Context: Gloria Steinem, a prominent 20th-century feminist activist, died at the age of 92, leaving a major legacy in the evolution of modern feminism.
She was a leading figure of the Second Wave of Feminism, which expanded the feminist agenda beyond political rights to workplace equality, reproductive autonomy and gender stereotypes.
Her career also illustrates the evolution of feminism from a primarily gender-focused movement towards an intersectional approach incorporating race, caste, class and sexuality.
First Wave of Feminism: Political Citizenship
The First Wave, emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily focused on women's suffrage and basic legal-political rights.
The central objective was to secure recognition of women as full citizens with equal political rights.
This phase laid the institutional foundation for subsequent struggles over women's social, economic and reproductive rights.
Second Wave: From Public Rights to Private Life
The Second Wave, particularly influential during the 1960s–70s, broadened feminism to include employment, reproductive rights, sexuality and gender roles.
It challenged the traditional public-private divide, arguing that issues within households and personal relationships could have broader political and structural dimensions.
Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique (1963) challenged the assumption that women's fulfilment should be confined to marriage, motherhood and domesticity.
Steinem became a prominent advocate for women's participation in public life and challenged gender-based stereotypes and discrimination.
Her investigative journalism, including undercover work as a Playboy employee, highlighted exploitation and gender inequality.
Major Legal and Institutional Gains
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibited sex-based discrimination in wages for substantially equal work.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited employment discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex and national origin.
Subsequent legal developments strengthened women's access to contraception and reproductive choices.
The U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade (1973) recognised a constitutional right to abortion; the decision was subsequently overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022).
Gloria Steinem's Wider Contributions
Steinem founded Ms. magazine, providing an influential platform for feminist ideas and women's issues.
Her satirical writing challenged gender stereotypes, including assumptions surrounding menstruation and women's biological experiences.
She also engaged with issues beyond conventional feminism, including anti-child trafficking efforts in India and criticism of exploitative pornography.
Steinem maintained a longstanding association with India and studied at Miranda House, University of Delhi, during a fellowship in 1957.
Her later engagement with India reflected an increasing recognition of caste alongside gender as a source of structural inequality.
Critiques of Second-Wave Feminism
The Second Wave was criticised for being largely shaped by white, middle-class women, while insufficiently addressing the experiences of Black and economically marginalised women.
Black women often faced a double burden of racial and gender discrimination, which could not be adequately captured through a single-axis understanding of gender.
The movement's tendency to treat “woman” as a relatively homogeneous category also underrepresented differences based on race, class and sexuality.
Second-Wave feminism frequently approached gender through a binary man–woman framework, which was subsequently criticised for insufficient inclusion of transgender identities.
Third Wave: Emergence of Intersectionality
The Third Wave of Feminism, particularly prominent during the 1990s, responded to the limitations of earlier feminist movements.
Legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw developed the concept of intersectionality, highlighting how overlapping identities such as race, gender and class can create distinct forms of discrimination.
In the Indian context, intersectional analysis can also incorporate caste, recognising that women's experiences differ across social hierarchies.
This approach shifted feminism from asking only whether women face discrimination to examining which women face what forms of discrimination, and through which intersecting structures.
Fourth Wave: Digital and Inclusive Feminism
The Fourth Wave, associated particularly with the 2010s, expanded feminist mobilisation through digital platforms and social media.
Movements such as #MeToo brought widespread attention to sexual harassment, assault and abuse of power, particularly in workplaces.
Contemporary feminism increasingly incorporates LGBTQ+ rights and gender diversity, expanding beyond the traditional binary framework.
Digital mobilisation has enabled feminist concerns to spread rapidly while facilitating collective testimony, awareness and accountability.
Intersectionality
Intersectionality examines how multiple social identities and structures of power interact to produce distinctive experiences of privilege or discrimination.
For example, the experience of a woman can differ significantly depending on her caste, class, race, sexuality or other social location.
In India, intersectionality is particularly relevant to understanding the interaction of patriarchy with caste, class, tribal identity and economic inequality.
Feminism in India: A Distinct Trajectory
Indian women's movements have historically addressed social reform, education, political participation, labour rights, violence against women and caste-based discrimination.
Unlike the predominantly Western trajectory described through the “waves”, Indian feminism has evolved through anti-caste movements, social reform movements, freedom struggle and post-Independence rights-based mobilisation.
The Indian context demonstrates why feminist analysis cannot simply be transferred from Western societies without accounting for caste, community, poverty and informal employment.
Key Evolution of Feminist Movements
First Wave → Political and legal citizenship, especially suffrage Second Wave → Workplace equality, reproductive rights and challenging the public-private divide Third Wave → Diversity, identity and intersectionality Fourth Wave → Digital mobilisation, sexual-harassment accountability and LGBTQ+ inclusion
Conclusion: The history of feminism represents an evolution from seeking formal equality to addressing the multiple and intersecting structures that shape lived experiences. Steinem's legacy lies not only in the achievements of Second-Wave feminism but also in the continuing debate over who is represented by feminist movements and whose experiences remain excluded. The contemporary challenge is therefore to combine the gains of earlier movements with a more inclusive, intersectional and context-sensitive understanding of gender justice.
Prelims Question
Q1. Consider the following pairs:
Development/Concept
Associated with
1. The Feminine Mystique
Betty Friedan
2. Intersectionality
Kimberlé Crenshaw
3. #MeToo
Fourth-wave digital feminist mobilisation
4. Roe v. Wade
Equal Pay Act of 1963
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Pair 1 — Correct: Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique (1963) critiqued the confinement of women's fulfilment to domestic roles.
Pair 2 — Correct: Kimberlé Crenshaw developed the legal and analytical framework of intersectionality.
Pair 3 — Correct: #MeToo became a major example of digitally enabled feminist mobilisation against sexual harassment and abuse.
Pair 4 — Incorrect:Roe v. Wade (1973) was a U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning abortion rights; it was not part of the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
