A history of proto-feminism:  From antiquity to Wollstonecraft 

“If all men are born Free, why are all women born slaves?” – Mary Astell (1666-1731)  

The history of feminist thought within the popular imagination seems to emerge with the writings of Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797), perhaps the most famous proto-feminist. Of course, we can’t limit our perceptions of the history of feminist thought to this as, from Plato (c428BC–348BC) to Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) and Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (1648-1695), there exists a rich vein of feminist traditions which continue to influence 21st century feminism. 

Education, education, education 

“If women are to have the same duties as men, they must have the same nurture and education” – Plato, Republic, Book V 

Through an investigation of proto-feminism, one particular theme is prevalent above all others: a woman’s inherent right to an education. Today, charities such as the Malala Fund, School Girls Unite, and Care are leading the fight to provide equitable education to millions of women around the globe. Currently UNESCO estimates that 129 million girls are out of education. The embryonic beginnings of this fight can be traced throughout proto-feminism. 

Since Plato’s argument within the Republic around 2400 years ago, the idea that a dichotomy exists which separates the intellectual potential of men and women has been challenged. The belief that men and women shared rational and intellectual abilities was equally purported by Roman scholars such as the Stoic, Gaius Musonius Rufus. Musonius published his works ‘That Women too should study Philosophy’ within the book That One Should Disdain Hardships. Within these works Musonius argues for both the shared ‘inclination and capacity’ of female and male intellectualism. Musonius follows this up by challenging gender roles as a whole, stating that, “All human tasks are a common obligation and are common for men and women, and none is necessarily appointed for either one exclusively”.  

Departing from the Ancient World and approaching the Medieval World, one notices a particular change in the attitude to women instigated by Christian Theological interpretations. The Medieval view of women was one coloured by a belief in the guilt of all women for the Original Sin of Eve. The consequential view of women in this era was one characterised by weakness, malevolence, and servitude to men. As a result, the belief that women were borne into inferiority to men intellectually was commonplace. 

Such a view was eloquently challenged by Christine de Pizan (1364-1430): an early protagonist within the ‘Querelle des Femmes’  – or ‘The Female Question’ (The name given to the discussion on the place and capacity of women in the 15th to 18th Century). Christine de Pizan is a fascinating character, practising poetry, politics, and lecturing, her most famous work being The Book of the City of Ladies (1405). Within this book, de Pizan defends the nature and capacity of women by exploring the roles of a wide range of talented women throughout history.  

The Book of the City of Ladies incorporates several themes which have since become crucial components of 21st century feminism, such as sexual violence against women and the importance of women in roles of government. However, the key aspect of the book is undoubtedly an appeal for the education of women based on women’s inherent reason and the justice of gender equality. Throughout the book, de Pizan, positions herself in a dialogue with Lady Reason, who performs the role of teaching her allegorical self.  

One of the key teachings of Lady Reason is to dispel de Pizan’s internalised misogyny. de Pizan successfully illustrates how one’s society influences and informs the beliefs one inherits about their identity. You can see the influence of such a theory of socialisation in modern work by Ann Oakley (1944-), who developed a sex-role theory, holding that gender roles are inherited from culture rather than biological difference between men and women.  

The argument for female emancipation through education was championed in Tudor England by Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), wife of Henry VIII, who commissioned a book arguing for a women’s right to education. The book, written for a young Mary I by Juan Luis Vives in 1523, was titled Instruction of a Christian Woman. Vives argued for universal education of all women, irrespective of class, and further challenged the predominant notion that a women’s role in marriage was purely reproductive. Instead, Vives held that marriage should constitute intellectual companionship. Catherine of Aragon, alongside a passion for education, also became the first female ambassador in Europe when her father appointed her as Spain’s ambassador to England in 1507. 

The art of the Protest; All Roads lead to Rome 

“We have not kept our women under control, we now dread them collectively” – Cato the Elder (243 BCE-149 BCE) 

Throughout the four waves of modern feminism, protest has proved a crucial tool utilised in the pursuit of equality. Whether it be The Suffragettes, Take Back the Night or Iranian protests against the oppressive Morality Police, protest is a crucial form of personal and collective expressions of unity and strength.  

