The word feminism conjures up a variety of images for people. A lot of misunderstanding and hyperbole have surrounded feminism, but according to the dictionary, feminism is simply a movement for the social, political, and economic equality of men and women.

While feminist theories have surfaced from time to time in history, the modern feminist movement's roots are in the Age of Enlightenment with its principles of individual justice. In the United States, these ideas were put into action by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others who issued a Declaration for Women's Independence in 1848. A central demand of their nascent feminist movement, women's right to vote, was achieved in 1920 after a 72-year battle.

Feminism reached the popular consciousness in the sixtieth with the leadership of women like Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and Angela Davis; the passage of the Civil Rights Act prohibiting employment discrimination, and a lot of media exposure. Some primary issues of this time were equal pay, equal education access, freedom from sexual harassment, and the right to safe, legal abortions.

In the eighties, many feminists claimed that there was a backlash4 against feminism in the media, popular culture, and the political right.

The nineties saw some of this media-driven backlash, as well as the appearance of a new strain of youth feminism," Riot Grrrls", who emerged from the punk movement.

While many people agree with the dictionary definition of feminism, few claim to be feminists for a number of reasons.

They may feel that feminism is only for lesbians or women who hate men. Actually, a lot of feminist quotes have been taken out of context, and there are many different branches of feminism which espouse different ideals.

Instead of hating men, most feminists believe equality between the sexes will benefit men by unshackling them from traditional expectations. They welcome men into the ranks of feminists. And although there has always been a strong presence of lesbians and bisexuals in the women's movement, most feminists are heterosexual. Many feminists claim that homophobia and ignorance are at the heart of people's refusal to label themselves as feminists, even though they agree with the tenets of feminism.

Feminism has changed and grown with time and critical examination. There are currently about 17 identity-based branches of feminism including black feminism and Marxist feminism. These different offshoots sprung out of the belief that gender does not exist in a vacuum and must be examined in the context of race and class in society.

Feminism will likely change more in the future and have a larger international presence, although its reach and impact will vary greatly in different cultures. While controversy and misunderstanding regarding feminism will continue, so will the feminist movement in its many permutations.

提起“爭取女權運動”這個字眼，每個人都會產生不同的想法。對爭取女權運動誤解或夸大其詞的人不少，但字典里， “爭取女權”僅指要求兩性在社會上、政治上，及經濟上擁有平等權利的運動。隨著歷史的變遷，女權的理論也隨 之變化，而現代女權運動則是產生于注重個人公正的啟蒙時代。在美國，這些理念是由伊麗莎白·卡迪·斯坦頓等人付諸實施的，他們于1848年發表女性《獨立宣言》。在爭取女權運動發展的初期，其核心要求是爭取女性投票權，經過72年的奮戰，終于在1920年得到了這一權利。

60年代，在格洛麗亞·斯坦能、貝蒂·弗麗達，及安杰拉·戴維斯等女性的領導下，《民權法案》通過了關于禁止雇用員工時的性別歧視的條例，媒體的曝光率的提升，使爭取女權運動為公眾所認知。當時一些主要要求是同工同酬、平等受教育的機會、免于性騷擾，及安全合法的墮胎權。

80年代，許多女權主義者稱，爭取女權運動在媒體、大眾文化，和政治權力上遭到了強烈抵觸。90年代，由媒體主 導的反對聲浪猶存，同時期也出現了被稱為“Riot Grrrls”的爭取女權運動的新思潮，這是自朋克運動孕育而生的。

盡管多數人都同意字典中對爭取女權主義運動的定義，但由于種種原因，很少有人敢說自己是女權主義者。他們認為爭取女權運動僅僅適用于女同性戀和憎恨男人的女人。事實上，女權主義者的言論屢遭斷章取義；而且，女權主義也有諸多流派，信奉不同的理念。

大多數爭取女權主義者并不憎恨男人，反之，他們相信兩性平等能使男人受益，使他們從傳統的期望中解放出來。她們歡迎男性參加到爭取女權運動中來。雖然女同性戀和雙性戀者在這場女性運動中確實占有舉足輕重的地位，但多數女權主義者還是異性戀者。許多女權主義者認為，對同性戀的厭惡與無知，在那些拒絕將自己歸屬為女權人士的心目中根深蒂固--即使他們認同女權主義的主張。

歷經時間的磨練，通過嚴苛的考驗，女權主義已然成長、變化。依身份不同，現今女權主義約有十七個分支，包括黑人女權主義及馬克思女權主義。這些分支是從這個信念產生的，即：社會性別不是存在于真空之中，而是需要在社會的種族與階級中予以審視。

將來，女權主義仍會繼續變化，在國際上會更顯示它的存在；盡管它影響的范圍，也會因文化的巨大差異而不同。雖然對爭取女權運動的爭議與誤解仍難平息，但是爭取女權主義的運動也必將呈現出更多樣的變化。