List of feminists


This is a list of important participants in the development of feminism, originally sorted by surname within each period.
It may include, for instance, earlier authors who did not self-identify as feminists but have been claimed to have furthered "feminist consciousness" by a resistance of male dominance expressed in their works.

Early feminists

Born before 1499.
Period NameCountryBornDiedCommentsSource
1200–1300Helen of AnjouSerbia12361314Serbian Queen, feminist, establisher of women's schools
1300–1400Christine de PizanItaly13651430Medieval court writer
1300–1400JefimijaSerbia13491405Serbian politician, poet, diplomat
1400–1499Laura CeretaItaly14691499Humanist and feminist writer
1400–1499Balaram DasIndiaunknownunknown15th century Odia poet; first attempt in India towards feminism
1400–1499Isabel de VillenaCatalan Countries14301460Feminist Nun

16th-century feminists

Born between 1500 and 1599.
Period NameCountryBornDiedCommentsSource
1500–1599Heinrich Cornelius AgrippaGermany14861535Male feminist, wrote Declamatio de nobilitate et praecellentia foeminei sexus , a book pronouncing the theological and moral superiority of women
1500–1599Jane AngerUnited KingdomProtofeminist writer of Jane Anger her Protection for Women
1500–1599Marie de GournayFrance15651645Protofeminist writer of Egalité des hommes et des femmes
1500–1599Modesta di Pozzo di ForziItaly1501–1600Protofeminist writer of The Worth of Women''
1500–1599Lucrezia MarinellaItaly1653Italian poet, author, and an advocate of women's rights
1500–1599Izumo no OkuniJapanunknownOriginator of kabuki theater

17th-century feminists

Born between 1600 and 1699.
Period NameCountryBornDiedCommentsSource
1600–1699Mary AstellUnited Kingdom1731English feminist writer and rhetorician
1600–1699Aphra BehnUnited Kingdom16401689Writer and protofeminist
1600–1699Anne BradstreetUnited Kingdom16121672North American colonial poet
1600–1699Sophia Elisabet BrennerSweden16591724Writer and women's rights activist
1600–1699François Poullain de la BarreFrance16471725Male feminist philosopher
1600–1699Sr. Sor Juana Inés de la CruzMexico16481695Hieronymite nun, scholar and poet
1600–1699Ninon de l'EnclosFrance16201795Author, courtesan, and patron of the arts

18th-century feminists

Born between 1700 and 1799.
Period NameCountryBornDiedCommentsSource
1700–1799Abigail AdamsUnited States17441818Wife of John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams
1700–1799Catharina AhlgrenSweden17341800Female Swedish publisher and writer.
1700–1799Annestine BeyerDenmark17951884Pioneer of women's education
1700–1799Eleanor ButlerIreland17391829One of the Ladies of Llangollen
1700–1799Marquis de CondorcetFrance17431794
1700–1799Olympe de GougesFrance17481793Playwright and political activist who wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen in 1791
1700–1799Anne-Josèphe Théroigne de MéricourtFrance17621817Politician
1700–1799Francisco de Miranda, Gen.Venezuela17501816Published an impassioned plea for women's education.
1700–1799Madeleine de PuisieuxFrance17201798Writer
1700–1799Dorothea ErxlebenGermany17151762First female medical doctor in Germany, argued for the right of women to study medicine and other disciplines at university
1700–1799Charles FourierFrance17721837Socialist feminist; philosopher; credited with coining the word "féministe"
1700–1799Jane GomeldonUnited Kingdom1779Writer and first to use the press to gain power through transparency.
1700–1799Sarah Moore GrimkéUnited States17921873Suffragist and abolitionist
1700–1799Francis HutchesonIreland16941746Scottish-Irish philosopher, a founding father of the Scottish Enlightenment
1700–1799Christian Isobel JohnstoneUnited Kingdom17811857Journalist and author in Scotland
1700–1799Anne KnightUnited Kingdom17861862Social reformer; pioneer of feminism
1701–1800Anna Maria LenngrenSweden17541817Writer, poet, and salonist; possibly a feminist
1700–1799Lucretia MottUnited States17931880Abolitionist and women's rights campaigner
1700–1799Sarah PonsonbyIreland17551831One of the Ladies of Llangollen
1700–1799Mary ShelleyUnited Kingdom17971851Early pioneer feminist
1700–1799Maria Engelbrecht StokkenbechDenmark1759after 1806Dressed as a man to be able to work
1700–1799Thomas ThorildSweden17591808Male feminist, poet
1700–1799William Thompson Ireland17751833Pro-feminist, socialist, collaborator of Anna Wheeler, author of "Appeal of One Half the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other Half, Men, to Retain Them in Political, and thence in Civil and Domestic Slavery", 1825, first published appeal for equality of women
1700–1799Sojourner TruthUnited States1883First-wave feminist; abolitionist, women's rights activist, speaker, women's rights speech "Ain't I a Woman?"
1700–1799Anna WheelerIreland17851848Feminist and socialist writer who networked Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, Henri Saint-Simon, William Thompson and Flora Tristan, Desiree Veret
1700–1799Mary WollstonecraftUnited Kingdom17591797Early pioneer proto-feminist. Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
1700–1799Frances WrightUnited Kingdom17951852feminist

