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Feminism

I'm an 18-year old college student and I will be taking part in a debate on feminism next Wednesday. Our topic is "Feminism is No Longer Relevant" and my team is opposing it. For starters, who coined the word feminism - is it a guy or a girl who did that? Thanks! Cindy

From my research, I've found the following about the origin of the word feminism:

The term was coined in France--feminisme--in the 1880s by Hubertine Auclert, a key figure in France's suffrage movement. It first appeared in the U.S. in an article from 1906--discussing Madeleine Pelletier, another woman active in the European Woman's Suffrage movement.

The above information is from Women Imagine Change: Women's Writings 600 BCE to the Present--and specifically from research done by the academic Nancy Cott. I hope that helps.


Amy