By Madeline Baugh
In the past 150 or so years, I think we can all agree that the feminist movement has done so much to help women all around the world. From women gaining the right to vote, to gaining more independence over the decades, many big steps have been taken to ensure the liberty of women. But just how far have we come? Is it really a perfect world for women to live in today’s age? And how far do we have to go?
Its roots can be traced back to The Women’s Social and Political Movement (WSPU) being founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst, with the women’s suffrage movement already existing for many years before. The core reason for this movement was to fight for a woman’s right to vote. Pankhurst believed that more action was needed to be taken in order to give women that right. The Suffragettes most notably lobbied, marched, and practised civil disobedience in order to get their voices heard.
One of the most famous suffragettes is Emily Wilding Davison, who continuously fought for women’s rights throughout her life. During the Epsom Derby in 1913, Davison attempted to attach suffragette flags to the King’s horse, but while doing so was struck and trampled and unfortunately passed away, becoming a martyr for feminists everywhere. Her impact went further than she could imagine, and I wish she could see the impact she had on the world and that she didn’t die in vain, especially as I’m writing this in a building named after her.
The main problem I have with this movement was that it only advocated for the rights for white, upper-class women which excludes the representation of so many. While the suffragette movement did help to eventually give women the ability to vote in 1918, did they fight for every woman’s right to vote? Young women, working class women and women of colour had to wait another 10 years to vote when the Representation of the People act was eventually passed in 1928. It is notable that a majority of the faces that represented the suffragette movement were white. Why is suffragette history whitewashed when women of colour fought for their right to vote just as much as white women? Feminism still had a long way to go in terms of diversity and intersectionality.
So, how far have we come since then? I believe the feminist movement has changed a lot since then. Modern day feminism doesn’t just fight for the rights of rich, straight, white women; it is the most diverse it has ever been. Not only do we now have the power to vote, but we are now able to take complete control over our lives. We are able to have an education and opt for a career path that would usually be considered male dominated. We can marry who we want without it being pre arranged, and even divorce them. However, there are also places in the world where women do not have the same rights as women in western civilisation. But feminism today advocates for the rights of these women too since it strives to uplift all women. It seems we’ve come a long way since 1918.
But is it really all that great? Just because we’re given more liberties compared to before, it doesn’t mean new problems won’t be created and others won’t continue to exist. How much more work is there to be done? Modern day feminism ranges on many topics, from ending violence and sexual assault against women, to giving equal opportunities to women. Recently, for example, Roe v. Wade was overturned which meant people lost their abortion rights, another way women are just seen as vessels for babies to grow in. Despite the rights women now have compared to before, the lack of respect for them continues to this day in different forms. For example, TERFs (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists) exist, people that do not believe in feminist intersectionality. They believe that trans women are not women, since they do not have female reproductive organs. Yet, the opinion that a woman is defined by their reproductive organs, is inherently sexist. But that’s not all. Men continue to objectify women instead of seeing them as human beings, with Andrew Tate and his followers believing that feminism is an attack on masculinity and that women are lesser than men. It seems like many problems persist for the feminist movement to evolve in different ways in today’s age.
I hope that one day we won’t have to be scared walking home in the dark, I can have a drink without worry of being spiked, and be treated the same as my male coworkers. That is a utopia that I wish to be a part of and I hope it doesn’t remain a fantasy.
Photo Credit: Lindsey LaMont, Unsplash