Feminist & Gender History

Women's history, feminist history, and gender history are often conflated, but, while they certainly share some overlap, they are distinct. According to historian Judith Bennett, women's history tends to be "historical work on women" and whereas feminist history is historical work in which the underlying theory is a concern about "the past and present oppression of women" (Bennett 253).  Feminist history traces its roots into the materialist tradition, in part with its discussion of exploitation inherent in the roles assigned to men and women. "Patriarchy" as a category of analysis was quite important for feminist historians. Patriarchy--its etymology stems from the Greek patriarkhes, or ruling father--was emblematic of a male-dominated society in which women were subjected both in the home and in the public sphere.