The ideology of feminism has been around forever as patriarchal systems have consistently suppressed women in human society. But how did feminism become a movement in Britain? What has it achieved? And which important figures have been pioneering the path for the equality of the sexes?
Feminism
The belief in the political, social, and economic equality of the sexes, and the associated movement
Patriarchy
A government or society that is led by men and primarily serves male interests whilst marginalising women
Let's look at the different periods or 'waves' of feminism in Britain, and some feminist icons along the way.
Origin of Feminism in Britain
So what led to the increased momentum of the feminist movement in Modern Britain?
British society dictated gender roles through the use of "tradition". Women were treated as the "homemakers" in a British household: whilst men worked and earned money, women stayed at home to do domestic chores such as laundry, cooking and cleaning.
This popular Victorian idea of woman became coined as the "angel in the house", taken from Coventry Patmore's poem in which he describes his "perfect" wife who is submissive to her husband and completes domestic chores.
This created a public-private divide between men and women, with women being confined to the private sphere whilst men dominated the public sphere. This entrenched the patriarchal system, as women found it difficult to protest against issues in the public sphere, such as voting rights and equal pay.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, conversations around equality arose in society. For instance, in 1867, the Great Reform Act granted more men the right to vote based on homeownership. Upon seeing voting rights expand in society, women used this to campaign for their own rights. Other contributing factors included factory reform, education and engagement with chartism.
Chartism
A working-class movement that fought for political rights and better treatment.
Jeremy Bentham was a philosopher and economist who published his "Plan for Parliamentary Reform" in 1818 which advocated women's rights, proposed an early form of the welfare state, and developed the philosophy of utilitarianism - the greatest good for the greatest number, which included women. His liberal ideas encouraged other men to support equality.
British feminist icons: Mary Wollstonecraft
Often referred to as Britain's first feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft's seminal 1792 text A Vindication of the Rights of Woman called for equal education for women and men. She argued that this would improve women's position as men's companions, as well as allow them to undertake various professions. It was controversial at the time but inspired both American and later British feminists in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Fig. 1 - Portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft
Did you know? Mary Wollstonecraft gave birth to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley in 1797, who would later become the world-renowned author of Frankenstein!
First-Wave Feminism in Britain
The first wave of feminism in Britain is said to have been between the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is commonly defined by the attainment of women's suffrage (the right to vote). Women supported the anti-slavery movement (abolitionism) in the early 19th century and this gave them the protest skills by which to advocate women's suffrage.
Women's contribution to abolitionism
The relationship between women and the abolition movement provided a template by which women could campaign for equal rights in Britain.
Women played an integral role in campaigning for the end of slavery through:
- Sugar boycotts - This campaign began in 1791, and encouraged women not to purchase sugar and other goods produced by the use of slave labour.
- Influencing men to join the abolition movement
- Forming societies for abolition - the first all-female society for the cause was formed in Birmingham in 1825.
- Campaigning against slavery - After the 1833 Abolition of Slavery Act saw "apprenticeship" replace slavery, women's societies continued to campaign and convinced the male-led Anti-Slavery Society to adopt Elizabeth Heyrick's policies of "immediate, not gradual" change to abolition.
- Joining forces with chartist groups
Slavery was officially ended in 1838, but when the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society met to talk about the worldwide abolition of slavery, women were excluded from speaking. This sparked the women's suffrage movement in America, and using the campaigning skills learned during Abolition, women began campaigning for women's suffrage in Britain soon after.