Early and mid 19th-century feminists

Born between 1800 and 1874.
Period
1800–1874Maria DeraismesFrance18281894
1800–1874Jeanne DeroinFrance18051894
1800–1874Charlotte Despard née FrenchUnited Kingdom18441939Suffragette
1800–1874Wilhelmina DruckerNetherlands18471925First wave feminist, political activist and writer
1800–1874Louisa Margaret DunkleyAustralia18661927Labour organizer
1800–1874Marguerite DurandFrance18641936Suffragette
1800–1874Friedrich EngelsGermany18201895Communist; male
1800–1874Emily FaithfullUnited Kingdom18351895
1800–1874Millicent Garrett FawcettUnited Kingdom18471929Long-time president of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
1800–1874Astrid Stampe FeddersenDenmark18521930Chaired the first Scandinavian meeting on women's rights
1800–1874Anna FilosofovaRussia18371912Early Russian woman's rights activist
1800–1874Louise FlodinSweden18281923
1800–1874Mary Sargant FlorenceUnited Kingdom18571954Suffragette
1800–1874Isabella FordUnited Kingdom18551924Socialist feminist; suffragette
1800–1874Margaret FullerUnited States18101850Transcendentalist, critic, advocate for women's education, author of Woman in the Nineteenth Century
1800–1874Matilda Joslyn GageUnited States18261898Suffragist, editor, writer, organizer
1800–1874Marie-Louise GagneurFrance18321902Feminist writer
1800–1874Eliza GambleUnited States18411820Intellectual and an advocate of the Women's Movement
1800–1874William Lloyd GarrisonUnited States18051879Abolitionist, journalist, organizer, advocate
1800–1874Edith Margaret GarrudUnited Kingdom18721971Trained the 'Bodyguard' unit of the Women's Social and Political Union Earliest female appointed to any court; early activist against the practice of taking Aboriginal children from their mothers
1800–1874Eliza RitchieCanada18561933Prominent suffragist, executive member of the Local Council of Women of Halifax
1800–1874Harriet Hanson RobinsonUnited States18251911
1800–1874Pauline RolandFrance18051852
1800–1874Rosalie RoosSweden18231898Writer and pioneer of the organized women's rights movement in Sweden
1800–1874Ernestine RoseUnited States, Russia-Poland18101892Suffragette
1800–1874Hilda SachsSweden18571935Journalist, writer and feminist
1800–1874George SandFrance18041876Early pioneer feminist
1800–1874Anna SandströmSweden18541931Educational reformer
1800–1874Auguste SchmidtGermany18331902
1800–1874Olive SchreinerSouth Africa18551920
1800–1874Rose ScottAustralia18471925Suffragette
1800–1874Anna Howard ShawUnited States18471919President of National Women's Suffrage Association 1904–1915
1800–1874Kate SheppardNew Zealand18481934Influential in winning voting rights for women in 1893
1800–1874Tarabai ShindeIndia18501910
1800–1874Emily Anne Eliza ShirreffUnited Kingdom18141897Early pioneer feminist
1800–1874Eleanor Mildred SidgwickUnited Kingdom18451936
1800–1874Dame Ethel Mary SmythUnited Kingdom18581944Suffragette
1800–1874Anna Garlin SpencerUnited States18511931
1800–1874Elizabeth Cady StantonUnited States18151902Social activist, abolitionist, suffragist, organizer of the 1848 Women's Rights Convention, co-founder of the National Woman Suffrage Association and the International Council of Women
1800–1874Anna SterkySweden, Denmark18561939
1800–1874Helene StöckerGermany18691943
1800–1874Milica Stojadinović-SrpkinjaSerbia18281878Feminist; war correspondent; writer; poet
1800–1874Lucy StoneUnited States18181893Orator, organizer of the first National Women's Rights Convention, founder of the Woman's Journal, and first recorded American woman to retain her surname after marriage
1800–1874Emily Howard StoweCanada18311903Physician, advocate for women's inclusion in the medical professional community, founder of the Canadian Women's Suffrage Association
1800–1874Helena SwanwickUnited Kingdom18641939Suffragette
1800–1874Frances SwineyUnited Kingdom18471922Suffragette
1800–1874TáhirihIran1814/171852Bábí poet, theologian, and proponent of women's rights in 19th-century Iran
1800–1874Caroline TestmanDenmark18391919Co-founder of the Dansk Kvindesamfund
1800–1874Martha Carey ThomasUnited States18571935
1800–1874Sybil Thomas, Viscountess RhonddaUnited Kingdom18571941Suffragette
1800–1874Flora TristanFrance18031844Socialist feminist
1800–1874Harriet TubmanUnited States18201913First-wave feminist
1800–1874Thorstein VeblenUnited States18571929Economist; sociologist; male
1800–1874Alice VickeryUnited Kingdom18441929Physician, supporter of birth control as means of emancipation of women
1800–1874Beatrice WebbUnited Kingdom18581943Socialist feminist
1800–1874Ida B. WellsUnited States18621931Civil rights and anti-lynching activist, suffragist noted for her refusal to avoid media attention because she was African American
1800–1874Anna WhitlockSweden18521930Feminist, suffragette; school pioneer, journalist
1800–1874Karolina WiderströmSweden18561949Suffragette
1800–1874Frances WillardUnited States18391898Suffragist and organizer, Socialist feminist; suffragette
1800–1874Charlotte WilsonUnited Kingdom18541944radical feminist
1800–1874Victoria WoodhullUnited States18381927First-wave feminist; suffragist, organizer, innovator, first woman to run for U.S. presidency
1800–1874Frederick DouglassUnited States1895Male suffragist
1800–1874Caroline KauffmannFrancec. 1840s1924
1800–1874Natalie ZahleDenmark18271913Working for women's right to education.
1800–1874Puah RakovskyPoland - Israel18651955Empowerment of women

