HISTORY OF EUROPEAN FEMINISM: REFERENCES THROUGHOUT TIME.

Europe has a long history of feminist legacy and empowerment. Although the feminist movement as such was not born until the end of the 17th century, throughout history, there have been many women who have been concerned about their role in a mainly patriarchal society and have fought for their rights and those of others.

Writers such as Christine de Pizan, who, in 1405, wrote The City and the Ladies, a book against misogyny, laid the first stones of a cause that would be born years later (1).

Although there are different feminist currents, they share some fundamental ideas, and we can say that it is a set of movements in the fight against sexism that expresses the struggle of women against any concrete form of discrimination.

The broad history of this movement in Europe can be divided into several stages, each with different reference figures.

The First Wave

The first wave corresponds to the time of the French Revolution. The first movements that arose in this period sought equal political and civil rights for women.

The Frenchwoman Olympe de Gouges wrote her famous work Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Citizen in contrast to Rousseau's Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, in which women were left completely in second place in society. In this, she demanded the same rights for women as had been demanded for men.

In Spain, during this period, we have the revolutionary Mariana Pineda, who fought for freedom and democracy. Her struggle was key to women's rights in political life, although her life came to a tragic end.

The Second Wave

The second wave focused more on the struggle for equality in all areas of society, including education. It was also during this wave that the so-called liberal feminism emerged, with women fighting for women's suffrage.

The main protagonists of this struggle were the Englishwomen Emily Davies and Elizabeth Garret Anderson, with their “Ladies Petition.” But in the face of the refusal of the House of Commons, they began to use different methods of struggle.

Class feminism also emerged at this stage, with Flora Tristan as a major reference point. It was at the end of the 19th century that the first advances were made in this area.

Spain was a point of reference at the European level, since the Republican Constitution of 1931 included women's suffrage.

The Third Wave

The third wave came after the Second World War, with an awakening after having participated in various ways in the war. Women refused their submissive role and demanded their independence in all spheres.

It was at this time that important figures such as Simone de Beauvoir appeared with her work The Second Sex, in which she reflected on male oppression and the origins of women's submission.

Radical feminism also emerged in this period as a counterpoint to liberal feminism.

The Fourth Wave

It is the fourth wave, which began in the 1980s, that is still with us today. An important institutionalisation of the movement took place with the proliferation of NGOs, the participation of feminists in governments and international organisations, and the creation of specific areas in the state (2) and in universities.

During this period, more priority is given to issues such as diversity or issues such as gender violence.

We also find authors who emphasise the importance between body and mind, such as the radical feminist Susan Griffin, who strongly criticises pornography and advocates “a reconciliation with nature that would lead to a healing between body and spirit” (3).

The history of European feminism is very rich and reflects a constant struggle for equality. Through the different struggles of these and other women who have not been included, many advances have been made against the patriarchal system that continues to accompany us to this day. This is not over, that is why the celebration of such important days as 8M continues to be fundamental.

(1) National Geographic (2024). Un breve historia del feminismo: las fechas y los nombres clave. Recuperado de National Geographic

(2) Gamba, S. (2008). Feminismo: historia y corrientes. Recuperado de Mujeres en Red

(3) Griffin, S. (1981). Pornography and Silence: Culture's Revenge Against Nature. Harper & Row.