Becoming The Third Wave Feminism

The history of feminism can be divided into three waves, with some people claiming that today’s generation has become the fourth wave. Martha Rampton, PhD., explains these waves in an article titled “Four Waves of Feminism” written for the Center for Gender Equality at Pacific University. She explains how, in the last two centuries, there have been three waves of feminism. The first wave, which came during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, focused on opening up opportunities for women, specifically focused on suffrage. The second wave began in the 1960’s, and was more theoretical, as it focused on criticizing the male-dominated society and the gender roles placed on women that forced them to focus on their responsibilities only as wives and mothers. This second wave was more diverse, as it finally included women of color and lower class. The third wave of feminism began in the mid 1990’s. It focused on self-empowerment, and removing the power of the sexist patriarchy; feminists of the 90’s defined feminine beauty for themselves and refused to be objectified by males. The fourth wave of feminism, which is occurring today, is bringing what have traditionally been considered “women’s issues” to national and international attention. These issues include, but are not limited to: sexual abuse, rape, violence against women, unequal pay, slut-shaming, and body-shaming. The Millennial generation took the traditional ideas of feminism and is looking at them in a modern context that will hopefully facilitate major change for the future of

Feminism can have a different meaning depending on who you are and what time of history you are speaking of. Most people think of the second-wave of feminism in the 20th century when women fought for their rights for equality not just in the workplace but also their right to vote. The movement for gender equality was originally viewed as a great effort by women for women. Today feminism is a subtitle of equality. Giving us the new definition of feminism called third-wave feminism or gender equality.

The women’s liberation movement (or feminism as it is now known) of the 1960s and 1970s touched every home, business, and school (WA, 705). The movement even touched the sports and entertainment industries, in fact, “There are few areas of contemporary life untouched by feminism” (WA, 717). The word feminism in the early 1960’s wasn’t often used and when it was it was used with condescension or hatred. However, in the late sixties that changed thanks to a new group of women. This new diverse group of women included the: young, old, heterosexual, lesbians, working class, and even the privileged. This diverse group came together and collectively created the second wave of feminism.

In the third wave, feminists focused on challenging the second wave’s strategy. The third wave

The women’s rights movement vast and know as one of the most notable movements. Furthermore it is split into three waves to present the difference in time and show how much it has evolved. The first wave was in the mid 19th century to early 20th century. They focused on women’s suffrage, their right to work, education rights, etc. The second wave was in the 60s; this is when they addressed broader perspectives. To include birth control, abortion, rape, pornography, etc. The third wave began in the 1990s and was a response to the second wave, as they only focused on struggles that whites middle class women faced. The third wave extended it to include race, class, gender identity, ability, etc. where focus is less on the political process but rather about individual identities. Which leads to the statement I will address through the essay; Would the third wave women’s rights movement in western countries, achieve what it sets out do, namely; extended feminism to include race, sexuality, class, ability, etc. and work towards dismantling the system that oppress some and privilege others, without the participation of collective action to build stronger, more inclusive society. Furthermore, I will attempt to answer the following questions; how does the Third Wave Women’s Rights Movement differ from the first and second? Does media play a role in the success of the third wave women’s rights movement? And lastly, should we implement Feminist Theory with our

The Third Wave was also seen as originating from the 1990’s post-feminist movement. The goals of the First movement were met, such as voting and property rights, as well as the Second Wave’s goals of equality in the workplace and reproductive rights. Thus, the goals of feminists were seemingly accomplished, and the movement was considered dead.(Page 64) This caused an increase in activity from people who still felt that there were injustices that needed to be surfaced, in regards to the interconnectivity of race, class, and sexuality with feminism. The feminist movement isn’t dead yet, but where its goals and aims will lead it into the future is unknown.

Her excerpt begins by introducing the “first wave” which according to her was, ‘the designation that was applied to the suffragists retroactively after a second swell of activism by American women which occurred in the 1960s and 1970s’. From there on, she glides in to how Martha Lear coined the term “second feminist wave” in 1968 and women began to prefer the association to the term ‘feminism’. Subsequently, she associates herself to the generation that Rebecca Walker introduces as “the Third wave” in her article that appeared on the New York Times Sunday Magazine in 1990.

