The history of feminism in Canada has been a gradual struggle aimed at establishing equal rights between women and men. The history of Canadian feminism, like modern, Western feminism in other countries has been divided by scholars into three "waves", each describing a period of intense activism and social change. The use of “waves,” however has been critiqued for its failure to include the feminist activism of, for example, Aboriginal and Québécois women who organized for changes in their own communities as well as for larger social change.
Famous quotes containing the words feminism and/or canada:
“It’s important to remember that feminism is no longer a group of organizations or leaders. It’s the expectations that parents have for their daughters, and their sons, too. It’s the way we talk about and treat one another. It’s who makes the money and who makes the compromises and who makes the dinner. It’s a state of mind. It’s the way we live now.”
—Anna Quindlen (20th century)
“What makes the United States government, on the whole, more tolerable—I mean for us lucky white men—is the fact that there is so much less of government with us.... But in Canada you are reminded of the government every day. It parades itself before you. It is not content to be the servant, but will be the master; and every day it goes out to the Plains of Abraham or to the Champs de Mars and exhibits itself and toots.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)