For decades, the feminist movement has been a cornerstone in the fight for women’s rights, gender equality, and the dismantling of patriarchal systems.[1]Feminism has challenged the notion that sex and gender should dictate one’s position in society, advocating for the eradication of gender-based violence and systemic discrimination.[2] However, the emergence of the gender movement, which champions transgender and non-binary identities, has sparked a complex debate. While the gender movement seeks to expand inclusivity beyond the binary of male and female,non-binary individuals continue to face systemic challenges, including legal erasure, social discrimination, and lack of representation. Many struggle with internalized stigma and exclusion from cisgender people. [3]
Additionally, it has elicited questions about its stance in relation to feminism. For others, the gender movement is encroaching on feminist goals, while others see the two as complementary movements within the broader struggle for equality. Some radical feminists argue that non-binary identities are founded on a flawed concept of gender and that recognizing them socially and politically hinders women’s liberation.[4] Central to this discussion is a simple question: Is the gender movement overshadowing the feminist movement? Are they indeed converging toward the same goal, or does the expansion of gender identity discourse potentially deflect focus away from sex-based oppression and the fight for women’s rights? While these arguments are presented, feminism is at crossroads should it evolve with gender inclusivity, or does it risk losing its original mission in doing so? This article explores the tensions and synergies between feminism and the gender movement, examining whether the rise of gender fluidity is eclipsing the feminist agenda or enriching it and the shifting focus of global policies and funding.
The Evolution of feminism and the emergence of the gender movement
Feminism evolved through distinct waves each addressing different aspects of gender inequality. [5]The early feminist wave addressed suffrage.[6] In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there came a drive towards winning rights to vote. Its prime agents, among other females of strong belief and advocacy were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.[7] The second wave, spanning from the 1960s to the 1980s, extended the discussion to reproductive rights, equality in the workplace, and sexuality.[8] The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan challenged traditional roles meant for women.[9]The third wave, beginning in the 1990s, introduced the intersectional framework, realizing that women’s lives are impacted by race, class, and sexual orientation. [10]Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term intersectionality, identifying how different social categories intersect to create different levels of discrimination.[11]The fourth wave, which came into prominence in the 2010s, has been characterized by digital activism, with blog campaigns and hashtags revealing systemic gender-based sexual harassment and violence.[12]
In recent years, the gender movement has gained significant traction, advocating for the recognition of transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming identities challenging the traditional binary understanding of gender. The roots of this movement are traced back to postmodernist and queer theory scholars, such as Judith Butler, who argued that gender is socially constructed rather than being an innate biological fact.[13] Butler’s theory of gender performativity argued that gender identity is created through repeated social acts rather than being fixed by biological sex.[14] This paved the way for a broader movement that questioned traditional gender norms and pushed for the acceptance of transgender and non-binary individuals.
The second important factor was the second-wave feminist movement during the 1960s and 1970s that emphasized gender role socialization and debunked the theory of inherent difference between men and women.[15] However, there were some radical feminists who opposed the inclusion of trans identities within the feminist umbrella on the grounds that the erasure of biological sex would eventually harm the rights of women.
The e-revolution and online activism were also crucial to accelerating the gender movement. Social media sites created global networks that amplified trans activism and facilitated marginalized identities to attain community and visibility.[16]Advances in law and medicine, such as enhanced access to gender-affirming health care and gender recognition law reform, also served to entrench transgender rights.
Despite its advances, the gender movement has raised ongoing controversies within feminism regarding how to balance the promotion of transgender inclusion with the protection of sex-based rights. Whereas some consider it to complement feminism in that it is a critique of patriarchal norms for all genders, others hold that it is a distraction from the critical interests of biological women.[17]
Tensions and synergies between feminism and the gender movement
For over a century, the feminist movement has challenged the idea that gender and sex dictate roles in society, combating the violence and discrimination it perpetuates. This struggle is joined by LGBTI movements because both are oppressed by gender norms, making their struggle for equality a shared cause.[18] There are specific areas of overlap between feminist and gender movements. For instance, the fight for bodily autonomy connects feminist advocacy for reproductive rights with the gender movement’s push for gender-affirming healthcare. [19]Additionally, both movements challenge traditional gender norms, advocating for a world where gender does not dictate one’s social role or opportunities.[20]
However, tensions emerged between the two movements, particularly around priorities and attention. Some radical feminists argue that the increasing attention to gender diversity has diverted attention away from pressing women’s concerns hence detrimental to the material interests of women.[21]They argue that inclusion is necessary but that feminism must still prioritize the structural injustices that disproportionately affect women. Alternatively, gender activists including transfeminists suggest that feminism must evolve to include gender-diverse individuals since strict definitions of womanhood might leave out certain individuals. [22]These tensions have resulted in splits among feminist circles, with some feminists embracing the broader gender movement and others advocating for a shift to a women-specific approach.
Funding and Focus: Are Resources Shifting Away from Feminism?
A growing concern among some feminists is the perception that more funds and attention are being directed toward the gender movement, particularly for events, programs, and initiatives focused on transgender and non-binary issues. This shift has led to debates about whether traditional feminist causes are being sidelined. [23]The global Philanthropy Project has played a pivotal role in increasing and shaping funding for trans and intersex movements by mobilizing resources, convening donors, providing grant making guidance, and producing critical research to drive strategic philanthropic investments.[24]Funding for trans and intersex movements has experienced substantial growth, reaching nearly $135 million in 2021–2022, a significant rise compared to previous years. This increase reflects efforts of a broader push towards gender identity rights and advocacy within global philanthropic efforts.[25]
Moreover, some feminists have shifted their focus to writing and advocating for gender fluidity and non-binary identities, which has led to accusations that feminism is being diluted or co-opted by the gender movement.[26] Critics argue that this shift risks erasing the specific challenges faced by women, contending that there is denial of fear from feminist on occupation of women only spaces and little attention will be paid to them.[27] However, proponents of the gender movement contend that advocating for transgender and non-binary rights is an extension of feminist principles, as both movements seek to dismantle systems of oppression based on gender.[28] From this perspective, the increased funding for gender diversity initiatives reflects a broader understanding of gender justice, one that includes all marginalized genders rather than focusing exclusively on women.