Late 19th-century and early 20th-century feminists

Born between 1875 and 1939.
Period NameCountryBornDiedCommentsSource
1875–1939Bella AbzugUnited States19201998Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Ángela Acuña BraunCosta Rica18881983
1875–1939Madeleine AlbrightUnited States, Czechoslovakia193764th United States Secretary of State, and at the time, the highest ranking woman in US history. She is a staunch supporter of the feminist cause.
1875–1939Wim Hora AdemaNetherlands19141998Second-wave feminist; radical feminist
1875–1939Anna Caspari AgerholtNorway18921943Educator on women's rights with Norwegian National Women's Council, women's movement historian
1875–1939Alan AldaUnited States1936
1875–1939Dolores AlexanderUnited States19312008Anti-pornography feminist
1875–1939Maya AngelouUnited States19282014Civil rights activist
1875–1939Margery Corbett AshbyUnited Kingdom18821981Suffragette
1875–1939Ksenija AtanasijevićSerbia18941981Suffragette; philosopher; first PhD in a Serbian university
1875–1939Ti-Grace AtkinsonUnited States1938Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Margaret AtwoodCanada1939Third-wave feminist
1875–1939Helene AylonUnited States19312020Ecofeminist
1875–1939Eva BaconAustralia19091994Feminist and Socialist
1875–1939Faith BandlerAustralia19182015Feminist and civil rights activist
1875–1939Lois W. BannerUnited States1939
1875–1939Thelma BateAustralia19041984Community leader, advocate for inclusion of Aboriginal women in Country Women's Association
1875–1939Rosalyn BaxandallUnited States19392015Second-wave feminist; radical feminist; New York Radical Women
1875–1939Mary Ritter BeardUnited States18761958Feminist; historian
1875–1939Joan BeauchampUnited Kingdom18901964Suffragette
1875–1939Kay BeauchampUnited Kingdom18991992
1875–1939Simone de BeauvoirFrance19081986Second-wave feminist; philosopher; writer
1875–1939Helen BentwichUnited Kingdom18921972
1875–1939Rosa May BillinghurstUnited Kingdom18751953Suffragette
1875–1939Teresa Billington-GreigUnited Kingdom18771964Suffragette
1875–1939Dorothy Lee BoldenUnited States19232002Trade unionist
1865–1964Jeanne BouvierFrance18651964Feminist; trade unionist
1875–1939Elsie BowermanUnited Kingdom18891973Suffragette
1875–1939Helen Gurley BrownUnited States19222012Author of Sex and the Single Girl, long-time editor of Cosmopolitan
1875–1939Stella BrowneCanada18801955Socialist feminist
1875–1939Susan BrownmillerUnited States1935Second-wave feminist ; anti-pornography feminist; radical feminist
1875–1939Katherine BurdekinUnited Kingdom18961963
1875–1939Lucy BurnsUnited States18791966Suffragette; suffragist and women's rights activist
1875–1939Karlyn Kohrs CampbellUnited States1937
1875–1939Clara CampoamorSpain18881972
1875–1939Luisa CapetilloPuerto Rico18791922Puerto Rican labor union suffragette; jailed for wearing pants in public
1875–1939Liz CarpenterUnited States19202010
1875–1939Elvia Carrillo PuertoMexico18781967
1875–1939Florence Fernet-MartelCanada18921986Second-wave feminist; suffragette; educator, mostly active in Quebec
1875–1939Thérèse CasgrainCanada18961981Second-wave feminist; suffragette; politician and senator, mostly active in Quebec
1875–1939Jacqueline CeballosUnited States1925Founder of Veteran Feminists of America
1875–1939Enid CharlesUnited Kingdom18941972radical feminist
1875–1939Shirley St Hill ChisholmUnited States19242005Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Hélène CixousFrance1937
1875–1939Margaret "Gretta" CousinsIreland18781954Irish-Indian suffragist, established All India Women's Conference, co-founded Irish Women's Franchise League
1875–1939Eva CoxAustralia1938Sociologist; long-time member of the Women's Electoral Lobby
1875–1939Jill CraigieUnited Kingdom19111999Socialist feminist
1875–1939Minnie Fisher CunninghamUnited States18821964
1875–1939Thelma Dailey-StoutUnited States19182005Civil rights activist and organizer
1875–1939Hamid DalwaiIndia19321977Socialist feminist
1875–1939Mary DalyUnited States19282010Second-wave feminist; Ecofeminist
1875–1939Sonja DaviesNew Zealand19232005Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Alicia Moreau de JustoArgentina18851986Socialist feminist
1875–1939Agnes de SilvaSri Lanka18851961Pioneered women's suffrage issues in Sri Lanka.
1875–1939Ana María Pérez del CampoSpain1936Lawyer, feminist and writer, divorce law
1875–1939Barbara DemingUnited States19171984
1875–1939Ezlynn DeraniyagalaSri Lanka19081973
1875–1939Betty DodsonUnited States1929Third-wave feminist; sex-positive feminist
1875–1939Sediqeh DowlatabadiIran18821962Journalist and women's rights activist
1875–1939Carol DownerUnited States1933Second-wave feminist; founder of women's self-help movement, feminist, author, health activist, attorney
1875–1939Roxanne Dunbar-OrtizUnited States1939Radical feminist
1875–1939Crystal EastmanUnited States18811928Socialist feminist
1875–1939Françoise d'EaubonneFrance19202005Ecofeminist
1875–1939Esther EillamIsrael1939Second-wave feminist, Mizrahi feminist, major founder of Israel's feminist movement
1875–1939Norah ElamUnited Kingdom, Ireland18781961Radical feminist; suffragette
1875–1939Cynthia EnloeUnited States1938Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Mohtaram EskandariIran18951924Woman's rights activist, founder of "Jam'iat e nesvan e vatan-khah" from 1982 to 1985
1875–1939Jane GoodallUnited Kingdom1934
1875–1939Vivian GornickUnited States1935Radical feminist
1875–1939Lois GouldUnited States19312002
1875–1939Jane GrantUnited States18921972
1875–1939Colette GuillauminFrance19342017
1875–1939Tahar HaddadTunisia18971935Muslim feminist
1875–1939Lizzy Lind af HagebySweden18781963
1875–1939Charlotte HaldaneUnited Kingdom18941969
1875–1939Gisèle HalimiFrance19272020
1875–1939Zaib-un-Nissa HamidullahIndia19212000Muslim feminist
1875–1939Bertha HarrisUnited States19372005Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Caroline HaslettUnited Kingdom18951957
1875–1939He XiangningChina18781972Revolutionary, feminist
1875–1939Dorothy HewettAustralia19232002Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Julka Hlapec-ĐorđevićSerbia18821969Suffragette; writer
1875–1939Nicole HollanderUnited States1939
1875–1939Pak Hon-yongSouth Korea19001956
1875–1939Mary HowellUnited States19321998
1875–1939Edith How-MartynUnited Kingdom18751954Suffragette
1875–1939Fatima Ahmed IbrahimSudan19332017Muslim feminist
1875–1939Fusae IchikawaJapan18931981
1875–1939Luce IrigarayFrance1930
1875–1939Sonia JohnsonUnited States1936
1875–1939Jill JohnstonUnited States19292010
1875–1939Claudia JonesUnited Kingdom, United States, Trinidad and Tobago19151964Suffragette
1875–1939Rosalie Gardiner JonesUnited States18831978Organizer of the Suffrage Hikes
1875–1939Marie JuchaczGermany18791956
1875–1939Raden Adjeng KartiniIndonesia18791904Muslim feminist; Javanese advocate for native Indonesian women, critic of polygamous marriages and lack of education opportunities for women
1875–1939Shidzue KatōJapan18972001Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Aoua KéitaMali19121980
1875–1939Florynce KennedyUnited States19162000Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Annie KenneyUnited Kingdom18791953Suffragette
1875–1939Yamakawa KikueJapan18901980Socialist feminist; anti-prostitution feminist
1875–1939Coretta Scott KingUnited States19272006Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Mabel Ping-Hua LeeUnited States18961966Suffragist; first Chinese woman to earn a PhD from Columbia University
1875–1939Gerda LernerAustria19202013
1875–1939Audre LordeUnited States19341992Third-wave feminist
1875–1939Mina LoyUnited Kingdom18821966
