Sowing Seeds of Change

Perhaps the most important figure in Western civil rights, Mary Wollstonecraft is a key matriarch of social activism. The first feminist author, she claimed that women have been oppressed by men "since Adam downward" (Gunther, 171), that women and men deserve equal education and political power in society, and that marriage by the state was nothing more than the "legalized prostitution" of women. With such bold statements, her work would be considered radical even by today's standards. Add to this the time frame of her writings--mid-eighteenth century in Victorian England--and it is easy to see why Mary Wollstonecraft is understood as the mother of feminism, and the source of the fire that continues to drive the movement even to this day.

Mary Wollstonecraft wrote her first book, Thoughts on the Education of Daughters, in 1787. In it, she attacked the lack of sufficient educational opportunities for young women. She goes on to condemn the absence of decent careers for women, and calls for women to claim a place in traditionally masculine professions. Her second major work was A Vindication of the Rights of Men, written in 1790. Based on Enlightenment ideals, this book echoed the sentiments of John Locke and French Revolutionists in its assertion of universal rights. She criticized the state for impinging on the individual's right to make choices, and she demanded a society more amenable to the equality of all participants.

The assertions of human equality and rights made in A Vindication of the Rights of Men provided a base for Wollstonecraft's next work, A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Arguably her most important work, this text served as the first feminist writing in the history of Western civilization. In this book, Wollstonecraft laid out the overarching premise that women and men are fundamentally equal beings. An extremely nuanced and articulate work, A Vindication of the Rights of Women discussed everything from citizenship to early gender theory. Wollstonecraft maintained that the minds of women are no different than those of men. The only difference, Wollstonecraft explained, is that society has conditioned women to behave in a certain manner. "Feminine manners," Wollstonecraft argued, are subordination, unintelligence, innocence, and objectification, and have been instilled into women, often as their only form of "education." Such gender-centric society demeaned everyone's dignity, she argued. Outraged, Wollstonecraft demanded incorporating women into the standard educational system. She passionately exclaimed, "Let an enlightened nation then allow women to share the advantages of education and government with man, see whether they will become better as they grow wiser and become free," (Wollstonecraft, 151).

Elaborating on her notion that the only reason women are inferior is because they have been instructed socially to act in such a manner, Wollstonecraft also attacked the institution of marriage. Calling it "legalized prostitution" because of its stipulations at the time, she demanded that women refuse to participate in such a false union. She pleaded for an egalitarian marriage under the state, where women are able to make decisions and own property, instead of being property. Through this, Wollstonecraft also laid the origins of feminist sexual politics; by labeling marriage as prostitution in coincidence with her dissertations on the objectification of women, her work has inspired further works on female sexual liberation from the archetypes of childbearer and homemaker.

Wollstonecraft did more than just reveal the social scourging of her gender, however; she charged women to change their society. Mary Wollstonecraft called for a "revolution in female manners." She wanted women to cease accepting the gender-based identity society tried to force upon them, instead acknowledging their fundamental equality with men. Wollstonecraft was a revolutionary in the truest sense. An impassioned and outspoken woman, her writing laid the groundwork for women's liberation. Her work was not weak or elementary, either. It did not merely "open the door" for feminism, or help to get the movement started. Rather, it was a bold and extensive collection of arguments; Wollstonecraft presented a fully maturated "radical feminism" through her work, which required no clarification or expansion by subsequent authors. Her ideas have remained essentially intact through the ages, and are considered by contemporary feminists to be as relevant today as they were in 1792.

Mary Wollstonecraft's ideas were the source of the early suffragist movements in the UK as well as in America, as well as the "second-wave feminism" of the late 60s, the period in time where pay inequity, violence against women, and gender roles were brought into the mainstream political scene. Mary Wollstonecraft's work even impacts modern feminism. Her sexual politics is mirrored in modern feminist leaders like Andrea Dworkin and Gloria Steinem. The National Organization for Women, the largest and most recognizable bastion of feminism in America, reflects her radical spirit of unadulterated equality. In fact, nearly all contemporary feminist thought stems from the basic tenets presented in Mary Wollstonecraft's writings.

In addition to impacting my society, Mary Wollstonecraft has affected my life on an individual level. Feminism is an integral part of my daily life. I regularly read Bitch, a feminist magazine written as a response to pop culture. I listen to various feminist musicians, such as Le Tigre, Tegan and Sara, and Indigo Girls. I routinely bring up and discuss feminist issues with my peers. I have even spent the past six months writing, memorizing, and finally delivering a ten-minute oration on modern feminism in the National Forensics League, speaking at various competitions, including Harvard University's Invitational. In the future, I hope to volunteer with Planned Parenthood to help protect women's reproductive rights, as well as rally for gender equity. Feminism matters to me, and my passion would not be possible without the early campaigning and ferocious writings of Mary Wollstonecraft.

A firebrand in a time of cordiality, Mary Wollstonecraft was more than a "starting point" for feminism, she was the creator of feminist theory itself. Her writings were evocative, articulate, and intellectually compelling. Her call for revolution was heard by early suffragists, who heeded her words and created a massive movement toward women's rights. Mary Wollstonecraft is the origin of nearly all feminist theory, even as it exists today, and her impact on society extends into our contemporary world. Her powerful statements resound in our society--and my own personal life-- and will keep on doing so as feminists continue to fight for the equality that Wollstonecraft envisioned over two-hundred years ago.