Introduction to an important current topic written by Florence Rochefort, a renowned specialist in the history of feminism, women, and gender.

The late 18th-century revolutions first brought up the matter of rights, citizenship, and women's liberation. Various forms of feminism took root on every continent to free half the human population to speak and act. Florence Rochefort traces these transnational interactions and the major characteristics of modes of thought and mobilization against gender inequality and in favor of female freedom, as well as new gender norms.