1875–1939Rae LuckockCanada18931972Socialist feminist
1875–1939Margaret Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess RhonddaUnited Kingdom18831958Suffragette
1875–1939Agnes MacphailCanada18901954
1875–1939Dora MarsdenUnited Kingdom18821960
1875–1939Elizabeth Holloway MarstonUnited Kingdom18931993
1875–1939William Moulton MarstonUnited States18931947
1875–1939Nicole-Claude MathieuFrance19372014Empress French feminist; material feminist
1875–1939Else MayerGermany18911962First-wave feminist
1875–1939Antonia MaymónSpain18811959
1875–1939Carolyn MerchantUnited States1936Ecofeminist
1875–1939Maria MiesGermany1931Ecofeminist; professor of sociology and author
1875–1939Inez MilhollandUnited States18861916Key participant in the National Woman's Party and the Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913
1875–1939Kate MillettUnited States19342017Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Laure MoghaizelLebanon19291997Lebanese lawyer and women's rights advocate
1875–1939Florence NagleUnited Kingdom18941988Feminist; first woman in Britain to officially train racehorses.
1875–1939Diane NashUnited States19381960s Civil Rights Movement leader and organizer, voting rights proponent
1875–1939Malak Hifni NasifEgypt18861918Feminist writer
1875–1939Anaïs NinUnited States, France19031977
1875–1939Helena NormantonUnited Kingdom18821957
1875–1939Alexis NourRomania18771940
1875–1939Yoko OnoUnited States, Japan1933
1875–1939Alicia OstrikerUnited States1937Third-wave feminist
1875–1939Grace PaleyUnited States19222007
1875–1939Adela PankhurstUnited Kingdom18851961
1875–1939Christabel PankhurstUnited Kingdom18801958Suffragette; co-founder and leader of the Women's Social and Political Union
1875–1939Sylvia PankhurstUnited Kingdom18821960Suffragette
1875–1939Frances ParkerUnited Kingdom18751924
1875–1939Alice PaulUnited States18851977One of the leaders of the 1910s Women's Voting Rights Movement for the 19th Amendment; founder of National Woman's Party, initiator of the Silent Sentinels and the 1913 Women's Suffrage Parade, author of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment
1875–1939Eva PerónArgentina19191952
1875–1939Frédérique PetridesUnited States, Belgium19031983Feminist; pioneering orchestral conductor, activist and editor of Women in Music, a series of periodicals chronicling the activities of women in music
1875–1939Marion PhillipsUnited Kingdom18811932Suffragette
1875–1939Sylvia PlathUnited States19321963
1875–1939Val PlumwoodAustralia19392008Ecofeminism
1875–1939Letty Cottin PogrebinUnited States1939
1875–1939Eileen PowellAustralia19131997Trade unionist, women's activist and important contributor to the Equal Pay for Equal Work decision
1875–1939Millicent Preston-StanleyAustralia18831955First female member of the NSW Legislative Assembly; campaigned for the custodial rights of mothers in divorce and women's healthcare
1875–1939Lorine Livingston PruetteUnited States18961977
1875–1939Funmilayo Ransome-KutiNigeria19001978Foremost Nigerian women's rights activist
1875–1939Claire RaynerUnited Kingdom19312010
1875–1939Adrienne RichUnited States19292012
1875–1939Mary RichardsonUnited Kingdom18891961Suffragette
1875–1939Léa RobackCanada19032000Feminist; workers' union activist tied with the communist party
1875–1939Hilary RoseUnited Kingdom1935
1875–1939Agnes Maude RoydenUnited Kingdom18761956Suffragette
1875–1939Florence RushUnited States19182008
1875–1939Joanna RussUnited States19372011Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Diana E. H. RussellSouth Africa1938Second-wave feminist; radical feminist;anti-pornography feminist
1875–1939Dora RussellUnited Kingdom18941986Feminist; progressive campaigner, advocate of marriage reform, birth control and female emancipation
1875–1939Manuel SacristánSpain19251985Socialist feminist
1875–1939Nawal el-SadaawiEgypt1931Muslim feminist
1875–1939Idola Saint-JeanCanada18801945Suffragette; journalist
1875–1939Celia SánchezCuba19201980Early pioneer feminist
1875–1939Ellen SandelinSweden18621907Physician, lecturer
1875–1939Flora SandesUnited Kingdom18761956Feminist Sgt. Major in Serbian Army
1875–1939Margaret SangerUnited States18791966Socialist feminist; Founder of American Birth Control League; co-founder and long-time president of Planned Parenthood; writer, nurse
1875–1939Milunka SavićSerbia18881973First European combatant, soldier, feminist
1875–1939Rosika SchwimmerHungary18771948Pacifist, feminist, suffragist and diplomat
1875–1939Barbara SeamanUnited States19352008
1875–1939Baroness SeearUnited Kingdom19131997
1875–1939Huda ShaarawiEgypt18791947Muslim feminist; organizer for the Mubarrat Muhammad Ali, the Union of Educated Egyptian Women and the Wafdist Women's Central Committee, founder and first president of the Egyptian Feminist Union
1875–1939Alix Kates ShulmanUnited States1932Radical feminist
1875–1939Ruth SimpsonUnited States19262008
1875–1939Monica SjööSweden19382005Ecofeminist
1875–1939Eleanor SmealUnited States1939Second-wave feminist; organizer, initiator, president of NOW, founder and president of the Feminist Majority Foundation
1875–1939Valerie SolanasUnited States19361988Radical feminist
1875–1939Jo SpenceUnited Kingdom19341992
1875–1939Gloria SteinemUnited States1934Second-wave feminist; Socialist feminist; radical feminist; anti-pornography feminist; writer
1875–1939Doris StevensUnited States18921963Organizer for National American Women Suffrage Association and the National Woman's Party, prominent Silent Sentinels participant, author Jailed for Freedom
1875–1939Sandy StoneUnited States1936Transfeminist; Second-wave feminist; Theorist, author, and performance artist
1875–1939Marie StopesUnited Kingdom18801958
1875–1939Mary StottUnited Kingdom19072002
1875–1939Jessie StreetAustralia18891970Suffragette, feminist; human rights campaigner; influential in labour rights and early days of UN
1875–1939Louisa StrittmaterUnited States18961944Feminist whose division of her estate to the National Woman's Party as listed in her will was controversially contested.
1875–1939Edith Summerskill, Baroness SummerskillUnited Kingdom19011980
1875–1939Maya SurdutsFrance19372016Human rights activist, feminist and reproductive rights campaigner
1875–1939Maria SvolouGreece1890s1976Socialist feminist
1875–1939Elisabeth TammSweden18801958
1875–1939Mavis TateUnited Kingdom18931947
1875–1939Joan Kennedy TaylorUnited States19262005
1875–1939Renee TaylorNew Zealand1929Socialist feminist
1875–1939Tcheng Yu-hsiuChina18911959Revolutionary
1875–1939Rini TempletonUnited States19351986Socialist feminist
1875–1939Dorothy ThompsonUnited States18931961Buffalo and New York suffragist, later an influential journalist and radio broadcaster
1875–1939Winifred TodhunterUnited Kingdom18771961
1875–1939Jill TweedieUnited Kingdom19361993
1875–1939Mabel VernonUnited States18831975Suffragist, principal member of the Congressional Union for Women Suffrage, major organizer for the Silent Sentinels
1875–1939Roosje VosThe Netherlands18761961Trade unionist, suffragist and politician
1875–1939Harriet Shaw WeaverUnited Kingdom18601932Suffragette
1875–1939Nesta Helen WebsterUnited Kingdom18761960
1875–1939Louise WeissFrance18931983Journalist, writer, politician
1875–1939Trude Weiss-RosmarinUnited States, Germany19081989
1875–1939Clara WichmannNetherlands, Germany,18851922radical feminist
1875–1939Audrey WiseUnited Kingdom19352000
1875–1939Monique WittigFrance19352003
1875–1939Nellie WongUnited States1934Socialist feminist
1875–1939Virginia WoolfUnited Kingdom18821941First-wave feminist
1875–1939Molly YardUnited States19122005Second-wave feminist
1875–1939Adelina ZendejasMexico19091993Socialist feminist

