We’re starting off in a weird place when it comes to women in the US. The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692. More than half of those accused of witchcraft

were women. In a time when modern medicine was not the norm, early convulsions or perhaps what could’ve been likened to schizophrenic rages were deemed the work of the devil.

Many of the accused were not given a fair chance in this time period. Their voices were not heard and many of the accused were hung. It goes to show

that feminism started on a low in America.

If not for the efforts of Dorothea Dix in 1844, who knows where we’d be today in regards to mental health. She was a mental rights activist that fought to

ensure that asylums were run with standards.

Around the 1840s women started to want more out of being a citizen. That's when women's suffrage started to make moves. Moves led them to the Seneca Falls Convention. Many

felt the ideas being covered at the convention were a bit extreme, but it didn't stop women from campaigning for the right to vote. One of their biggest icons, Susan

B. Anthony, would not live to see women gaining said right in the law.

When you are basically the face of hope during slavery, you get to be your own wave of feminism. In case you didn’t notice, slavery was still very much a

thing when women’s suffrage came into play. Yeah, America had a lot of problems to deal with in the 1800s. While women were heading to conventions, Harriet Tubman was working

overtime to free Black women and men from slavery in the south. Her efforts weren’t so much for women’s rights — but human rights, which...are the same as women’s.

Women and children were getting treated before Elizabeth Blackwell opened the New York Dispensary for Poor Women and Children, but now women and children had a defined space to seek

medical attention. Now we have whole hospitals dedicated to children and many clinics and doctors who serve women all over the world.

While Harriet Tubman was busy working to save slaves from the south, others were hard at work trying to abolish it all together. Before The Civil War got underway, women

like sisters Angelina and Sarah Grimké were leading the anti-slavery movement along with the likes of Sojourner Truth.

The Civil War had ended slavery in 1865 and just as the dust was settling, in came the age known as the Cult of Domesticity. Some see this as a

way that men were putting women "back" in their place in the home as a "true woman" was deemed to have four major qualities: piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness. While

women have always had a place in the home, this new cult drove the idea home a little further than anyone had expected.

The first clinic to open that would later be known as the foundation for Planned Parenthood came in 1916. It came just a couple of years after the birth control

movement that aimed at making contraceptives readily available to those in need. Birth control revolutionized women as a whole. They could pick and choose when and if they wanted to

start a family, thus making it easier for them to further their education and careers.

Over 70 years after the Seneca Falls Convention, women finally had the right to vote. The 19th came 50 years after Black men got the right with the 15th, but

many Southern states still didn’t allow Black women to vote until the 1960s.

There was a “new” woman that came alive in the ‘20s. Perhaps it was that right to vote, or maybe it was the flapper and Harlem Renaissance that came about.

Whatever it was, it caused a sexual evolution for many.

Women had been heading off to college for some time, but for a while, the level of education they were receiving was not equal to that of men. Come the

‘20s more women started to achieve higher levels and therefore started to earn better degrees and careers along the way. It was just the beginning, as women continued to achieve

great heights as the years moved along.

Women were voting, going to school, and feeling alive sexually. Then in came Hitler and World War II. While many men in America left to fight for from 1939 to

1945, women were left to fill major voids in the workplace. Millions of women traded in the housewife life for jobs at factories.

As soon as the war was over, the men were back and with that came a wave of newborns. Hence the reason the period between the ‘40s and ‘60s is

known as the “Baby Boom.” Women were back in the home and the housewife motif was back in play.

With housewives being all the rage, it wasn’t surprising that a show like 'I Love Lucy' would become one of the most popular in the ‘50s. That’s not why it’s

here though. 

Lucille Ball was a force. She was the first woman to head a major television studio. Ball not only became a comedic TV icon, but a trailblazer for women

in Hollywood to come. Thanks to her, we have women running things on the small screen like Shonda Rhimes, Tina Fey, and many others.

