first-wave feminism

noun

The original period of concerted feminist activity during the 19th and early 20th century, focusing on de jure gender inequalities, primarily that of suffrage (the right to vote).

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Meanings

nounfirst-wave feminism (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe original period of concerted feminist activity during the 19th and early 20th century, focusing on de jure gender inequalities, primarily that of suffrage (the right to vote).

    The question that many lesbians asked was whether all this work was being accomplished at the expense of other goals of the organization. Some made the frightening comparison to the "First Wave" of feminism, which dissolved after women achieved the right to vote.

    1978 December 16, Cnidy Stein, “The Lavender Menace Lives”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 21, page 9
Cite this entry
APA

first-wave feminism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first-wave%20feminism

MLA

“first-wave feminism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first-wave%20feminism. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “first-wave feminism,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/first-wave%20feminism.

Source: first-wave feminism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.