The Personal Is Political

The foundational feminist essay was written by Carol Hanisch in 1969. It was originally a position paper for a feminist group but was officially published as an essay the following year.

Carol Hanisch wrote the paper in 1969, but it was officially published in 1970. It appeared in the anthology Notes from the Second Year: Women's Liberation, edited by Shulamith Firestone and Anne Koedt.

The paper argues that women's seemingly personal struggles—such as marriage, beauty standards, and domestic life—are actually rooted in systemic political and social structures. By making this connection, the text helped shift the focus of the feminist movement to everyday lived experiences.

Although Hanisch titled her 1969 paper and championed the concept, she actually credits the broader feminist movement for the phrase, noting that it was a common ideological framework at the time. The slogan became a defining pillar of second-wave feminism.