First-wave feminism timeline
Now let's look at a timeline of the women's suffrage movement.
| Date | Event |
| 1857 | The Langham Place group was formed to create petitions and found societies for women, including educating women in arithmetic and raising issues about prostitution. |
| 1863 | Inspired by the US Women's Suffrage Movement, the Ladies' London Emancipation Society (LLES) was founded. |
| 1866 | A petition for the voting rights of women was organised by the LLES, including members of the Langham Place group, and proposed an amendment to the 1866 Reform Bill by John Stuart Mill. It failed, but women who had supported anti-slavery movements were invited to join the movement for women's suffrage.  Fig. 2 - Portrait of John Stuart Mill
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| 1868 | Bedford College was founded in 1849 by Elizabeth Jesser Reid and was the first college to enable women's higher education. However, the female students were not allowed to sit examinations so did not receive official qualifications. Much campaigning later by organisations such as the Langham Place group, the "London Nine" became the first female students admitted to the University of London in 1868. They sat an examination and received a "Certificate of Proficiency" in recognition of their studies. Ten years later, women were able to receive university degrees, the same level of qualification as men.  Fig. 3 - Elizabeth Jesser Reid
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| 1870 | The Married Women's Property Act allowed women to keep the money they earned and inherit property. Previously, husbands had owned both of these. |
| 1880 | The Education Act stated that all children aged 5-10 would receive an education with support available from the government. |
| 1897 | The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) was set up by Millicent Fawcett. The members came to be known as the Suffragists and used peaceful, "constitutional" methods to lobby parliament to change the law.  Fig. 4 - Millicent Fawcett
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| 1903 | Following the perceived failure of the NUWSS, Emmeline Pankhurst set up the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) which employed more "militant" strategies to gain suffrage such as arson and hunger strikes. The members came to be known as the Suffragettes. |
| 1914 - 18 | During the First World War, the WSPU ceased its activities and encouraged women to aid the war effort by working in munitions factories and taking on jobs previously "assigned" to men. |
| 1918 | The Representation of the People Act was passed, allowing women over 30 who owned property, or those married to someone who owned property, to vote in general elections. The stipulations of the Act meant that only 40% of the female population of Britain could vote. |
| 1928 | The Equal Franchise Act granted women the same voting rights as men. |
First-wave feminism resulted in women's full enfranchisement in 1928 - this success spurred further protests for equality. The first wave was characterised by:
- advances in achieving equal education for men and women
- achieving the vote
- gaining legal rights to own property
British feminist icons: Emily Wilding Davison
Emily Wilding Davison was a famous suffragette, born in 1872. Davison became a martyr for the cause of women's suffrage. In 1913, she made newspaper headlines when she threw herself under the King's horse at the Epsom Derby. She was wearing WSPU adornments of purple, green and white ribbons and created a strong statement for the feminist movement.
She died from her injuries four days later, demonstrating the heartbreaking passion that women felt for equality. A funeral procession was held on 14th June 1913, and around 6000 women marched in her honour.
Martyr - Someone who dies for their beliefs
Fig. 5 - Emily Davison
Second-wave Feminism in Britain
Following the First and Second World Wars, the United Nations demonstrated a global effort to state the basic principles of society, including equality of the sexes.
However, laws and cultural norms were still in place in Britain that marginalised women. Second-wave feminism arose in the 1960s to continue the fight for equality. Similar to the link between abolitionism and first-wave feminism, the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements helped to propel second-wave feminism. This period of feminism came to be known as Women's Liberation.
