Feminism has been commonly and broadly defined as the political, economic and social equality of both sexes. This movement has its roots in the 19th century women’s rights movement which championed women’s right to vote, which responded to the need for women to achieve political equality with men. However, before the collective revolutionary actions of the 19th century by women, history showed that there were women who led feminist inclined lives and although they did not identify themselves as feminists, they were famous feminists fully fledged.
Feminism in its attempt to create a world of gender equality aims to elevate women from the “second sex” position to which the world has pushed women by empowering them to lead better lives and use their voice in situations where they are supposed to be silent. Feminism is a war against the structure of patriarchy that considers men superior to women.
As a movement, feminism has had three waves and some critics say it is currently in its fourth wave, with a further increase in women seeking justice for the sex crimes that have been committed against them. Feminism has evolved in a special way from its original form of protesting for gender equality and has become theorized, being studied in educational institutions around the world.
The global impact that this movement has had would not have been possible without the work of people; primarily women who have decided to lend their voices and dedicate their lives to seeing the growth and spread of feminism in public spaces and the lives of women, who identify as feminists. This article is about people who have made sure that in everything they do, they remind the world that women matter too.
10 famous feminists who have the world as we know it
Simone de Beauvoir
First on the list of famous feminists is SimoneMarie Bertrand de Beauvoir, a French philosopher, writer and feminist. Her book The Second Sex, published in 1949, is a discussion of women and how they have been treated at different times in history. With this book she examined women’s rights in terms of philosophies of existentialism, the center of her existentialist feminism is located in this statement she wrote in the text; “We are not born but we become women”.
It was the first time that there was an attempt to draw the lines of diversion between the notions of gender and sex. Reactions to the book have bordered on the extreme as the fear of what it would do in women’s hearts terrifies men at the time of its publication. One of the places where it was banned was Vatican City. She is one of the pioneer feminists of what became French feminism and is considered one of the main people who paved the way for what feminism is today.
Marlene Dietrich
Making a statement in favor of feminism can be done in a variety of ways and for the German-born American singer and actress; Marlene Dietrich, changing the narrative of what women could wear was how she went bold for feminism. Dietrich was neither the most conventional of famous feminists who attended rallies, nor was she an intellectual who wrote books that attacked the patriarchy, but her challenge to this system was to choose to wear clothes that women didn’t. were not allowed to wear, these clothes were pants and suits which in its time was considered sacrilege for a woman to wear.
Angela Davis
Davis has always been a thorn in the side of government, relentless in pursuing its goals. She was a civil rights activist, communist party supporter, member of the Black Panther Party and activist for feminism.
Feminism for Davis began in the early sixties, and by the time she became an assistant professor at the University of California, she was a well-known radical feminist. Her works were aimed at African American women and how racial issues played into their oppression as women.
bell hooks
Gloria Jean Watkins popularly known as BellHooks, which is the name of her maternal grandmother, is an author, teacher, feminist theorist and activist. Her first book on feminist theory; Feminist Theory: From the Margins to the Center (1984) grew out of the lack of diversification in feminist theory. His theory focuses on how racial differences affect gender relations. She is one of the first feminist theorists to integrate the concept of intersectionality into feminist discourse.
Intersectionality is about considering how powerful systems affect those who are marginalized in society. Hooks also theorizes how media and film contribute to the objectification and oppression of women. Some of her other feminist publications are; Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black (1989), Sisters Of The Yam: Black Women And Self-Recovery (1993), Reel To Real: Race, Sex, And Class At The Movies (1996) among many other titles.
Charles Fourier
You would expect the list of famous feminists to include women only, but feminists are not first and foremost women, there are men who understand that women’s liberation is good for everyone, one of them is the French philosopher; Charles Fourier. He would have coined the name feminism. Her thoughts on women’s rights focused on the kind of employment opportunities that should be available to women and how marriage affects women’s lives. He was a man who was ahead of his time; the world has finally caught up with some of its positions long after its time.
Audre Lorde
Miss Lorde’s push for feminism was in the rights of black lesbians who, in the hierarchy of women, have the lowest ranks. She echoed the thoughts of her fellow feminists and writers; Alice Walker on the feminist approach to feminism which sought to frame feminist concerns within the framework of black female identity. Lorde criticized first wave feminism for only addressing the predicaments of the white heterosexual woman and, much like Bell Hooks, seeks intersectionality in feminism.
Her poetry and other writings reflect the ideas of intersectional relationship that concern her, some of her publications include; The Black Unicorn (1978), Dangerous Liaisons: Gender, Nation, Postcolonial Perspectives (1997) and Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power (1981).
Gloria Steinem
Using the tool of journalism, Steinem sought to eradicate the power of patriarchy and one of the ways she did this was with the founding of the feminist magazine Mme. Which gave her a name among famous feminists in as a writer and activist, it was her writings that criticized the patriarchal practices of men. In the 1970s, she was a national voice for women, organizing rallies and demonstrations.
She has expressed her opposition to pornography citing it as a debasement of porn stars; she also criticized academic feminist writing as a load of jargon inaccessible to the general public. She wrote the book Revolution from Within in 1992, it is not her only publication.
Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King was the wife of civil rights activist Martin Luther King; she embodies the endless struggle for equal treatment because she has also carried the burden of feminism on her shoulders. When her husband died, she became involved in the fight for civil rights and also decided to become a feminist. She was one of the founders of the National Organization of Women and this group is also interested in aspects intersectionalities of feminism. She is the first woman to have had the opportunity to give the class day address at Ivy League Harvard and she did so to make a statement regarding women’s rights.
Mona Eltahawy
Eltahawy is an Egyptian journalist who gives social commentary on world events, especially as they affect Arab countries and women, especially Arab women. She has lent her voice to the epidemic of female genital mutilation and is seeking a way to end it in parts of the world where it still occurs. Eltahawy is active on social media where she constantly airs her opinions much to the anger of many people. There may not be famous feminists in the Arab world, but Eltahawy is leading the way.
Chimamanda Adichie
Among the most recent famous feminists, Adichie has achieved fame in the least unlikely way; she’s a writer who’s had the opportunity to work with one of the world’s biggest stars and her discourse on feminism is grateful. This Nigerian-born feminist writer and activist is one of the most popular feminists not only in Nigeria but also in Africa, she gained worldwide acclaim for her seminal essay; We Should All Be Feminists, which is a treatise on how feminism benefits both men and women.
She exposes the restrictions that patriarchy imposes on everyone and preaches that feminism is the only way to break free from its bonds. Dear Ijeawele is another essay by Adichie that teaches how to raise a girl as a feminist. Adichie is not just an essayist but an award-winning author who, even in her fictional stories, manages to let her feminist trait shine through.