Mid to late 20th-century feminists

Born between 1940 and 1999.
Period NameCountryBornDiedCommentsSource
1940–1999Lesley AbdelaUnited Kingdom1945Expert on women's rights and representation
1940–1999Brooke AckerlyUnited States1966Expert on feminist theory, feminist international relations, and scholar activism
1940–1999Carol J. AdamsUnited States1951Ecofeminist
1940–1999Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieNigeria& United States1977Writer, social commentator, feminist author
1940–1999Haleh Afshar, Baroness AfsharUnited Kingdom1944Muslim feminist, professor of politics and women's studies, member of the British House of Lords
1940–1999Leila AhmedEgypt1940Writer on Islam Islamic feminism
1940–1999Sara AhmedUnited Kingdom1969British-Australian academic working at the intersection of feminist theory, queer theory, critical race theory and postcolonialism
1940–1999Widad AkrawiDenmark1969Writer and doctor, advocate for gender equality and women's empowerment and participation in peace building and post-conflict governance
1940–1999Linda Martín AlcoffUnited States1955Philosopher at the City University of New York
1940–1999Ayaan Hirsi AliUnited States, Netherlands, Somalia,1969Somali-Dutch feminist and atheist activist, writer and politician
1940–1999Pam AllenUnited States1943A founder of New York Radical Women
1940–1999Isabel AllendeChile, United States1942Writer
1940–1999Jane AlpertUnited States1947Radical feminist
1940–1999Tori AmosUnited States1963Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Barbara AndersonUnited States1940Critic and former researcher of the Watchtower Bible and Tract society of Jehovah's Witnesses; Feminist in the community of Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses
1940–1999Gloria E. AnzaldúaUnited States19422004Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Maria ArbatovaUSSR1957
1940–1999Parvin ArdalanIran1967Women's rights activist
1940–1999Judith AstelarraArgentina1943Sociologist specializing in gender studies
1940–1999Élisabeth BadinterFrance1944Dissident
1940–1999Judi BariUnited States19491997Ecofeminist
1940–1999Kathleen BarryUnited States1941Anti-prostitution feminist
1940–1999Benedetta BarziniItaly1943Radical feminist
1940–1999Jennifer BaumgardnerUnited States1970Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Alison BechdelUnited States1960Cartoonist, author; creator of the Bechdel test
1940–1999Melissa BennUnited Kingdom1957Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Magdalen BernsUnited Kingdom19832019Radical feminist; opposed decriminalization of sex work, gender identity politics, and transgender activism
1940–1999Julie BindelUnited Kingdom1962Anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Kat BlaqueUnited States1990Transfeminist, Third-wave feminist, Vlogger
1940–1999Rosie BoycottUnited Kingdom1951
1940–1999Dionne BrandCanada1953
1940–1999Giannina BraschiPuerto Rico1953Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Johanna BrennerUnited States1942Socialist feminist
1940–1999Susie BrightUnited States1958Third-wave feminist; sex-positive feminism
1940–1999Flora BrovinaKosovo1949
1940–1999Rita Mae BrownUnited States1944Second-wave feminist; radical feminist; Redstockings
1940–1999Carrie BrownsteinUnited States1974Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Tammy BruceUnited States1962Dissident feminist
1940–1999Charlotte BunchUnited States1944Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Louise Burfitt-DonsUnited Kingdom1953Conservative feminist
1940–1999Judith ButlerUnited States1956Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Octavia ButlerUnited States19472006
1940–1999Lydia CachoMexico1963
1940–1999Beatrix CampbellUnited Kingdom1947Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Angela CarterUnited Kingdom19401992Socialist feminist
1940–1999Ana CastilloUnited States1953
1940–1999Phyllis CheslerUnited States1940Feminist author, professor
1940–1999Margaret ChoUnited States1968Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Nancy ChodorowUnited States1944
1940–1999Hillary ClintonUnited States1947
1940–1999Kurt CobainUnited States19671994Feminist musician
1940–1999Susan G. ColeCanada1952Anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Patricia Hill CollinsUnited States1948Third-wave feminist; Black feminist
1940–1999Sandra ConeyNew Zealand1944Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Noreen ConnellUnited States1947radical feminist
1940–1999Jeanne CórdovaUnited States19482016Second-wave feminist; lesbian and gay rights activist
1940–1999Rosalind CowardUnited Kingdom1952
1940–1999Laverne CoxUnited States1972Transfeminist
1940–1999Bernadette CozartUnited States19492009Ecofeminist
1940–1999Nikki CraftUnited States1949Radical feminist; anti-pornography feminist; suffragist; one of the main organizers of the Suffrage Hikes
1940–1999Jean CurthoysAustralia1947Dissident
1940–1999Kimberly DarkUnited States1968Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Françoise DavidCanada1948Feminist; politician
1940–1999Angela DavisUnited States1944Second-wave feminist; Black feminist
1940–1999Geena DavisUnited States1956Actor, founder of Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
1940–1999Martha DavisUnited States1957Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Marie-Laure Sauty de ChalonFrance1962Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Christine DelphyFrance1941Socialist feminist; material feminist
1940–1999Julie DelpyFrance1969
1940–1999Mark DeryUnited States1959Third-wave feminist; cyberfeminist
1940–1999Ani DiFrancoUnited States1970Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Gail DinesUnited KingdomAnti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Unity DowBotswana1959Judge and writer; plaintiff in a case that allowed children of Motswana women and foreign men to be considered Batswana
1940–1999Carol Ann DuffyUnited Kingdom1955
1940–1999Stephen DurhamUnited States1947Socialist feminist
1940–1999Andrea DworkinUnited States19462005Radical feminist ; anti-prostitution feminist; anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Shirin EbadiIran1947Muslim feminist; activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner for her efforts for the rights of women and children
