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What Feminism Originally Meant
Hello, Reader
I’ve been revisiting the First Wave of feminism this week.
Not to argue.
Not to stir anything up.
But to understand.
With March being International Women’s Month, it felt like the right time to revisit where this all began.
Because I keep hearing the same thing — from women especially.
“Feminism went too far.”
“We don’t need it anymore.”
“It created more problems than it solved.”
And I found myself wondering…
What were those first women actually fighting for?
Not the stereotypes.
Not the memes.
Not the cultural caricatures.
The reality.
In 1848, a group of women gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, and drafted what they called the Declaration of Sentiments.
One of their most radical demands?
The right to vote.
It took 72 years for that demand to become law.
Seventy-two.
Most of the women who began that movement never lived to see the 19th Amendment pass in 1920.
And it wasn’t a polite disagreement.
They were mocked publicly.
Depicted as hysterical.
Arrested.
Jailed.
Force-fed during hunger strikes.
They were told they were destroying families.
Defying religion.
Disrupting society.
And they kept going.
For decades.
When I strip away the modern noise around the word feminism, what I see at its origin is something much simpler than we’ve been led to believe.
Property rights.
Financial independence.
Legal identity.
Civic participation.
Basic autonomy.
You don’t have to love the word.
You don’t even have to use it.
But I do think it’s worth asking:
Before we dismiss it… do we actually know what it originally meant?
I just released a video unpacking the First Wave — where it began, what it cost, and why I think it still deserves our attention. If you’d like the historical foundation behind today’s reflection, you can watch that video here.
The First Wave of Feminism | The Women They Tried to Silence
This is just the beginning. The later waves get even more layered.
But for now, I’m sitting with this:
If something took 72 years of persistence — and women endured ridicule and imprisonment for it — maybe it deserves a closer look before we reject it.
When you hear the word feminism, what comes up for you?
Curiosity?
Resistance?
Indifference?
I’d genuinely like to know.
Write back and tell me your answer — or share your experience.
While I can’t reply to everyone, I do read every response and genuinely love hearing from you.
Your story might even be featured in an upcoming letter (with your consent of course).
That's all for this week.
See you on the flip side.
~ Michele
