Herland

Content Warning: This section contains mentions of sexual assault and suicide.

First-wave feminism was an intercontinental social movement that took place in the mid-19th century into the 20th century. The main goals of first-wave feminism were to help white women secure the rights to vote and gain equal opportunities for education and work. Many men and women opposed first-wave feminism, and their platform relied heavily on the idea that women were fundamentally inferior to men. This idea was widely supported by biased and incorrect science, which used details such as brain size as proof of women’s inferiority. Opponents of the feminist movement claimed that women’s intellectual inferiority would prevent them from making appropriate political decisions and succeeding in higher education and the workforce. They also claimed that women were physically inferior and therefore unfit to hold certain jobs.

Herland offers a fictional counterargument against the opponents of first-wave feminism. The male characters each represent a different anti-feminist perspective—Van uses science to justify his prejudice, Jeff idolizes women and feels they should be protected from the dangerous world and physical labor, and Terry sexualizes women, judging them only on their perceived sexual value. The Herlanders represent women free from oppressive patriarchy. Where anti-feminists like Terry argue that women are too competitive and catty to function well together, the Herlanders—both white women and previously enslaved women—work together to form an organized society. The male characters initially assume a woman-led country would be inefficient, but Herland is more logical and efficient than the men’s home country, the US. Gilman portrays women as equally physically and mentally capable, if not more capable, than men, and thus deserving of equal rights.