Waves of Feminism
Religious Studies: OCR A Level, topic 3.9.1
The Impact of Waves of Feminism
Gender roles and what ‘gender’ is has changed enormously over the last 2 millennia. Thanks to the three waves of feminism, there is much more gender equality now than ever before.
Wave 1
- Women began to get equal rights.
- For example, they gained the right to vote thanks to the work of the suffragettes.
Wave 2
- The right of women to have ownership over themselves.
- The consequence of this wave was the development of sexual health.
- In 1967, abortion became legal in the UK. This gave many women the right to a choice over becoming a mother as well as other forms of contraception. This allowed women to have greater control over their bodies.
Wave 3
- This wave called into question the whole notion of gender roles.
- It also aimed to be inclusive of women, irrelevant of their ethnicity, sexuality and other backgrounds.
Test yourself on Waves of Feminism
What was one of the consequences of the second wave of feminism?