1940–1999Barbara EhrenreichUnited States1941Socialist feminist
1940–1999Beth ElliottUnited States1950Transfeminist, Second-wave feminist, folk-singer, activist, and writer
1940–1999Misako EnokiJapan1945Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Susan FaludiUnited States1959Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Fadia FaqirUnited Kingdom, Jordan1956
1940–1999Melissa FarleyUnited States1942Second-wave feminist; radical feminist; anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Johanna FatemanUnited States1974Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Kathy FergusonUnited States1950Individualist feminist
1940–1999Shulamith FirestoneCanada19452012Second-wave feminist; radical feminist; Redstockings; New York Radical Feminists; New York Radical Women
1940–1999Estelle FreedmanUnited States1947Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Jo Freeman United States1945Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Juliette FrettéUnited States1983Sex-positive feminist
1940–1999Marilyn FryeUnited States1941
1940–1999Lindsey GermanUnited Kingdom1951
1940–1999Tavi GevinsonUnited States1996Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Lois Marie GibbsUnited States1951Ecofeminist
1940–1999Stan GoffUnited States1951Socialist feminist
1940–1999Lucy GoodisonUnited Kingdomc. 1940s
1940–1999Heide Göttner-AbendrothGermany1941Second-wave feminist
1940–1999John GreenUnited States1977
1940–1999Germaine GreerUnited Kingdom1939Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Susan GriffinUnited States1943Ecofeminist; anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Miss Major Griffin-GracyUnited States1940Transfeminist
1940–1999Emily HainesCanada1974Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Daphne HampsonUnited Kingdom1944
1940–1999Kathleen HannaUnited States1968Third-wave feminist; riot grrrl
1940–1999Donna HarawayUnited States1944Second-wave feminist; Socialist feminist
1940–1999Nancy HartsockUnited States1943Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Rosemary HennessyUnited States1950Material feminist
1940–1999Shere HiteGermany1942
1940–1999Sarah HoaglandUnited States1945Anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Risa Hontiveros-BaraquelPhilippines1966Filipina women's right activist Philippines
1940–1999Gillian HowieUnited Kingdom19552013
1940–1999Donna M. HughesUnited States1954Third-wave feminist; cyberfeminist; anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Holly HunterUnited States1958Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Anna HutsolUKR1984FEMEN
1940–1999Stevi JacksonUnited Kingdom1951Material feminist
1940–1999Karla JayUnited States1947
1940–1999Kirthi JayakumarIndia1987Intersectional Feminist
1940–1999Sheila JeffreysAustralia1948Second-wave feminist; anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Robert JensenUnited States1958Anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Joan JettUnited States1958Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Claire JohnstonUnited Kingdom19401987
1940–1999Miranda JulyUnited States1974Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Mohja KahfSyria1967Muslim feminist
1940–1999Sheema KalbasiIran1972Writer and advocate for human rights and gender equality
1940–1999Wendy KaminerUnited States1949Anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Marcelle KarpUnited States1962Third-wave feminist; sex-positive feminist
1940–1999Roz KaveneyUnited Kingdom1949Transfeminist; Writer, critic, and poet
1940–1999Jamie KeilesUnited States1992Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Lierre KeithUnited States1964Anti-pornography feminist; Radical feminist
1940–1999Petra KellyGermany19471992Ecofeminist
1940–1999Jean KilbourneUnited States1943Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Grace Ji-Sun KimUnited States, South Korea1969Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Sirje KingseppEstonia1969Socialist feminist
1940–1999Barbara KingsolverUnited States1955Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Anne KleinGermany19412011Berlin Senator for women, youth and family
1940–1999Bonnie Sherr KleinUnited States1941Anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Naomi KleinCanada1970Socialist feminist
1940–1999Anne KoedtUnited States1941Second-wave feminist; radical feminist; Redstockings; New York Radical Feminists; New York Radical Women
1940–1999Elaheh KoulaeiIran1956Muslim feminist
1940–1999Sunitha KrishnanIndia1972Indian social activist and chief functionary and co-founder of Prajwala, an institution that assists trafficked women, girls and transgender people in finding shelter, giving education and employment
1940–1999Julia KristevaFrance, Bulgaria1941
1940–1999Winona LaDukeUnited States1959Ecofeminist
1940–1999Laura LedererUnited States1951Anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999John LennonUnited Kingdom19401980
1940–1999Ellie LevensonUnited Kingdom1978
1940–1999Ariel LevyUnited States1974Third-wave feminist; anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Olga LipovskayaRussia1954
1940–1999Jacqueline LivingstonUnited States1943Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Linda LovelaceUnited States19492002Anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999Wangari MaathaiKenya19402011Ecofeminist
1940–1999Nida MahmoedPakistan1993Pakistan-based feminist English poet
1940–1999Catharine MacKinnonUnited States1946Anti-pornography feminist
1940–1999MadonnaUnited States1958sex-positive feminist
1940–1999Patricia MainardiUnited States1942Second-wave feminist; radical feminist; Redstockings; New York Radical Women
1940–1999Sara MaitlandUnited Kingdom1950
1940–1999Catherine MalabouFrance1959
1940–1999Irshad ManjiCanada1968Muslim feminist
1940–1999Soe Tjen MarchingIndonesia1971
1940–1999Amanda MarcotteUnited States1977
1940–1999Mirjana MarkovićSerbia1942Politician; writer
1940–1999Angela MasonUnited Kingdom1944Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Liza MazaPhilippines1957Socialist feminist
