The Declaration of Human Rights after the French Revolution called for equality, but legal equality was only granted to property-owning men, leaving women and lower-class men out. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that women’s claims to equality were recognized as a legal right, and the women’s movement continued to develop alongside various women’s liberation theories. However, gender inequality has yet to be fully addressed, and social awareness and legal systems need to be improved.
The Declaration of Human Rights, which came out after the French Civil Revolution, proclaimed that all human beings are equal. It was an important starting point for fundamentally changing the social structure of the time. However, at that time, legal equality was only granted to men who owned substantial property. Society was still segregated by class and gender, and these structures of discrimination were taken for granted for a long time. Despite participating in the civil revolution, women and low-status men were not granted equal rights under the law. This made many people realize the gap between the ideals of the Revolution and the reality.
Thus, in 1791, two years after the outbreak of the French Revolution, the Women’s Declaration was published, led by Olympe de Gouges, calling for freedom, equality, and suffrage. Her brave advocacy was revolutionary in the society of the time, and she was eventually deemed a traitor and executed. However, her declaration laid an important foundation for the discussion of women’s rights and inspired later generations of women’s activists. In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft became a strong advocate for women’s rights in England, writing A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in which she advocated for women’s right to education and social opportunities equal to those of men. Her arguments were shocking to the society of her time, but they became the cornerstone of the women’s rights movement.
While women’s claims and demands for equal rights continued into the 19th century, it wasn’t until the early 20th century that women gained legal civil rights, usually the right to vote. After a period of stagnation, the women’s movement was revitalized in the 1960s. During this period, efforts were made to improve gender roles in society as a whole, equality in education and employment, and legal guarantees for women’s autonomy and equality, including the recognition of the value of domestic work. At the same time, various social movements were developed to advance women’s rights, which led to many achievements. In addition, women’s employment has increased quantitatively and their social status has improved to some extent. In particular, women’s voices have become stronger as they no longer confine themselves to traditional domestic roles and actively participate in social activities.
Theories about women’s issues also became more diverse and systematized. In addition to the liberal women’s liberation theory that led the early women’s movement, various women’s liberation theories emerged. Marxist women’s liberation theory, socialist women’s liberation theory, and radical women’s liberation theory emerged. These theories criticized the existing male-centered social structure, analyzed the socialization of gender discrimination, and sought ways to overcome it. Issues related to the socialization of gender discrimination have been discussed in the fields of sociology and psychology, which have shown that differences in ability between men and women are not innate but are shaped by social environment and education. Research in anthropology has also demonstrated that gender roles and personality formation in patriarchal societies can change depending on social and cultural characteristics. As a result, people have come to recognize that men are not inherently superior to women in social roles.
This shift in perception has had a huge impact on the women’s movement. It was recognized that stereotypical notions of femininity and masculinity are the result of socialization through gender discrimination and contribute to a false view of humanity. However, this hasn’t really improved the inequality between men and women. As long as the roles of men and women in the home are strictly divided, with husbands engaged in productive activities and wives in charge of housework, women who are marginalized from productive activities have no choice but to rely on men economically. This inequality is not only an economic problem, but also a factor that limits women’s autonomy and self-actualization in society as a whole.
Even when women do enter the workforce, they face a lot of discrimination compared to men. Even when women do enter the workforce, they are still subject to highly precarious employment, where their labor is easily used or discarded according to the needs of capitalists. Women are also generally paid less than men. But even under these conditions of precarious employment and low wages, the vast majority of low-income women have no choice but to work, and cannot stop being cheap labor for capital. And even when they are engaged in productive activities, they are unable to escape the burden of domestic labor, which causes them to suffer mental and physical pain from their dual roles at work and at home. As a result, women’s social and economic status remains poorer than that of men.
Today, social perceptions of the status of women are gradually improving. However, many challenges remain. The evaluation of women’s value and abilities is still limited by stereotypes, which prevent them from being able to fully participate in society. Given the composition and role of women in society, this is not just a problem for women, but for our society as a whole. Therefore, rather than trying to solve these problems by changing the perceptions of individual members of society, these problems should be solved through institutional improvements such as actual gender equality in employment and revising laws and regulations on childcare. At the same time, educational efforts should be made to overcome prejudices against women. A society in which women’s rights and roles are fully recognized is not only beneficial to women, but is an important step towards a better society.