The roots of feminist protest are deeper entrenched than many believe, as the above quote illustrates, female collective action originated over 2,200 years ago. In 195 BCE, the Roman Senate refused to repeal a wartime law: Lex Oppia. Lex Oppia was a law which singularly affected women and their purchasing power; the law banned women from possessing certain items and restricted movement. Such restrictions focused particularly on clothing and personal expressions of individuality, one of the few areas of freedom enjoyed within the patriarchal Roman society.  

Upon the failure of efforts to repeal the law, women from local towns and rural areas around Rome marched into the city, blocking roads and performing the first large-scale feminist protest in history. The unified front presented by these women some 2,218 years ago led to the Senate repealing the unjust law. Scholars on the subject argue that the role of these women empowered future generations of Roman women to apply similar pressure when they felt their rights had been undermined. 

The role of protest remains a crucial component within the feminist toolbox when attempting to highlight injustice, show solidarity and apply pressure on legislatives who remain predominantly male throughout the world. Protests, and the rights to protest, remain a particularly salient subject for those within the United Kingdom. Many readers may remember the Kill the Bill protests which erupted across Bristol in March 2021. The protest (mirrored across the country) was an expression of unease and discontent in response to the proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC). 

The PCSC enables new police powers in relation to protests, including: starting and finishing times, noise restrictions, and the ability to end protests if they caused an arbitrary level of ‘annoyance’ to local community or business. The Kill the Bill protest in Bristol and subsequent riot is important to view in context to its proximity to the illegal action from police officers at the Sarah Everard vigil –  only occurring 8 days prior. The right to protest women’s issues, established by Roman women, remains a right under siege from those within the Conservative Party who, over this Parliaments course, have attempted to undermine expressions of unity and discontent with concerted attacks on the rights to protest and the right to industrial action.  

Colonialism and Intersectionality: Lessons from Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (1648-1695) 

“If you don’t have a lens that’s been trained to look at how various forms of discrimination come together, you’re unlikely to develop a set of policies that will be as inclusive as they need to be” – Kimberlé Crenshaw (1959-) 

One of the most important components of 21^st Century feminism is the combined efforts of post-colonial and intersectional scholars and activists.  

Once more, through looking at proto-feminist history, one can see the seedlings of this line of modern feminist thought. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz was a Mexican scholar and nun during the colonial period. She relates to intersectionality in a fascinating way. Firstly, scholar Gaspar de Alba argues that Sor Juana was a forerunner to the lesbian movement as she rejected the conception of inherent heterosexuality.  

Secondly, many of Sor Juana’s plays (of which there are a plethora) explore ideas of indigeneity and colonialism, such as ‘Loa to Divine Narcissus’. Throughout the play, Sor Juana portrays indigenous practices as having inherent value, further highlighting the injustice of Spanish oppression to these practices. 

Sor Juana’s writing and plays exhibit a level of critical analysis levelled at colonialism that is not seen often, if at all, until the eruption of post-colonial works during the 1960s, with scholars such as Franz Fanon in his seminal works ‘The Wretched of the Earth’ (published 1961).  

Additionally, Sor Juana’s place as an advocate for lesbians and indigenous peoples offers a particularly important intellectual building block for the propagation of later theories of intersectionality.These were popularised by Kimberlé Crenshaw in her 1989 essay “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Anti-discrimination Doctrine Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics”.

• Plato (428-348 BCE) – Philosopher  
• Rebels of the Lex Oppia (195 BCE) 
• Gaius Musonius Rufus (20-101) – Author  
• Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) – Queen of England 
• Nicola de la Haie (1150-1230) – Sherriff of Lincolnshire 
• Marie de France (1160-1215) – Poet 
• Bettisia Gozzadini (1209-1261) – First Female University Professor 
• Christine de Pizan (1364-1430) – Philosopher and Author 

• Bartolomeo Goggio (1430-1493) – Author 
• Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) – Queen of England 
• Marie de Gournay (1565-1645) – Author 
• Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673) – Scientist 
• Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (1648-1695) – Theologian and Philosopher 
• Mary Astell (1666-1731) – Philosopher  
• Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) – Philosopher