Alt-Women's History

"Feminists want people to think feminism began with the nineteenth-century suffragettes, but it didn't. The word feminist didn't become boilerplate language until the counter-cultural revolution of the 1960s, when women took to the streets in the name of 'equality' and 'liberation.' Betty Friedan is credited with being the leader of what is now known as 'second wave feminism.' It refers to the 1960s feminists who supposedly picked up where the suffragettes left off. In fact, the two groups have nothing in common. The suffragettes fought for (and won in 1920) the right for women to vote in all fifty states, but they were family-oriented women who had no desire to eradicate female nature. They were also resolutely opposed to abortion. The feminists of the 1960s (and later), on the other hand, are not pro-family. In addition to viewing abortion a matter of women's 'rights,' they see the home as a trap for women."

I get conflicting reports on the nature of the original suffragists and suffragettes: I guess my general impression is that the suffragettes were the unhinged hysterical RadFems of their day, while the far more numerous suffragists were more likely to be intelligent, educated middle-class women who didn't want to murder men, plant bombs or throw themselves under horses, and just made reasonable arguments for women to get the vote. But we seldom hear about them today, we just celebrate the nutjobs.

The term “feminist” existed long before the 1960s. You can see it being used during the suffrage debate and especially immediately after in these examples here, here, and here. In my research, the earliest use of “feminist” dates back to 1909, and I have no doubt its usage began even earlier than that.

Me after eating a 20oz steak, a loaded baked potato, a piece of bread, and a mixed drink on an empty stomach and then someone says “wanna get some ice cream?