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3 rd wave feminism issues
Three waves of feminism
Essay on first, second third wave feminism
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From its beginning in the late nineteenth century, feminism has had a strong influence on the functioning of society, at individual, group and political levels. Defined as the “belief in the social, economic and political equality of the sexes”, feminism aims to contest the patriarchal society. However, in recent years, feminism has adopted a broader definition embracing intersectionality as a basis for social change. First used in 1989 by American Civil Rights Advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw, intersectionality describes the interrelation between different forms of discrimination including but not limited to: gender, race, sexuality and socioeconomic status. Third wave feminists aim to extend feminism beyond the realm of white, middle-class, heterosexual …show more content…
Feminism began in 1890s France, with the initiation of Women’s Suffrage movement. This First wave of feminism focused on the fight for the women’s vote, first officially achieved in New Zealand in 1893. After a long period of little feminist action, The Second Wave of Feminism began in the late 1960s. This reincarnation of Feminism, was a continuation of the Suffrage movement, instead working towards social, economic and political equality of the sexes rather than the womens’ vote. Lead by a series of figurehead feminists, including Simone de Beauvoir and Germaine Greer, the movement was said to counteract the oppression of women. Third wave Feminism, beginning in the 1990s, contrasts the second wave, suggesting its representation was limited to only “educated, white, middle class and heterosexual women”. This broader expansion of the third wave feminist movement allows representation of varied minority groups in the fight for equality, not only for females and males, but also for women of colour, the LGBTIQA+ community as well as disabled women and other groups in society. Intersectional Feminism has met contention from some social justice activists, who argue that while intersectional theory is sound, in practice, intersectionality is seen to support only a “narrow political ideology" and “disregards the majority" in regards to minority groups. This criticism suggests intersectionality could still improve in representing a larger majority of minority groups and address the incongruence of privilege of this “far-left” ideology.7 A new group of feminists has been created in the third wave, guided by authors, academics, bloggers and celebrities such as Laura Bates, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Courney E. Martin and Ngozi Adichie. Third wave intersectional feminism, changes feminism from a term
Feminisms Matter: Debates, Theories, Activism, is a book that analyzes gender studies and theories among the ages and relates it to towards the issues that occur in everyday life. Chapter four of the text is seen to draw heavily on the issue of intersectionality and how it creates binary categories that defy the complexities of human beings . Society integrates many identities that work to categorize people into certain groups. These certain groups is what dictate the actions and view of the people within. However, this outdated use of segregating people is the main problem in terms of in terms of intersectionality as it is a form of discrimination . Victoria L. Bromley, the author of Feminism Matter, discusses the use of intersectionality
The theory of intersectionality is one put forth by the feminist theorist known as Kimberlé Crenshaw. Crenshaw developed this theory as a critique to what she called a single-axis framework. A single-axis framework is one that considers an issue, be it feminist or otherwise, as a product of a single aspect. To be clearer, and to provide an example, a single-axis framework would consider the experiences of a woman of colour as either those experienced by an individual of colour, or those experienced by a woman. Crenshaw introduced the concept of intersectionality to explain that some experiences are unique to those who fall under a combination of these categories. In her article, “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex”, Crenshaw describes intersectionality as “the combined effects of practices which discriminate on the basis of race and on the basis of sex” (385).
The 1960s cultural movement in the United States sent shockwaves through American society. Nearly every aspect of traditional life was challenged and among these was the role of women. Following in the footsteps of suffragettes during the turn of the twentieth century, a new wave of feminism was emerging in the United States that aspired to take the women's right movement beyond the realm of constitutional rights. This movement, now known as second-wave feminism, sought to bring what they viewed as true gender equality by focusing on a number of issues that negatively affected women. The second-wave accomplished much, but there is a historical consensus that it came to an end during the eighties, giving way to a third-wave of feminism in the early nineties.
In the United States there have been three waves of women’s rights movements. The first movement was called the women’s right movement. This movement was mainly focused on white women and their right to vote as well as hold office. (Wood, p.62) The second movement was the women’s liberation movement, also known as radical feminism. This movement mainly impacted college students because college campuses were a great place for radical feminism to emerge. The radical feminists protested the Vietnam War and fought for civil rights. The women in this movement risked their lives and physical abuse just like the males did. (Wood, p.64) The third wave of feminism in the United States was known as third- wave feminism. In this movement woman with different ethnicities, abilities, disabilities, classes, appearances, sexual orientation and gender identities came together to fight for their rights as women. (Wood, p.74)
The image that is usually placed with feminism is that of a rabid, bra-burning, lesbian running around disclaiming the patriarchy. It could be that of a mid-century housewife complaining about how her only career choices are between teacher and secretary, or even of a woman with a sash and banner walking in front of the White House; preaching about her right to vote. However, this isn't necessarily the case. Ever since the rise of the internet, in the late 20th Century, feminism has had a revival causing it to grow in popularity and spread across forums everywhere. Women are joining this “third wave” movement to bring an end to the societal injustices that still plague the gender today (qtd. in Haslanger et al.). Feminism currently represents much more than it did in its infantile stage, having evolved to include relevant issues that affect every woman in today’s subordinating world. Issues such as rape culture, slut shaming, abortion and the wage gap have all been adapted into the feminist agenda with the hope that, as a united force, women could bring change to a misogynist society. The bra burning days are over, and feminism is on a rise, bringing light to issues that need to be addressed.
