Feminist Politics, Art, and Activism

During the past century, Dutch culture and society were shaped in important ways by the three feminist waves that thoroughly transformed the position of women in the West. This chapter cannot offer a comprehensive overview of these changes and achievements. Discussions about the effects of feminist activism invariably involve focus on key indicators like the proportion of women in full-time employment, career opportunities for leading positions, the glass ceiling, availability of childcare facilities, male participation rate in care and domestic work, the pay gap between men and women, and so on. A presentation of facts and figures can at least partly answer such questions. However, in order to understand the differences in gender relations expressed by those figures, it is essential to be informed about the history of feminist thought in the Netherlands and to be aware of the gender-specific structures of Dutch society in a transnational context.