1940–1999Susan McClaryUnited States1946
1940–1999Deirdre McCloskeyUnited States1942Feminist economist
1940–1999Wendy McElroyCanada1951
1940–1999Patricia McFaddenSwaziland1952Radical feminist
1940–1999Angela McRobbieUnited Kingdom1951
1940–1999Rigoberta MenchúGuatemala1959
1940–1999Fatima MernissiMorocco1940Muslim feminist
1940–1999Juliet MitchellUnited Kingdom1940Socialist feminist
1940–1999Hayao MiyazakiJapan1941Socialist feminist
1940–1999Tracey MoberlyUnited Kingdom1964
1940–1999Janet MockUnited States1983Transfeminist
1940–1999Chandra Talpade MohantyIndia1955Postcolonial and Transnational feminism theorist
1940–1999Maxine MolyneuxUnited Kingdom1948
1940–1999Cherríe MoragaUnited States1952
1940–1999Caitlin MoranUnited Kingdom1975
1940–1999Robin MorganUnited States1941Second-wave feminist; radical feminist; anti-pornography feminist; New York Radical Women
1940–1999Bonnie J. MorrisUnited States1961Feminist scholar, author; women's movement, lesbian culture, and women's music historian
1940–1999Laura MulveyUnited Kingdom1941
1940–1999Sally Rowena MuntUnited Kingdom1960Feminist academic and lesbian theorist, author of Heroic Desire: Lesbian Identity and Cultural Space
1940–1999Jenni MurrayUnited Kingdom1950
1940–1999Inga MuscioUnited StatesThird-wave feminist
1940–1999Kathy NajimyUnited States1957Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Suniti NamjoshiIndia1941Third-wave feminist; cyberfeminist
1940–1999Uma NarayanUnited States1958Postcolonial feminist
1940–1999Taslima NasrinBangladesh1962Feminist of Muslim origin
1940–1999Asra NomaniIndia1965Muslim feminist
1940–1999Isa NoyolaUnited States1978Transfeminist, Latina transgender activist and national leader in the LGBT immigrant rights movement
1940–1999Martha NussbaumUnited States1947
1940–1999Ann OakleyUnited Kingdom1944Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Sandra OhCanada, United States1971Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Lars OhlySweden1957Socialist feminist
1940–1999Terry O'NeillUnited States
1940–1999Ellen PageCanada1987Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Camille PagliaUnited States1947Dissident feminist, academic, author of Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson
1940–1999Amanda PalmerUnited States1976Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Carole PatemanUnited Kingdom1940
1940–1999Nancy Paterson United States19532010Third-wave feminist; cyberfeminist
1940–1999PeachesCanada1966Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Sue PerlgutUnited StatesSecond-wave feminist; poet
1940–1999Vesna PešićSerbia1940Feminist; diplomat; politician
1940–1999Irene PeslikisUnited States19432002Second-wave feminist; radical feminist; Redstockings; New York Radical Women
1940–1999Liz PhairUnited States1967Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Mary PipherUnited States1947Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Katha PollittUnited States1949
1940–1999Griselda PollockCanada1949Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Soraya PostSweden1956
1940–1999Anastasia PowellAustralia1982Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Manasi PradhanIndia1962
1940–1999Sharon PresleyUnited States1943Individualist feminist
1940–1999Maria RahaUnited States1972Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Janice RaymondUnited States1943Second-wave feminist; anti-prostitution feminist
1940–1999Bernice Johnson ReagonUnited States1942Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Helen ReddyUnited States, Australia,1941Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Tucker ReedUnited States1989Student leader in the Title IX and campus rape awareness movement, founder of the national organization Student Coalition Against Rape; author of books notable for their realistic depiction of characters with social development disorders
1940–1999Elizabeth Anne ReidAustralia1942World's first advisor on women's affairs to a head of state
1940–1999Karlina Leksono SupelliIndonesia1958
1940–1999Kazimiera SzczukaPoland1966
1940–1999Lili TaylorUnited States1967Third-wave feminist
1940–1999J. Ann TicknerUnited States1937
1940–1999Roya TolouiIran1966Women's rights activist
1940–1999Corin TuckerUnited States1972Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Robin TunneyUnited States1972Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Urvashi VaidUnited States, India1958
1940–1999Tobi VailUnited States1969Third-wave feminist; Riot grrrl
1940–1999Jessica ValentiUnited States1978Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Virginia VargasPeru1945
1940–1999Norah VincentUnited States1968Dissident feminist
1940–1999Hilary WainwrightUnited Kingdom1949Second-wave feminist; Socialist feminist
1940–1999Alice WalkerUnited States1944radical feminist; Black feminist
1940–1999Rebecca WalkerUnited States1969Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Michele WallaceUnited States1952Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Natasha WalterUnited Kingdom1967Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Peng Wan-ruTaiwan19491996
1940–1999Gloria Jean Watkins United States1952Third-wave feminist; Socialist feminist; Black feminist
1940–1999Emma WatsonEngland1990Actor, feminist, United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador
1940–1999Joss WhedonUnited States1964Male feminist
1940–1999Faith WildingUnited States, Paraguay1943Third-wave feminist; cyberfeminist
1940–1999Ellen WillisUnited States19412006Second-wave feminist; radical feminist; sex-positive feminist; Redstockings; New York Radical Women
1940–1999Oprah WinfreyUnited States1954Second-wave feminist
1940–1999Valerie WiseUnited Kingdom1955
1940–1999Naomi WolfUnited States1962Dissident feminist; Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Allison WolfeUnited States1969Third-wave feminist
1940–1999Elizabeth WurtzelUnited States19672020
1940–1999Cathy YoungUnited States, Russia1963
1940–1999Malala YousafzaiPakistan1997Pakistani feminist activist for female education
1940–1999Stasa ZajovicSerbia1953Co-founder and coordinator of Women in Black
1940–1999Julie ZeilingerUnited States1993Third-wave feminist