So slavery ended in 1865. A few years later, Black people were granted citizenship and then, of course, we've reviewed when Black men got the right to vote. All fine

and dandy, right? Not so much. 

People of color were still sitting in the back of the bus and in the 1950s things had to change. We all know Martin Luther

King Jr. as the face of The Civil Rights Movement but he was not alone. Many women fought alongside him. His wife, Coretta, as well as Rosa Parks and many

more women, were the backbone.

As The Civil Rights Movement got underway, many others started to pop up. That includes the Radicals. Wanting to call attention to the male supremacy going on in the world,

radical feminists wanted to abolish that patriarchy while bringing attention to domestic violence and rape. During that time is when we also got introduced to bra burning and feminist hero,

Gloria Steinem.

One cannot leave the ‘60s behind without talking about the impact the hippies had on feminism. There were women marching for Civil Rights and others were burning their bras, there

were others who were just focusing on peace and love. Women who lived that hippie lifestyle were taking it back to the 1920s when women were less restricted, sexually. It

was the second wave of that sexual liberation sweeping over the nation.

We cannot leave out the LGBTQ community when talking about feminism, as their struggles have oftentimes been bigger. The community had done a great deal before the '60s but the

Stonewall Riots really kicked their movement into high gear throughout the ‘70s.

The free love the hippies had made its way into the ‘70s but transformed into a chic force. Disco brought a sense of glam and freedom to the feminine mystique.

Disco wasn’t the only thing new for women in the ‘70s. Women started to realize that being a housewife wasn’t the only thing they could be. Because of that, television

started to reflect such a thing. While programs showcasing women at home were still on primetime, others like Mary Tyler Moore started to enter the lexicon. They showcased the shifting

times in America as they starred independent women in the workplace.

Women have always helped out in times of war. Many were nurses and of course, we know about the way they helped out at home during WWII. However, women weren’t

serving in the same way as men until 1976 when the first batch of women was sworn into a military academy.

We're all aware of 'The Catcher in the Rye' and other classic novels that are considered the grandparents of YA literature but let's not sleep on the power of Judy

Blume. Feminism isn't just for adults and Blume's books shined a light on modern female issues that had yet to be discussed on a public platform. Hello, how many of

us learned about our periods from 'Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret?' Exactly. Without Blume, we'd be without 'The Babysitters Club' and all those John Green books.

People born between the ‘60s and ‘80s make up the wonderful Generation X. With women leaving the home for work, that left a lot of children to become the first

batch of latchkey kids. While they were learning about independence, women were learning how to really balance their home and professional life.

Oprah Winfrey is possibly the most powerful woman—person—ever in entertainment and it all started when she got her own show in 1986. For 25 years she entered homes across the

country every afternoon to deliver everything from encouragement to book recommendations. Oprah inspired women throughout her career to stay determined and be a total boss.

When it comes to women and music doing its part for the feminist movement, the '90s were IT. First up were the bands who made up the riot grrrl scene.

These punk rock feminists weren't about singing the usual about heartbreak and love; they were delivering lyrics that centered around racism, patriarchy and overall female empowerment.

Alongside the riot grrrls were the women who fell into the grunge of it all. Grunge music really ushered in a wave of angst like no other. That angst-ridden demeanor

didn’t just stay in music, it illuminated itself in other realms and gave us strong-willed TV characters like Darlene from 'Roseanne' and MTV’s 'Daria.' Each showed girls that you didn’t

have to sit there quiet, but could be smart and a bit of a smartass at the same time.

When hip-hop began it was like a boy’s club but then in came female emcees to prove that boys weren’t the only ones who could spit rhymes. Women in rap

also gave way to another sexual revolution, as their lyrics weren’t sugarcoated by any means.

Maternity leave was around in the 1960s but it was a state by state case. It wasn’t until 1993 that The Family and Medical Leave Act was passed. It insured

that employers would be able to grant women leave for family matters such as pregnancy, adoption, and fostering.