Throughout the twentieth century feminist movements changed the first world dramatically, but during the second half the twentieth century the views and goals of what women wanted in life changed from simply asking for fair pay and equal rights to jobs to wanting their lifestyle changed. The impact of the second and third wave of feminists held a positive sphere around the fact that women had a bigger voice in politics and economics, but socially feminism was almost purely negative. Feminist groups, mostly in the late second wave and the entirety of the third wave, consisted almost entirely of misandrists.

Betty Friedan, feminist author of The Feminine Mystique, wrote, "The problem lay buried, unspoken for many years in the minds of…women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century… Each suburban housewife struggled with it alone… she was afraid to even ask of herself the silent question – ‘Is this all?’” Authors such as Betty Friedan wrote about their struggles in novels and articles in the early 1960s which were popularized in the late 1960s which led to the start of a new revolution – the second wave of feminism. The Canadian second wave of feminism started in 1967, with many feminists rising up and forming groups and organizations to bring awareness to their issues. This caused a huge uproar within society, women all over the nation found a voice and spoke up about their issues, leading to wide-media coverage and to changes in society, politics, the economy, and much more. The suffragist movement led to huge changes within society in the 1980s, thus changed life for women and changed life for the rest of Canada by reshaping the social structure.

The third wave “Feminism Is made up by a bunch of angry woman who deny basic human nature; who gives instruction that is almost designed to make woman miserable” (Milo). 3rd wave feminism sprouted with “these women and others like them grew up with the expectation of achievement and examples of female success as well as an awareness of the barriers presented by sexism, racism, and classism.” (encyclopedia) with this state of mind today’s feminism has derailed and is currently driven by false statistics, hatred for the male patriarchy, and the constant complaining for things we already have!

“First wave” of feminism in 1920 advocated women’s suffrage, whereas the “Second wave” targets the societal issues that women in the 21st century are facing. Betty Friedan wrote The Feminists Mystique after World War II exposing female repression and later founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) which ignited the second wave of the feminist movement. Consequently, it became noticeable that women were in multiple wars, as a result branches of feminists were formed (i.e. Liberalist, Marxist, and Socialist). Misogyny’s evolution has its own significant role in the feminist movement, stirring conversations today that affect feminist ideologies. However, in order to fully comprehend what affects second wave feminism along with the tactics utilized by feminists, one must first become acquainted with the many forms.

In the arena of family planning abortion policies became another target for women's rights movements. Most states banned or restricted abortions to being only applicable if the mother’s health was at risk .In 1970 Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington took a case on for Norma L. McCorvey ,”Jane Roe”, against a Texas law that legalized most abortions. They stated the Texas law banning all abortions except those necessary to save the life of the mother violated Roe's constitutional rights. Roe claimed her life was not endangered but she wanted to terminate her pregnancy and could not afford to travel out of state to do so.The lawsuit was filed against Henry Wade a Dallas County District Attorney.The case (Roe vs. Wade) in 1973 was eventually

As to be expected the wave following second wave is “third-wave” feminism, feminists from this wave looked at the idea that all women are not the same. The feminists of the third-wave recognize that there is multiplicity within the voices of feminists (Lecture 5, 2018).

When referring to the history of feminism in the manner of the first, second, or third wave, one is undermining the experiences that were ongoing during, in middle of, and before those waves that history defines. What ideologies of oppression were being spoken of to raise awareness and whose experience was being excluded/diminished? The articulation of feminism in using the metaphor of waves to describe how the ideologies peaked and rescinded, is incorrect because it focuses only on the voices of those who were able to bring their problems to the surface and excludes those who had a different experience or may have brought awareness in a quieter manner. There are many feminisms and each interpretation is defined by the collective oppression, rather than looking at the situation in an individual perception, which is what creates disagreements and division between feminists. Many definitions of feminism, feminisms, exist simultaneously because it is evolving as fast (or, well, as slow) as the world is changing and if one group of people are to speak of others experience of oppression (or lack of) in place of them, the result can be the glossing over of experiences and therefore, undermine experiences of others.

In 1776, the then First Lady of the United States was the first to raise her about women’s rights, telling her husband to “remember the ladies” in his drafting of new laws, yet it took more than 100 years for men like John Adams to actually do so. With the help of half a dozen determined, and in this case white upper-middle-class, women the first-wave feminism, which spans from the 19th century to the early 20th century, finally led to their goal after 72 years of protesting. The Nineteenth Amendment, which secured the rights for women to vote finally passed in 1920. This grand victory brought other reforms along, including reforms in the educational system,