An Analysis on the Equality Concept of Western Feminism

ABSTRACT: Since the rise of Western feminism for more than a century, it has made great achievements both in theory and in practice, which has effectively promoted the process of women’s emancipation. However, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of feminism —equality between men and women, it still has a long way to go. Tracing the development course of Western feminism, its concept of equality mainly goes through three stages, they are the equality of identity, the equality of difference and that of humanity respectively. This thesis aims to sort out and elaborate the three stages of the development of feminist equality, in hope for making contribution to enlightening women’s studies in China.

KEY WORDS:Western Feminism, Concept of Equality,Identity, Differences, Human