British journalist Rebecca West once said, “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.” Feminism is a mixture of beliefs, ideas, and movements about what it is like for women in a male dominant society (Lewis, Jone. “Definition”). Men are deemed the “dominant sex” although they have their faults and issues. Feminism was brought forth by many women that did not want to stand silent anymore, women that wanted their equality. Women history named, “Feminists.” Not only was gender a problem with feminists but other discrimination such as; class, race, sexuality, and age were brought into perspective during the mid-1800s. Many groups and movements of feminism have formed since then. Feminism is described in three waves; first, second, and third wave. These waves include civil rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, racism, and sexual orientation rights (Head, Tom).
There are a little over a dozen different types of feminism. There are the three most common types of feminism -socialist radical and liberal- then there are cultural, conservative, and eco-feminism. These are not considered to be effective ways of gaining women’s equality. Cultural feminism is all about keeping the peace and showing that the life changing experiences a woman goes through are far better than a man. Cultural feminists come together as a “sisterhood,” by having each other’s backs through the good and the bad times. Conservative feminists are women who do not like the idea of hating men but more wanting to be the man. They want to prove that they can put up with sexism and inequality. Matter of fact, they do not want equality because they say that, “equality brings death to the family” (“Different Types of Feminism”). Eco-feminism is made of women who believe that the oppression of women and nature are connected. They feel that nature has suffered with them in this world full of man’s domination. Nature has been torn apart and brought down, just like many women have.