Conclusion
Against this backdrop, the international perspective is necessarily shifting away from orthodox feminism towards a gender-inclusive tradition. Most contemporary scholars argue that a new wave one that fully incorporates transgender, non-binary, and other gender-diverse experience is needed to overturn system oppression. This shift is seen in both intellectual and policy work, where the emphasis is on the defense of the welfare and rights of gender-diverse individuals Instead of marking the end of feminism, this shift is one that expands its scope to fight a broad array of gender-based injustices while continuing to critique patriarchal structures. Finally, feminist activism’s future is dependent upon taking an inclusive strategy that supports equality without abandoning the unique difficulties that women continue to face Belinda Sweeney underscores, trans-inclusion measures typically concentrate on gender identity as a class under protection, reinscribing entrenched gender roles rather than subverting them. This tension stresses the need for a more equitable approach one that makes possible an advance in gender rights without loss to the key struggles of feminist movements.
[1] Myra Marx Ferree and Carol McClurg Mueller, The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements , Feminism and the Women’sMovement: A Global Perspective,Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2004, 576.
[2] World Economic Forum, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, “Gender is Where Feminist and LGBTI Movements Meet,” July 23, 2019, [https://www.weforum.org/stories/2019/07/gender-where-feminist-movements-and-lgbti-movements-meet/](https://www.weforum.org/stories/2019/07/gender-where-feminist-movements-and-lgbti-movements-meet/), accessed February 25, 2025.
[3] Chasity N. Fiani and Heather J. Han (2019), “Navigating Identity: Experiences of Binary and Non-Binary Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) Adults,” International Journal of Transgenderism, 186-188.
[4] Josh T U Cohen, Gender Identities and Feminism (University of Cambridge, Ethics, Politics & Society, 2017) 141.
[5] Ania Malinowska, (2020) The International Encyclopaedia of Gender, Media, and Communication, Waves of Feminism, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1.
[6] Stanton, E. C., & Anthony, S. B. (1881). History of Woman Suffrage (Vol. 1).
[7] Stanton, E. C., & Anthony, S. B. (1881). History of Woman Suffrage (Vol. 1).
[8] Nancy Fraser, ‘Feminism, Capitalism, and the Cunning of History’,2012,4.
[9] Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, W.W. Norton & Company,1963,16.
[10] Ania Malinowska, ‘Waves of feminism’(nd),5.
[11] UN WOMEN, ‘Intersectional feminism: what it means and why it matters right now’, 1 July 2020, https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/6/explainer-intersectional-feminism-what-it-means-and-why-it-matters 6 March 2025.
[12] Mohajan Haradhan, Four Waves of Feminism: A Blessing for Global Humanity’, Paradigm Academic Press, 2022, 6.
[13] Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity Routledge, 1990, 6-10.
[14] Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Routledge, 1990, 9.
[15] Michael Biggs, ‘How Feminism Paved the Way for Transgenderism’ Quillette, 2019, 12-15.
[16] Isabelle Rojek, ‘The Past, Present, and Future Feminism: LGBTQ+ Representation Matters’, 2021, 45.
[17] Christen Prince, (2020) Women’s Spaces, Women’s Rights: Feminism and the Transgender Rights Movement , Marquette Law Review, 1517.
[18] Equity, diversity and inclusion, ‘Gender is where the feminist and LGB TI movements meet. Here’s why’, World economic Forum, 23 July 2019,
[19] ACLU, ‘ How Women’s Rights Paved the Way for Gender Justice at the ACLU’, 17 March 2022, https://www.aclu.org/news/womens-rights/how-womens-rights-paved-the-way-for-gender-justice-at-the-aclu > 6 March 2025.
[20] ACLU, Trans Rights Are Women’s Rights, 17 March 2023, https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbtq-rights/trans-rights-are-womens-rights > 6 March 2025.
[21] Belinda Sweeny, (2004) ‘Trans-ending women’s rights: The politics of trans-inclusion In the age of gender’, Women’s studies international forum,82.
[22] Amelia Hanford, Feminists explain how the fights for women’s rights and trans rights are one and the same, 8 March 2023, https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/03/08/trans-rights-feminism/ >4 March 2035.
[23] Megan Murphy, The Trans Movement is a lie, 17 August 2023, https://www.feministcurrent.com/2023/08/17/the-trans-movement-is-a-lie/ > 6 March 2025.
[24] Transgender and intersex funding initiative, Global Philanthropy Project, https://globalphilanthropyproject.org/initiatives_3/trans-and-intersex-funding/ 28 February 2025.
[25] Global Philanthropy Project, Global Resources Report 2021–2022: Government and Philanthropic Support for LGBTI Communities (2023).
[26] Jack Halberstam (2018) Toward a trans feminism.
[27] Beatriz Gimeno, Feminism should not dear trans rights, 28 December 2022, https://worldcrunch.com/trans-rights-human-rights > 4 March 2025.
[28] Why I’m trans and a feminist, The Guardian, 18 January 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/18/trans-feminist-panel > 4 March 2025.
