[THE FIRST AND SECOND WAVE OF FEMINISM]

“Waves of feminism” is a term that is undoubtedly familiar to us. According to some historians, the foundations of modern feminism can be found in either the medieval era, with Hildegard of Bingen (1179), or the ancient Greek culture, with Sapo (570 BC). Additionally, Jane Austen (1817) and Mary Wollstonecraft (1797) are considered as the “mothers” of the feminist revolution. Still, the feminist movement’s first significant step was taken in the middle of the nineteenth century. What are the World Feminist Movement’s Phases One and Two about, then?       

                 
Going back in time to the period between the years 1830 - 1840, women’s rights were still mostly stereotyped in the United States, which is known as the “land of democracy”, in which they were prohibited from voting and lived primarily in the kitchen and the bedroom. Even more tragically, ladies had to be “incarcerated” in the house with their children while the overjoyed men were out to vote for their president. Those poor women’s minds appeared to be “confined” within those four walls, filled with numerous problems and concerns. That was the topic that the original feminist movement endeavored to confront.  

The Seneca Falls convention, which was held in 1848 and brought together 300 women to fight for women’s equality under the direction of Elizabeth Canton Stanton and Lucretia Coffin Mott, officially commenced the first wave of feminism. In her “Declaration of Sentiments”, Elizabeth Stanton beautifully quotes: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” When the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ultimately approved in 1920, it can be said that the Seneca Falls Conference in 1848 was the first step taken by women in the more than 70-year-long battle for their own rights. Amendment was finally passed in 1920 and that is when American women received their very first freedom to vote.  

As apparently obvious, the primary focus of the first wave of feminism was on the political rights of women, particularly their capacity to vote. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the important individuals in this wave, as mentioned earlier. She was born in Johnstown, New York in 1815, and her lawyer father started teaching her the fundamentals of the law at a young age. Mrs. Stanton grew up in a prosperous family in Johnstown, and attended Emma Willard Boarding School and Johnstown Academy. When she and her husband, Henry Stanton, an abolitionist lecturer, attended an anti-slavery conference in London, she had a life-changing encounter with another abolitionist fighter, Lucretia Mott whom she quickly connected over their shared dislike of the ban on women attending political gatherings. Eight years later they made a commitment to one another to hold a conference just for women. That is how the Seneca Falls convention began. The “Declaration of Sentiments” was written by Stanton through cleverly tying the word “women” to every right in the “American Declaration of Independence”. The manifesto placed a strong emphasis on the empowerment of women in society and listed 18 grievances, ranging from women’s almost complete lack of control over property and earnings to challenges obtaining guardianship of children after divorce. Even though only 100 out of the 300 participants signed the manifesto, it is nonetheless regarded as an essential piece for later social and legislative developments. Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B.Anthony didn’t stop there. They established the National Women’s Suffrage ( National Woman's Suffrage Association ) and published The Revolution journal as an instrument for resistance. The “Woman’s Bible” and “History of Woman Suffrage” are two of her most known writings. She focused on authoring books toward the end of her life. She passed away in 1902, 18 years before the very first American women received the right to vote, but her contribution to the nearly 70-year-long battle for women’s suffrage will always be cherished.                                          

