Who is considered the first liberal feminist known for her writings on women's rights?

Mary Wollstonecraft is recognized as the first liberal feminist largely due to her groundbreaking work, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," published in 1792. In this influential text, she argues for the education and equality of women, advocating that women should have the same rights as men in terms of education and participation in society.

Wollstonecraft's writings laid the foundation for later feminist thought and highlighted the importance of rationality and reason in women’s lives, challenging the prevailing ideas of her time that women were naturally inferior to men. Her emphasis on the need for educational reforms to empower women demonstrates her liberal feminist approach, which aligns with the principles of individual rights and personal agency that are central to liberalism.

The other figures mentioned, while significant in their contributions to feminist thought, emerged in different contexts or focused on varying aspects of feminism. Simone de Beauvoir explored existentialism and the social constructs of gender in "The Second Sex," Virginia Woolf addressed women's experiences and literature, and Harriet Taylor Mill contributed to discussions on women's rights and equality later in the 19th century. Each played an important role in advancing feminist ideas, but Wollstonecraft's early advocacy distinctly marks her as the first liberal feminist.