Falls convention, the
1st ever women’s rights convention. Signed by 300 people on 19,20
July, 1848. The convention was created when Elizabeth Cady
Stanton and Lucretia Mott were denied seating at the 1840 World
Anti-Slavery Convention in London. Many abolitionists were also
feminists and thus the anti-slavery movement fuelled the first wave
and vice versa. This declaration gave rise to the suffrage movement.

In the suffrage movement, right of women to vote became the goal

of the movement with the formation of American Equal Rights
Association in 1866.

Later many other associations were set up like National Woman

Suffrage Association (NWSA). Due to their methods of
association, the associations merged into National American
Suffrage Association (NAWSA).

In 1869, Wyoming became the 1st State to grant voting right to

women. In 1916, National Women’s Party (NWP) was formed by
young feminist Alice Paul by breaking from NAWSA for the aim
to achieve the constitutional amendment. Alice Paul’s party
demonstrated outside the White House; the members of the party
were arrested. This hunger strike by Alice Paul was done during the
time of the WWI.

A successful 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution

was made which gave right to vote to women. But this right was
given only to white women. Black women were marginalised &
their role was not recognised. Women of colour were still
practically disenfranchised, and the victory was only for white
women. Black women were stopped from exercising their right to
vote through tedious disenfranchisement tactics, facing bodily harm
and even arrest. Members saw the support of black women as a
liability, which was a hindrance to their cause. Due to widespread
racism, especially in the southern states, white women were afraid
of letting black women gain political power. With this increase in
exclusion, black women formed separate organizations to work
towards black suffrage.

Another group whose contributions are ignored is the Asian

community in the US at the time.

Foreign-born Asians were not allowed to become US citizens,

irrespective of how long they had resided in the US, and thus
couldn’t vote. This didn’t mean that there were no contributions by
Asians in the first wave.
 Conclusion:

In the 1st Wave of Feminism, politics and business were completely

dominated by powerful men who didn’t consider women capable
enough to be a threat. Women were confined to their households
and didn’t retain any control there as well. Unmarried women were
seen as the property of their fathers, and married women the
property of their husbands. The 1st Wave resulted in successful 19th
Amendment to the United States Constitution which gave right to
vote to women, but this right was given only to white women &
lacked inclusivity.
While the first wave lacked inclusivity, it gave the world some of
the fiercest and most dedicated feminists who inspired the women
around and after them. The first wave of feminism set the stage for
the second, which had a more expansive purview and extended the
struggle for equality to other sections of society. It’s white-centric
nature led to the extreme marginalization of black women in the
feminist movement, a problem that arose again years later in the
second wave.

As feminism became more fleshed out and developed as a concept,

feminists often took the achievements of the first wave for granted.
1st wave feminists were viewed as stuffy and part of a narrow-
minded older generation. Despite its faults, the first wave laid the
groundwork for future feminists and played a vital role in giving
women basic legal rights.
 Bibliography

Websites:

• What is Feminism, available at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism#:~:text=Feminism%20i
s%20a%20range%20of,treated%20unjustly%20in%20these%20
societies. (last visited on Oct 25, 2022)

• Feminism: The First Wave, available at

https://www.womenshistory.org/exhibits/feminism-first-wave-0
(last visited on Oct 25, 2022)

• A Brief Summary of The First Wave of Feminism, Tara Anand,

2018; https://feminisminindia.com/2018/04/24/summary-first-
wave-of-feminism/ (last visited on Oct 26, 2022)

Research Paper:

• Krolokke, Charlotte and Anne Scott Sorenson, “Three Waves of

Feminism: From Suffragettes to Grrls.” In Contemporary
Gender Communication Theories & Analyses: From Silence to
Performance (Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publication,
2005) 1-23