Thế nhưng, nếu muốn viết một cách bao quát nhất về giai đoạn này thì chúng ta phải đặt nó vào bối cảnh lịch sử của thế giới. Đó là khi một phong trào quan trọng nữa đang diễn ra vào những năm giữa thế kỉ XIX – phong trào bãi nô. Và, Sojourner Truth là nhà hoạt động nữ da màu thành công trong việc kết hợp hai phong trào này. Sinh ra trong gia đình nô lệ, Truth bị bán đi khi mới chỉ mười ba tuổi cho John Neely nhưng cuối cùng bà lại rơi vào tay John Dumont – một chủ nô đặc biệt có thói quen đánh đập nô lệ. Được thả tự do khi Luật chống chế độ nô lệ của New York được ban hành vào năm 1827, bà tham gia vào tổ chức bãi nô Northampton Association of Education (Tổ chức giáo dục Northampton), nơi mà bà bắt đầu sự nghiệp của mình với tư cách là một nhà hoạt động vào năm 1844. Bài phát biểu của bà ở Hội nghị Phụ nữ ở Ohio “Ain’t I a woman” (tạm dịch: “Tôi không phải là phụ nữ sao?”) là bài phát biểu quan trọng nhất trong sự nghiệp của bà cũng như trong lịch sử đấu tranh cho quyền lợi của người phụ nữ, bởi nó đã thể hiện một lối khai thác mới khi lập luận cho quyền được bầu cử. Những bi kịch mà Sojourner Truth đã trải qua khi làm nô lệ – từ việc bị đánh đập, làm việc quần quật ở trên cánh đồng cho đến nỗi đau xót của bà khi thấy cả đàn con của mình bị bán đi đã trở thành minh chứng hùng hồn cho sức mạnh của người phụ nữ, rằng chẳng có lý gì mà người phụ nữ không có quyền được nâng niu hay đối xử nhẹ nhàng. Nếu người phụ nữ có thể chịu đòn roi không kém gì người đàn ông, thì chẳng có lý do gì để cô ấy không xứng đáng nhận quyền bầu cử: “I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well!” Từ những trải nghiệm cá nhân đó của mình, Truth đã đưa ra lập luận không thể chối cãi cho quyền lợi được bầu cử của người phụ nữ và người da màu. Bà mất tại nhà vào năm 1883, thế nhưng bài phát biểu của bà vẫn truyền cảm hứng tới vô vàn những nhà hoạt động về nữ quyền và quyền lợi của người da màu mai sau. 
Following the first wave of feminism is the start of the second, lasting from 1960 to the 1990s. Established during the post-war period - when the mainstream mindset was that women were obliged to stay at home and do housework, this wave sparked the desire to free women from the confines of their homes. They used philosophy and literature to condemn the domestic and public threats women encountered, such as rape, domestic abuse, workplace harassment, and birth rights violation, ect, and bring awareness to the oppression and discrimination they were constantly under. Was it freedom that they craved - the freedom of body, of occupation, of conscience? The second wave spreaded across the globe and received participation from women of all races, even those in the LGBTQ+ community. It had also achieved great success in various aspects: the legislation of birth control pills was passed by the U.S Food and Drug Administration in 1960, women were equipped with more control over birthright, and the usage of credit cards and registration for mortgage loans were permitted. Above all, the second wave had significantly increased women’s awareness of the oppressing social prejudices.       

                                 
The second wave was signified by the appearance of new ideologies and attitudes towards feminism and the value of women. The crucial publication that contributed to the initiation of the wave, as well as set the ground for all future beliefs was “The feminine mystique” from writer and activist Betty Friedan. Betty Friedan was born on February 4th, 1921, in Peoria, Illinois state, in the United States, in a family of Jewish origin. She attended Smith college and was one of the top students with outstanding academic performance. Friedan graduated in 1942 and during a get-together after 15 years of graduation, she gave out a survey to female students, who were now stereotypical housewives, about their level of happiness. The survey’ results implied the high levels of dissatisfaction amongst women despite having acquired all the things the general public deemed that would make them happy. These results became the premise for “The Feminine Mystique” - a book that cleared out the confusion surrounding femininity - that all women needed was a man, children and marriage. The book raised objection towards the current mentality that in order for a woman to be feminine, they shouldn’t work, study or have any political views, and was linked to the dissatisfaction of women with societal and historic cores. It touched the hearts of thousands of U.S women and gradually raised their awareness about the value of women, prompting the rise of the second wave feminist movement, aspiring to break the “mystique” that obstructed women during their process of regaining freedom. Friedan also cofounded and was the President of the National Organisation for Women (NOW) and organized the nationwide Women’s Strike for Equality on August 26th, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution granting women the right to vote, attracting over 50,000 people of both genders. She passed away on December 4th, 2006. The second wave followed the first in the protection of basic rights for women and specifically emphasized the importance of bodily autonomy.  

Each wave of feminism brought different mindsets and each pioneer had their distinct ideal. Supposedly, we can instantly recognize which one is fallacious and old-fashioned and which still holds its value even until today. We may easily criticize those innovators due to their outdated way of thinking, but we should also take into consideration that each women activist strive for a higher purpose of improving the lives of women, giving them the rights to live, to love, to protect themselves. The rights we take for granted in this day and age are the result of ferocious struggle that cost blood, sweat and tears, of countless women before us. 

Author: Tran Ha Phuong . Translators: Nguyen Han, Tra My