Feminism can simply be defined as a range of movements and ideologies in which share a common ground in terms of defining, establishing and achieving equal opportunities to that of males, in regards to economic, cultural and social rights. It is a critique of male supremacy with efforts in changing this to end the social oppression of women. (Hooks, 2000)
In the U.S., feminism is understood as the rights of women (usually affluent white women) to share the spoils of capitalism, and imperial power. By refusing to fully confront the exclusions of non-whites, foreigners, and other marginalized groups from this vision, liberal feminists miss a crucial opportunity to create a more inclusive and more powerful movement. Feminist movements within the U.S. and internationally have long since accepted that, for them, feminism entails the communal confrontation of not only patriarchy, but capitalism, imperialism, white supremacy, and other forms of oppressions that combine together and reinforce their struggle. It means the fighting for the replacement of a system in which their rights are negated in the quest for corporate and political profit. It includes fighting so that all people anywhere on the gender, sexual, and body spectrum are allowed to enjoy basic rights like food, housing, healthcare, and control of their labor.
The biggest flaw in the third wave is the cis hetro and white-normative mold of a feminist’s, but this flaw is fixed through intersectional feminism by including and fighting against all aspects of oppression without erasing our identities. Intersectional feminism will help our society progress by contributing to the treating of all people with justice. Some say that intersectionality causes too many issues to focus on, therefore nothing can be accomplished. This is a flawed way of thinking. You can't leave other marginalized people out of your social work. There are a number of things that contribute to our identity that reflect on our lives and experiences and many of these cause oppressions and marginalizations. You cannot ignore certain oppressions when they are experienced
In Vivian M. Mary’s infamous piece, “Intersectionality” she argues that, “The point is to create a framework that shows how often frameworks meant to examine inequality only look at one axis like race OR sex” (156). According to her, intersectionality seeks to shift the logics of how we understand “domination, subordination, personhood and rights” (168). Mary proclaims that intersectionality is significant to feminism because being feminist does not mean the same to someone who is oppressed by sexism and racism as it is to someone who is oppressed by classism and heterosexism. To May, it is not enough to say that everyone is just naturally “doing intersectionality,”
Our world is constantly adapting to new morals, values, and societal norms; and with any new set of beliefs, many former negative outlooks on life cease to exist. With current laws in place that prohibit multiple areas of discrimination, and more individuals becoming accepting and understanding of the oppression that marginalized communities face daily, changes are being made. One of the most notable changes has been bringing awareness to the term intersectionality and the adoption and practice of intersectional feminism by many men and women around the globe. Unfortunately, intersectional feminism has not adopted by everyone, and our ability to rid the world of the multiple systems of oppression that plague our ever-changing society, is a
As Third Wave feminism is currently unfolding before us, and its aims encompass a wide array of complex issues, it is often hard to describe what Third Wave feminism is. The feminist theories, mainly associated with First and Second Wave feminism attempt to describe the power imbalances that are found in society, and while doing so expose other oppressions, such as discrimination based on race or sexual orientation. As this essay attempts to place a clear definition to Third Wave feminism, feminists are concurrently trying to deconstruct old definitions and open it up for women to determine what feminism means to them. In other words, no clear definition on what is meant to be a feminist is sufficient, as the Third Wave is about equality and freedom for all citizens, regardless of sex, class, race or sexual orientation.
“If you don’t know the difference between white feminism [versus] intersectional feminism [,] then you’re probably a white feminist” (qtd. in Dastagir, 2018). Everybody falls into certain groups that relates to each individual person – whether that is age, gender, sexual orientation, race, or any other characteristic. Each person therefore identifies in more than one subgroup. Intersectional feminism is the overlapping of these categories in the feminist movement. And as later generations became and are becoming contributors to the feminist movement, it is moving away from its roots as a movement of gender equality and toward a movement of acceptance and equality for all characteristics.
Multiracial Feminism: Recasting the Chronology of Second Wave Feminism introduces ideas by Becky Thompson that contradict the “traditional” teachings of the Second Wave of feminism. She points out that the version of Second Wave feminism that gets told centers around white, middle class, US based women and the central problem being focused on and rallied against is sexism. This history of the Second Wave does not take into consideration feminist movements happening in other countries. Nor does it take into consideration the feminist activism that women of color were behind, that centered not only on sexism, but also racism, and classism as central problems as well. This is where the rise of multiracial feminism is put to the foreground and a different perspective of the Second Wave is shown.
Among the many subjects covered in this book are the three classes of oppression: gender, race and class in addition to the ways in which they intersect. As well as the importance of the movement being all-inclusive, advocating the idea that feminism is in fact for everybody. The author also touches upon education, parenting and violence. She begins her book with her key argument, stating that feminist theory and the movement are mainly led by high class white women who disregarded the circumstances of underprivileged non-white women.
The feminist movement has been faced with backlash arguing that including gendernonconformity in feminism will dilute the movement, cause a weaker front, and feminism is just plain a women’s movement. While the latter is not mainstream today because of third wave feminism and its frontier into intersectionality it can still be seen that with the need to cleanly define identities in order to identify intersectionalities, individuals that are in grey areas are being left