| Date | Event |
| 1945 | The United Nations was formed. It advocates equality for both men and women. |
| 1948 | The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created, declaring the basic rights that all men and women should receive. |
| 1961 | The contraceptive pill became commercially available to married women, beginning an era of sexual liberation. |
| 1964 | The Married Woman's Property Act was revised to allow women to share housekeeping and property equally with their husbands. |
| 1967 | The Abortion Act allowed women to legally receive abortions in Britain following certain requirements. The contraceptive pill also became available for all women. |
| 1969 | The Divorce Reform Act made divorce easier as unhappy couples could file for a "no-fault divorce" rather than having to prove wrongdoing such as adultery. |
| February 1970 | The first of ten National Women's Liberation Conferences was held in Oxford to discuss matters such as equal pay, job opportunities, and education. |
| May 1970 | The Equal Pay Act was introduced, prohibiting favourable wages based on sex. |
| November 1970 | One of the most publicised feminist protests took place against the Miss World Contest at the Royal Albert Hall. The beauty pageant had been held since 1951 and protesters, organised by the Women's Liberation Movement, threw flour bombs and used water pistols at the 1970 event in front of a live television audience to protest the objectification of women and sexism. |
| 1975 | The Sex Discrimination Act was passed, banning discrimination based on sex or marital status in employment, education, and many other areas. The Employment Protection Act was also passed, making maternity leave pay mandatory and prohibiting employment dismissal based on pregnancy. |
| 1975 | The UN declared 1975 the International Year of Women to globally raise awareness for women's rights and officially recognised 8th March as International Women's Day (which had been celebrated in some countries since 1911). |
| May 1979 | Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Although this was a huge landmark for women in politics, her legacy is controversial. Thatcher infamously claimed in a 1982 lecture that "the fight for women's rights has largely been won" despite the continuing sexism present in society. |
| December 1979 | The UN adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which was officially ratified in 1981. CEDAW binds its signatories to end all forms of private and public life discrimination against women. The UK eventually signed the treaty in 1986. |
Second-wave feminism came to be recognised as an era for liberating women from the patriarchally defined culture of Britain. However, sexism has deeper roots than just the legal system - and this still needed to be tackled.
British feminist icons: Jayaben Desai
Jayaben Desai emigrated to the UK from South Asia with British citizenship as a result of prior colonisation. She reluctantly accepted work at the Grunwick Film Processing Laboratory in Brent, North West London due to the limited options available to immigrants at the time.
- She and other migrant workers were subjected to racist and sexist abuse at Grunwick.
- Despite the 1970 Equal Pay Act, female black and Asian minority workers received lower pay than their male co-workers, which was true at Grunwick.
- On 23rd August 1976, Desai led 137 of the 500 workers on strike. The protesters moved around Britain, gaining support from trade unions across the country. Around 20,000 gathered to protest at Grunwick on some days.
- The workers were eventually dismissed from Grunwick but Desai became an icon for women's defiance.
Feminism in Britain Today
Since the 1980s, the feminist movement has continued to grow and address the inequalities present in society. Some cultural historians have identified subsequent "third", "fourth", and "fifth" waves of feminism, but the definitions of these waves are left ambiguous as different nations and parts of the movement have focused on different aspects of society.
Second-wave feminism received criticism from minority communities in the 1990s for seemingly focusing only on the struggles of white straight women. This sparked a move toward intersectional feminism, which aims to address the issues of women in society from all backgrounds and experiences. This came to explicitly include LGBTQ+ women in a feminist movement defined by the individual.
So what defines feminism in Britain today?
- The use of social media to lead campaigns
- Focuses on domestic violence and sexual harassment/assault
- Discussions around period poverty
- Tackling marginalisation in the workplace
Recent criminal cases such as the rape and murders of Sarah Everard, Bibaa Henry, and Nicole Smallman have sparked feminist protests against the UK police force. Most recently, a protest in March 2022 was organised by Million Women Rise against male violence, racism and misogyny and saw hundreds of people take to the streets in London.
Feminism in Britain - Key Takeaways
- First Wave Feminism in Britain is said to range from the late 19th to early 20th century, and is defined by advancements in equal education and attaining women's suffrage, as well as other legal rights.
- Second Wave Feminism in Britain occurred between the 1960s and 1980s and saw feminists protesting for sexual, reproductive, and social equality; this period was known as Women's Liberation.
- Feminism continued to grow and develop after the Second Wave, including the LGBTQ+ community in the fight for equality under the umbrella term of intersectional feminism.
- At present, the digital era has helped to ignite feminist campaigns using social media to raise awareness and coordinate protests.
References
- Fig. 3 - Elizabeth Jesser Reid (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Elizabeth_Jesser_Reid_died_1866.jpg) Source: University of London (https://www.london.ac.uk/about-us/history-university-london/leading-women-1868-2018/elisabeth-jesser-reid) Public Domain
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