Definition

Noun: A social and political movement advocating for women's equal rights, opportunities, and social status, particularly challenging systemic inequalities and traditional gender roles.

Usage

This term is used to refer to the organized collective effort, primarily prominent in the mid-to-late 20th century, to achieve gender equality. It addresses issues such as legal rights, reproductive freedom, workplace equality, and social attitudes. * The women's liberation movement fundamentally changed societal views on gender and family. * Her research focuses on the history of the women's liberation movement in the 1970s.

Advanced Usage

• "Second-wave feminism": Often used synonymously with the women's liberation movement, specifically referring to the feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and focused on issues beyond suffrage, such as sexuality, family, and the workplace.
  • The concept of "the personal is political" was a central tenet of second-wave feminism and the women's liberation movement.

Variants and Related Words

• Women's lib (n.): An informal, shortened form of "women's liberation movement."
  • She was an active participant in the women's lib protests.
• Feminist movement (n.): A broader term that can encompass the women's liberation movement as one of its historical waves.
• Women's rights movement (n.): A term often used to describe advocacy for women's legal and social rights, which can include the women's liberation movement.

Synonyms

• Feminism
• Women's rights activism
• Gender equality movement

Related Phrases

• Consciousness-raising group: A small group discussion format popularized by the women's liberation movement to discuss personal experiences as political issues.
  • Through her consciousness-raising group, she connected her personal life to the goals of the women's liberation movement.

Noun

1. the movement aimed at equal rights for women