Women's history
''This article is about the history of women. For information on the field of historical study, see
Gender history.
Women's history is the history of
female human beings.
Women's rights refers to the social and human rights of women. One of the first women's rights declaration was the "
Declaration of Sentiments". From women's involvement within the
abolition movements, women became aware of the male dominance and oppression. From then on women struggled for equality. The
History of feminism reaches far back before the 18th century, but the seeds of the feminist movement were planted during the latter portion of that century. The advent of the reformist age during the 19th century meant that those invisible minorities or marginalised majorities were to find a catalyst and a microcosm in such new tendencies of reform. The earliest works on the so-called "woman question" criticised the restrictive role of women, without necessarily claiming that women were disadvantaged or that men were to blame.
In the UK, the Feminism movement began in the 1800s and continues in the present day. In the early 20th century,
Simone de Beauvoir wrote a detailed analysis of women's oppression. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the
sexual revolution substantially changed the condition of women in the Western world. The trigger for the revolution was the development of the birth control pill in 1960, which gave women access to easy and reliable contraception.
In the
history of sex, the social construction of sexual behavior - its taboos, regulation and social and political impact - has had a profound effect on women in the world since prehistoric times. The
history of abortion dates back to ancient times and has impacted men and women in a variety of ways in different times and places. Historically, it is unclear how often the ethics of abortion (induced abortion) was discussed. In the later half of the 20th century some nations began to legalize abortion. This controversial subject has sparked heated debate and in some cases even violence.
Women have been exposed to various tortuous sexual conditions and been discriminated in various fashions in history. An example are the
Comfort women, women who were forced to work as sex slaves in military brothels in Japanese-occupied countries during World War II (but is not addressed fully in
Japanese history textbooks, according to some).
The
Social aspects of clothing has been related to the traditions regarding certain items of clothing intrinsically suited different
gender roles. In particular, the wearing of skirts and trousers has given rise to common phrases expressing implied restrictions in use and disapproval of offending behaviour. For example, ancient Greeks often considered the wearing of trousers by Persian men as a sign of an effeminate attitude. Women's clothing in
Victorian fashion was used as a means of control and admiration. Reactions to the elaborate confections of French fashion led to various calls for reform on the grounds of both beauty (Artistic and Aesthetic dress) and health (dress reform; especially for
undergarments and
lingerie). Although
trousers for women did not become fashion items until the later 20th century, women began wearing men's trousers (suitably altered) for outdoor work a hundred years earlier. In the 1960s, André Courrèges introduced long trousers for women as a fashion item, leading to the era of the pantsuit and designer jeans and the gradual eroding of the prohibitions against girls and women wearing trousers in schools, the workplace, and fine restaurants.
Corsets also have long been used for fashion, and body modification, such as waistline reduction. There were ,and are, many different styles and types of corsets, varying depending on the intended use, corset maker's style, and the fashions of the era.
The
status of
Women in the Victoria Era is often seen as an illustration of the striking discrepancy between the nation's power and richness and what many, then and now, consider its appalling social conditions.
Victorian morality was full of many contradictions. A plethora of social movements concerned with improving public morals co-existed with a class system that permitted harsh living conditions for many, such as women. There is an apparent contradiction between the widespread cultivation of an outward appearance of dignity and restraint and the prevalence of social phenomena that included prostitution. In the Victorian era, the
bathing machine was developed. It was a device that flourished in the 19th century to allow people to wade in the ocean at beaches without violating Victorian notions of modesty. The bathing machine was part of sea-bathing etiquette that was more rigorously enforced upon women than men.
The
Christian views of women vary considerably today and have varied even more throughout the last two millennia, evolving along with or counter to the societies in which Christians have lived. When some women have
interreligious marriage, or
marriage (either religious or civil) between partners professing different religions, they seldom can do so without disobeying both of these religions.
Women in Islam, equal before God with men, have been exposed to various restrictions. These have been placed on girls and women in many countries, regarding their civil rights, education, dress code, professional lives, marriage, divorce, and legal status due to cultural influence, the
sharia, and lack of proper Islamic knowledge. The role of women under Sharia, the Islamic law, classically draws no distinction between religious and secular life. Theologically, there are many differences in legislation regarding women. The earlier Madhhabs tend to be more conservative, while modern schools have varied from modern
liberal movements within Islam to Wahhabism and Salafism, both of which are much more traditional.
Women have participated in warfare in a variety of ways in different times and places. Women have played important roles and have influenced the outcomes of many wars. Female involvement has been official and unofficial through out history and in modern civilizations women's involvement in the military been both voluntary and mandatory.
The following is a list of links either about women's history, or containing relevant information, often in a "History" section.
Lists
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Famous women in history : women who would be considered famous or notable in a historical context.
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Women's organizations : a List of women's organizations
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List of current and historical women's universities and colleges : A women's college is an institution of higher education where enrollment is all-female. Where institutions have become coeducational, this is noted, along with the year the enrollment policy was changed.
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List of feministsGeneral
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Equal Rights Amendment : a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have guaranteed equal rights under law for Americans regardless of gender.
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History of feminism*
Women's History Month - March, a month to celebrate the Women's history and
International Women's Day*
Suffragette members of the women's suffrage movement in the United Kingdom. Suffragist is a more general term for members of the movement, whether radical or conservative, male or female. American women preferred this more inclusive title but people in the United States who were hostile to suffrage for the American woman used the UK title.
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A History of Woman Suffrage : A history book of the suffrage movement, primarily in the United States, composed of six volumes from 1887 to 1922.
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Men's League for Women's Suffrage : a society formed in 1907 by the left-wing writers
Henry Brailsford,
Max Eastman,
Laurence Housman,
Henry Nevinson and others to pursue women's suffrage.
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Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is the oldest continuing non-sectarian women's organization in the US and worldwide.
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Subjection of women is the title of an essay written by John Stewart Mill in 1869, stating his views in favor of a much wider selection of people being allowed to vote.
Sexuality
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Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures concerns the culture, knowledge, and references shared by various people by virtue of their membership in a minorities or their state of being transgendered.
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Effeminacy is character trait of a male showing femininity, unmanliness, womanliness, weakness, softness and/or a delicacy, which contradicts traditional masculine, male gender roles.
Research
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Schlesinger LibraryOther
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Demography is the study of human population dynamics. It encompasses the study of the size, structure and distribution of populations, and how populations change over time due to births, deaths, migration and ageing.
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The Gerritsen Collection - Women's History Online*
Feminist Majority Foundation timeline*
Project "Women's History and Gender History in Westphalia"
