What is a feminist, what has Meghan Markle said about feminism and what are the most inspirational feminist quotes?
Feminism is the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way
IN a world where gender pay gaps are being highlighted, rape culture exists and sexism can be felt in all walks of life, it can feel like women’s voices are still being silenced every day.
Thankfully there are millions who are speaking out in the name of feminism and fighting for equality for all men and women.
What is a feminist?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the definition of feminism is “the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way.”
Essentially it is the quest for equality of the sexes.
From the Time’s Up movement to people fighting against sex trafficking and for equal representation in government and in board rooms, feminism can look like many things to different people.
In some accounts, the history of feminism has been divided up into three waves; the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the 1960s and 1970s, and from the 1990s to the present.
What has Meghan Markle said about feminism?
The Duchess of Sussex has now received where it confirms she will carry out duties for the Queen.
She has been given the blessing of the Royal Family to use her position to fight for feminism, and is expected to announce charities and campaigns she will support.
The webpage also includes Meghan's famous quote from a United Nations conference in New York in 2015 when she said: "I am proud to be a woman and a feminist".
Even at 18 years old Meghan championed being a feminist.
The outspoken teen was quick to criticise radio host Tom Leykis - calling out the host for apparently talking to women like "they are pieces of meat".
It's not the first time Meghan revealed her outspoken feminism, with the young woman even pushing for change when she was just 12.
Footage of the US actress as a school student surfaced, with the young woman having written letters demanding for a cleaning ad to change their sexist ad's phrasing from "women" to "people".
Meghan had taken issue with Ivory's ad for dishwasher soap, that claimed "women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans".
What are the most inspiring feminist quotes?
Michelle Obama
"There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish."
Serena Williams
(After being asked about being considered one of the greatest female athletes of all time)
“Well, I prefer the words ‘one of the greatest athletes of all time’.”
Emmeline Pankhurst
“We have to free half of the human race, the women, so that they can help to free the other half.”
Angelina Jolie
“Women are still treated as secondary issues. It is still far too easy and accepted for leaders to ignore uncomfortable truths. Women, we know, are the first to be affected by war, and the last to be taken into account when it ends.”
Caitlin Moran
“Do you have a vagina? And do you want to be in charge of it? If you said ‘yes’ to both, then congratulations - you’re a feminist!”
G.D. Anderson
"Feminism isn't about making women strong. Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength."
Hillary Clinton
“I believe the rights of women and girls is the unfinished business of the 21st Century.”
Ariana Grande
(On being called Big Sean’s ex-girlfriend)
“I am tired of living in a world where women are mostly referred to as a man’s past, present or future property/possession. I…do not. belong. to anyone. but myself. and neither do you.”
Michelle Obama
“No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens."
Helen Mirren
“I think every woman in our culture is a feminist. They may refuse to articulate it, but if you were to take any woman back 40 years and say, ‘Is this a world you want to live in?’, they would say ‘No.’”
Maya Angelou
“I’m a feminist. I’ve been a female for a long time now. It’d be stupid not to be on my own side.”
MORE ON MEGHAN MARKLE
Shona Rhimes
“It’s not trailblazing to write the world as it actually is. Women are smart and strong. They are not sex toys or damsels in distress”
Emma Watson
(Discussing criticism over a semi-topless shoot with Vanity Fair)
“Feminism is about giving women choice. It’s not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom. It’s about liberation. It’s about equality. I really don’t know what my tits have to do with it.”
Marie Shear
"Feminism is the radical notion that women are people."