Comparing Ireland and Quebec: The Case of Feminism

Recently, both Micheline Dumont (2000) and Linda Cardinal (2000) have drawn attention to the comparable experience of women in Ireland and Quebec. The principal aim of this article is to develop further exchange with scholars in Quebec studies by analysing some comparable themes in the political and social development of feminism since its emergence in both contexts in the nineteenth century. In particular, some widely held assumptions concerning feminism both in Ireland and Quebec are explored and challenged in the analysis, including: 1. The contention that the first and second waves of feminism came 'late' or 'later' to Quebec and Ireland where feminism has always been historically weaker, 2. The related assumption that women in Ireland and Quebec have historically been less modern/more oppressed than women in other European countries/the rest of North America because of Catholicism and nationalism; 3. The presumption that the 'origins' of feminism in Quebec and Ireland are always to be found elsewhere. The consequences of inappropriately 'measuring' the development of feminism in Ireland and Quebec against other feminisms/feminism in other societies to the neglect of important considerations in both contexts are addressed throughout this article