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/ˈfeməˌnizəm/
noun
the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.
*nothing to do with hating men
Due to the media's emphasis on women being thin, 56% of women are dissatisfied with their bodies. 89% of women want to lose weight. These numbers are much higher than in surveys done in the 70s and 80s. Cosmetic surgery has also risen, with a 471% increase in the number of surgeries since 1997. This trend is ongoing; liposuction increased by 76% from 2012-13. This negative focus on body image leads to low self esteem in girls, and an obsession with appearance. There are many ongoing campaigns to counter this.
The Married Women's Property Act was passed in most provinces in the late 1800's, giving married women the right to own their own land separate from their husbands. Women were now able to control their own wages. Previously, a woman's wages belonged to her husband.
Occurring from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, this women's movement primarily focused on achieving basic political rights.
The modern feminist movement, beginning in the 1990's puts a greater emphasis on the diversity of women, and includes transgender people.
After waning between the two World Wars, feminism was revived in the 1960's and 70's. Feminism was expanded to fighting for equality across the board; at home, work, and in education.
A large focus of modern feminism is eliminating binary gender norms, allowing people to express their gender freely. For example, men should be able to show their emotions, and women should be able to be assertive without negative connotations. This also works towards the acceptance of transgender people. A key aspect of eliminating gender norms is to make toys gender neutral again. Currently "girl" toys are all pink and often have to do with domestic activities, while boys get action figures and science related toys. This teaches kids gender stereotypes at a young age.
Feminists began fighting to participate in public life and have the right to vote in the late 19th century. After a long struggle, women in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan could vote provincially in 1916. Ontario and B.C. followed suit in 1917, with the Maritime provinces granting women suffrage in the following years. Quebec women couldn't vote until 1940, however. Federally, women gained suffrage in 1918.
Now that there are plenty of women in the workforce, the focus has shifted to getting women in senior management positions. The glass ceiling is a symbolic barrier preventing women from climbing to the top of the corporate ladder due to their gender. Women make up only 14.5% of all board members in Canada, even though they make up half of the work force and earn 60% of university degrees. Feminists like Sheryl Sandberg, who wrote Lean In, are trying to help women advance further in their careers.
Contraception was officially legalized in 1969, allowing women to have more sexual freedom and control over their bodies. This also enabled better family planning. Previously, birth control had to be bought secretly. The movement to legalize contraception included the opening of several illegal family planning clinics.
Third wave feminists are currently working to eradicate rape culture, the notion that current cultural attitudes normalize, excuse, and even condone sexual assault. Activists are working to stop victim blaming and to instead place responsibility on rapists to not rape. Being assaulted is never someone's fault, and cannot sufficiently be prevented by a victim. The popular Slut Walk was founded on these principles.
The Famous Five consisted of Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Emily Murphy, and Irene Parlby. They were a group of women from Alberta who fought for women to be declared "persons" under the Federal law and be granted the right to be appointed to the Senate. This right was granted on October 18, 1929.
Feminists publicly drew attention to how domestic violence laws were not being enforced. Law enforcement began to intervene. Women's shelters were opened to help transition women away from an abusive relationship. There has also been more openness and education on the issue, as domestic violence used to be seen as a private matter.
Feminists sought to have the right to bodily autonomy through safe, legal abortions. Abortion was partially legalized in 1969, but only if the woman's life was in danger. The Abortion Caravan traveled from Vancouver to Ottawa in 1970 to protest the remaining restrictions. Abortions were not fully legal until 1988 in Canada.
Women and men used to openly get paid separate, distinct wages, for similar work. Many people thought this was unfair. In 1956, the federal government made wage discrimination on account of sex illegal with the Female Employees Equal Pay Act. Many provinces made their own pay equity legislation around the same time.