Key figures during the different waves of feminist movements:

Simone de Beauvoir

Credited for setting the groundwork for the second wave of the feminist movement particularly through her novel The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir was a French existential philosopher who used her academia to stand for women’s rights.

Presentation by Chloe and Rahul

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Simone de Beauvoir

Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique, a significant text for the second wave of feminism. Her book and ideas influenced many white, middle-class American women to join the movement.

Presentation by Yumi and Olivia

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Betty Friedan

Margaret Sanger

Birth control activist and author, Margaret Sanger left her legacy for women around the world and helped found Planned Parenthood in America today.

Presentation by Andrew and Farid

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Margaret Sanger

Audre Lorde

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL – 1983: Caribbean-American writer, poet and activist Audre Lorde lectures students at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Lorde was a Master Artist in Residence at the Central Florida arts center in 1983. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

“Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” Audre Lorde was outspoken about an intersectional approach towards the feminist movement. Her criticism of the second wave feminist movement helped the second wave transition into the third wave.

Presentation by Michael and Larson

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Audre Lorde