SAN AGUSTÍN DE HIPONA:

Feminism in its broadest sense relates to “political activism by women on behalf of women” (McCann & Kim, 2010, p. 1). The term ‘feminism’ originated in France (ibid.) and became known in English for the first time in the 1890s (Walters, 2005). It can be asserted that “feminism is both an intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks justice for women and the end of sexism in all forms” (Haslanger, Tuana & O'Connor, 2013). Oakley (1972) argued that three periods are particularly relevant to feminist thought development (even though some would undoubtedly assert that these predate feminism itself). Those are: mid-16th to mid-17th _{century; the Victorian era (1837-1901); and the 20}th _{century. The period between}

1540 and 1640 was characterised by “practical equality between the sexes” with women preoccupied with retaining their rights (ibid., p 9). It was widely recognised that women’s place was in the home and the divide between work and family started to emerge as it was commonly accepted that women’s subordination began in nature (Oakley, 1972). In the Victorian era in

46 the UK, discussions about equality between men and women revolved around access to specific institutions, e.g. women’s exclusion from the business world and their incapacity to benefit from formal education (ibid.). In light of clear and accepted biological differences between the sexes, political and educational equality was at the forefront. Granting women the status of citizenship was the ultimate aim. During the 20th century, women achieved legal and political rights and duties on a similar footing to men: “since the emancipation movement, the civil status of the sexes has become more nearly equal” (Oakley, 1972, p. 14). In the 20th century feminist thought reached further to incorporate men and declared that both sexes are constrained by “conventional sex-role definition” and “conventional ideas about the roles of the sexes” (ibid., p. 15). This is when gender studies started to gain recognition as the emphasis was no longer on women or feminism but on both men and women as differently oppressed by societal norms with regards to their gender roles (Donato et al., 2006; Lutz, 2010).

Routinely however, three distinctive ‘waves’ of feminist thought are recognised (Donovan, 2012). As shown above, it can be argued that first-wave feminism (19th century) was not the first wave at all. However, because the term ‘feminism’ was coined in the 19th century, those early ‘feminists’ were not recognised as such. What is routinely called first-wave feminism took place between the late 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The first wave was a response to a shared exclusion from political, social and economic life. Objectives common to those involved, were to extend the social contract so that it included political citizenship for women. The second wave occurred between the 1960s and the 1980s. During this second stage in feminist history, a self-defined feminist movement emerged. Feminists disappointed by the fact that substantive change had not happened, concerned themselves with broader social relations. The third wave, which could be perceived as a reaction to and a counter-revolution against the previous wave, started in the 1990s and continued until the early 21st century. The third wave defined itself as something ‘different’ from previous feminisms. It mainly included women who were raised during the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s. It has been suggested that today we are witnessing the fourth wave of feminism in the UK which began in 2008 (for more see section 3.3.2).

Regardless of the interpretation of the different waves, feminists share some common ground and emphasise that gender is a “structuring principle of social policy and the provision of welfare” (Woodward, 1997, p. 88) and a factor that influences the organisation of society and resources distribution. Moreover, feminists share a concern for women and addressing their needs.

47 Feminism puts gender first when defining social problems, in explaining their causes or exploring appropriate levels of state or voluntary sector intervention. It contains different perspectives from which to address questions of gender, but what unites all feminist approaches is their concern with the question of how social policies affect women in particular (ibid.).

Similarly to gendered studies which originally developed from feminist theory, studies from a gendered perspective were developed on the basis of feminist research (Donato et al., 2006; Lutz, 2010; Worek, 2011). Thus, gendered studies share some commonalities with feminist research. They recognise that gender is the most important divisive characteristic in societies. Societies are organised ‘along the lines of gender’, therefore research needs to be conducted through ‘the lens of gender’ (Woodward, 1997). Gender is understood as a lived process rather than a fixed attribute; it is not the outcome of the sexed body but it is socially constructed and learned and reproduced in everyday life. Bodies are both the objects and the subjects of gender process, thus they are affected by both the structural context (i.e. society) and the agency of social actors (i.e. their actions). Noteworthy is the fact that gender structures are subject to change and vary over time and place as already acknowledged (Nayak & Kehily, 2013). In consequence of the abovementioned debates, gender studies first appeared at Western universities in the 1970s. In Poland, gender studies were not commonplace at universities until the 1990s, even though some important publications on the topic appeared in the 1980s (Slany, Struzik & Wojnicka, 2011). Now, it is important to consider the feminist movement in the UK and (the lack of it) in Poland as there are some distinct differences between the way it unfolded in Western Europe and in Central and Eastern Europe.