We told you that women in music weren’t messing around. Rock and rap had their feminist heroes, and so did the Vh1 audience. In the late '90s, Sarah McLachlan noticed

a lack of appreciation for female artists. Listening to the radio, she'd never heard two of her peers in a row. Having had enough, she became the mastermind behind Lilith

Fair: a female-driven tour that celebrated women in music while raising money for charity. Other than the music and charity, Lilith Fair allowed fans to come to a safe space

of self-expression and artistry.

Before we leave the ‘90s, we have to talk about the Spice Girls. Without which we wouldn’t have our favorite mantra, “Girl Power!” Teeny boppers are often bombarded with cute

boys (no complaining here, JTT forever) so when Spice Girls came in it was like a breath of fresh air for young feminists in the making.

Spice Girls must’ve made a big impression because the millennials who grew up on them have proven in recent years that they are not messing around when it comes to

women’s issues. They’re woke, broke (from all that damn avocado toast) and ready to march at whenever it calls. And you know they'll answer because they're always on their phones.

Back in the day, women were expected to just churn out kids and keep them safe in the home. As we’ve seen, times have changed. They changed even more when

science had our backs and advances allowed us to start freezing our eggs. It’d been around in the early ‘50s but let’s be real, science didn’t get perfected until the

new millennium. Being able to pause fertility until they are ready has allowed women to become more educated and spend more time focusing on themselves and their careers.

Sorry Disney fans of the early ‘90s classics. While those Disney Princesses were amazing and my personal favorite, they were not representing the greatness that women have. Ariel traded her

life undersea for a man and Belle, well Stockholm Syndrome left her in “love” with an animal. 

Disney heard feminist cries and realized they had to make some changes. With 2009's

'The Princess and the Frog' we saw Disney do away with the damsel in distress. They started to focus on female characters who could handle things on their own, thus

inspiring a new crop of young minds to be princesses who didn't need saving.

Dating was typically used to wind up in a marriage. As the years went by, that started to change. People realized marriage didn’t always have to be the end game

when it came to going out with someone. Online dating, though, shifted this even further. It gave women a chance to not only have more options but to be more

sexually free to express themselves.

People started to recognize the importance of celebrating the body in the 1960s but in modern times, social media has allowed women to make their point about being body posi

even more.

When cops started to kill unarmed Black people one after another, three women banded together to form the Black Lives Matter movement. Like with The Civil Rights Movement of the

‘50s, these women knew they had to step up and take charge.

Alicia Keys decided in May 2016 that she wasn’t about getting all dolled up anymore. She did away with makeup and showed the world that women didn’t need it to

be beautiful. Following in her footsteps was 2018’s Best New Artist Grammy winner Alessia Cara. Keys's #NoMakeup moved others to spend less time infatuated with appearance.

In November 2016, America elected a man as President who literally said to grab women by their pussies. It was on tape. It did not stop him from winning. A

pervert. A racist. A truly unqualified man. This ignited a fire in millions of women not only in the US but all over the world. Because we all know women

don’t have it easier than men anywhere. In January 2017, women decided enough was enough. MILLIONS around the world hit the streets and marched for justice, for equality.

Social activist Tarana Burke came up with the phrase "Me Too" to help those who've survived sexual assault. Those two tiny words wound up sparking a movement as it transformed

into a hashtag that took the world by storm. It helped many speak out not only about their assault, but also gave way to many predators being put into the

limelight and caught.

#MeToo was just the beginning. As more and more stories started to come out from people around the world, it seemed like every day a new one was popping up

in Hollywood. Women in entertainment banded together for Time's Up to show they weren't having it anymore. Not only did they want a safe space in their realm but in

others as well.

Things like the gender pay gap, and #MeToo and Times Up, highlight how unequal things still are between men and women. There is still much work to be

done. But looking back at the progress that has been made should inspire you to keep pushing forward until someday, maybe, humans will achieve equality among themselves.