Gender and equality

En clair. Feminism, LGBT+

Ce qu'on te demande au bac (LV1 Anglais) : maîtriser le vocabulaire de « Gender and equality », savoir refaire les raisonnements du cours et les réutiliser sur un sujet ou un document nouveau.

Conseil de révision. Lis d'abord cet encadré, puis fais le quiz : si tu bloques, reprends la partie du cours correspondante.

Gender and equality

Axis and problematic

This topic crosses the axes Identities and exchanges, Private and public spheres and Citizenship and the virtual world. Possible problematic: To what extent has the fight for gender equality reshaped English-speaking societies?

Key historical milestones

• 1848 — Seneca Falls Convention (USA), birth of organised feminism.
• 1918 / 1928 — British women win the vote (over 30, then full suffrage).
• 1963 — Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique.
• 1973 — Roe v. Wade legalises abortion in the USA (overturned 2022).
• 2017 — #MeToo movement spreads after the Weinstein revelations.
• 2018 — Iceland becomes the first country to make gender pay gap illegal.

Vocabulary to master

Cultural references

• Films / series: Hidden Figures (2016), Suffragette (2015), The Handmaid's Tale (Atwood / Hulu).
• Speeches: Emma Watson at the UN (HeForShe, 2014); Michelle Obama, "When they go low, we go high".
• Books: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, We Should All Be Feminists; Reni Eddo-Lodge, Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race.

Useful arguments

• Persisting pay gap (≈ 16 % in the UK, 17 % in the US, 2023).
• Under-representation in STEM fields and political leadership.
• Backlash and online harassment (incel culture, manosphere).
• Intersectionality (Kimberlé Crenshaw): race, gender, class overlap.

Sample thesis statements

Despite undeniable progress, gender equality in English-speaking societies remains an unfinished revolution challenged by economic inequalities, cultural backlash and digital violence.