Notable 20th and 21st-century feminists

Birth year is currently unavailable.
Period NameCountryBornDiedCommentsSource
1940–Lorraine BethelUnited States20th centurySecond-wave feminist
1940–Lauran BethellUnited States20th centuryAnti-prostitution feminist
1940–Sandra BloodworthAustralia20th centuryLabour historian, socialist activist, co-founder of the Trotskyist organisation Socialist Alternative, editor of Marxist Left Review
1940–D. A. ClarkeUnited States20th centuryRadical feminist; anti-pornography feminist
1940–Mary Clark-GlassUnited Kingdom20th century
1940–Carol CohnUnited States20th centuryGender and armed conflict
1940–Donna DreschUnited States20th centuryThird-wave feminist; Riot grrrl
1940–Gunilla EkbergSweden20th centuryAnti-prostitution feminist
1940–Mary FlanaganUnited States20th centuryThird-wave feminist; cyberfeminist
1940–Deborah Frances-WhiteAustralia and Great Britain20th centuryStand-up comedian; Feminist in the community of Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses
1940–Carol HanischUnited States20th centurySecond-wave feminist; radical feminist; Redstockings; New York Radical Women
1940–Luzviminda IlaganPhilippines20th centurySocialist feminist
1940–Noushin Ahmadi KhorasaniIran20th centuryMuslim feminist
1940–Andrew KoomanCanada20th centuryAnti-prostitution feminist; anti-pornography feminist
1940–Peggy KorneggerUnited States20th century
1940–Donna LaframboiseCanada20th centuryDissident feminist
1940–Paris LeesUnited Kingdom20th centuryTransfeminist, journalist, presenter, and transgender rights activist
1940–Dorchen LeidholdtUnited States20th centuryAnti-pornography feminist
1940–Sara Hlupekile LongweZambia20th centuryradical feminist
1940–Jamie McIntoshCanada20th centuryLawyer and women's rights activist
1940–Page MellishUnited States20th centuryAnti-pornography feminist
1940–Honor MooreUnited States20th century
1940–Meghan MurphyCanada20th centuryJournalist; radical feminist; anti-sex industry feminist
1940-Nalini NayakIndia20th century
1940–Benjamin NolotUnited States20th centuryAnti-prostitution feminist
1940–Jerilynn PriorCanada20th century
1940–Kathy RudyUnited States20th centuryEcofeminist
1940–Debbie StollerUnited States20th centuryThird-wave feminist; sex-positive feminist
1940–Lucy SuchmanUnited Kingdom20th centuryThird-wave feminist; cyberfeminist
1940–Helen SwornUnited Kingdom20th centuryAnti-prostitution feminist
1940–Kajsa WahlbergSweden20th centuryAnti-prostitution feminist; Sweden's national rapporteur on human trafficking opposition activities
1940–WarcryUnited States20th centuryRadical feminist
1940–Kaia WilsonUnited States20th centuryThird-wave feminist
1940–Alice WolfsonUnited States20th century
1940–Sande ZeigUnited States20th century