The first section “What Is the Third Wave? Third Wave Cultural Contexts” aims to define third wave feminism with relation to current issues. The contributor Michelle Sidler directs the focus of feminism towards economical concerns and stresses capitalism as the more crucial issue than patriarchy. Furthermore, Leslie Heywood and Jennifer Drake examine…
Within the parameters of this essay, I will explore the extent of the patriarchal society’s ability to apply hegemony in advertisements, shaping women’s subjectivities in order to reassert male dominance and female subordination. Radical feminist theory defines patriarchy as “a system of structures, institutions and ideology created by men in order to sustain and recreate male power and female subordination, ” located within a system of knowledge and language which constructs both masculinity and femininity in support of the establish power imbalance (Rowland & Klein, 1996, p.15-16). Through the application of the radical feminist theory, I argue that the hyper sexualized, unattainable and sexist beauty standards imposed on women by the patriarchy…
The editors Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon have done an incredible job establishing the roots and depth of the second-wave feminist movement. By collecting all the materials into one volume, which were once spread thin among private collections, university archives and out of print anthologies and journals the editors show a diverse movement. It has reminded me how far we have come for not to long ago that domestic violence against women was kept quite, that abortions were done in the shadows, pregnancy and childbirth were thought of as sicknesses, and girls had restricted chances to participate in sports and education defining what women¡¯s liberation embodied. Women¡¯s liberation was just that, setting women free from all these social and political restrictions on their lives. The ideal of the ¡°feminine mystic¡± only applies to a certain class of women, a stay at home mother who also is a sexy wife who pleases her husbands every need. This ideal left many women out, and unable to obtain. Even when this ideal was obtained, many were left unfulfilled. Women then were able to get together as a group to build a consciousness awakening, able to define what is missing in there lives and what needed to be changed. The women's liberation movement, which Dear Sisters discusses, described all that.…
Recognizes that women differ in many ways including race, class, sexual orientation, body shape and size…
Within the third-wave feminism it seeks to challenge or escape what is assumed in the second wave's key definitions of femininity, which according to these feminists over-emphasize the experiences of upper middle-class white women. It can be seen within the post-structuralist interpretation of gender and sexuality is central to a large portion of the third wave's ideology. Third-wave feminists often focus on the "micro-politics" and challenge the second wave's description as to what is, or isn’t, good for females. Many black feminists, sought to negotiate a space within the feminist through the consideration of race-related subjectivities. Third-wave feminism also contains internal debates between different feminists, as some believe that there are important differences between the sexes and then there are other feminists who believe that there are no differences between the sexes and they argue that gender roles are due to social and cultural…
Third-wave feminism has become synonymous with sex-positivity and the empowering nature of sexual activity. Sex-positivity has been defined as: “a celebration of sexuality as a positive aspect of life, with a broader definition of what sex means and what oppression and empowerment may imply in the context of sex.” This emergence of sexual positivity has created friction in the past, with ‘the feminist sex wars’ splitting feminists into liberal and radical camps. Despite this, the third-wave and sex-positive movement has continued and has gone as far as to encourage the consumption and creation of ‘feminist porn’ as a loose resource of discovering one’s sexuality. As described by Shine Houston, a founder and producer for Pink and White productions…
Feminism: a topic of discussion in many homes and classrooms, which asserts the utmost attention amongst its listeners. A crazy ideal that believes women hold fundamental rights among men, and deserve the same treatment, the same opportunities. Feminism has grown since its conception in the early 20th century, and has catapulted upward in a grand and illustrious fashion, clinging to the souls of women who will no longer be oppressed by an abusive patriarchy. However, in this decade, feminism has become the topic of crude humor, has been made the punchline of jokes directed toward women. Feminism has become merely a way to generalize women as “crazy, hormonal monsters” who should never have a say in democracy because their “time of…
Traditional gender roles have existed for many centuries. Throughout the history of humanity among various cultures and eras, there are pieces of evidence and traces of unfair treatment of women. Women have a role of a wife waiting for her husband to return from the war, a mother of the conquering hero or a great scientist, or a daughter who is destined to marry the prince of another country in order to consolidate the alliance between the two countries. Life of a woman was determined by the man, whether it be her father, husband or son. It is not surprising that such a position in society led women to fight. Starting with the suffragettes and finishing with the third wave, feminism has become an integral part of the society. Women opened…
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a powerful leader in the modern day feminist movement, once said in a speech presented at TEDxEuston, We Should All Be Feminists, “Some people ask: ‘Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?’ Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general—but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women.” The actions of the F1 generation of feminist women who sparked the women's rights…
The third-wave feminists are critical to the first and second waves because it ties all of the women’s movements previous accomplishments to all women, regardless of race, color, sexual orientation, and class. Without the third-wave feminists only white women would have the luxury of being able to vote, being provided equal employment opportunity, being heard when faced with sexual harassment and marital rape, and being able to broadcast the discrimination of gender. America wouldn’t be the country of equality, without the third wave.…
The 1970’s feminist were bold and brave. Inspiring many Americans, both men and woman to promote equality. During this time, many feminist were not holding back anymore. The time to brake the traditionalistic views on women was at its high end. Strikes and protest started popping up across the country. Another major factor of the feminist movement was Ms. Magazine in 1972. It was articles talking about issues regarding women’s rights. Politically speaking, the court case Roe vs Wade where at the end of the case, many states stopped their abortion restrictions which was huge to women’s right activist. One of the more stand out things that happened in this era was how art was being used to spread the ideas and shed light on the American people.…
Third-wave feminists Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards state in their book, Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future, “The presence of feminism in our lives is taken for granted. For our generation, feminism is like fluoride. We scarcely notice we have it – it's simply in the water.” The feminist movement has become a prominent part of today’s society. Ideas and discussions of the movement appear in our daily lives and we are not always aware of it. The current (third) wave of feminism began in the 1990s, bringing issues that limit or oppress women into light. The inherent message of the first and second waves of feminism to challenge male dominance is still intact; however, third-wave feminists are narrowing…
The focus of this essay was on how the female body and the disabled body are seen as inferior in society. This reading really made me realize how we view disabled and female bodies in our society, and how we typically look the disabled so differently. I also thought about how often people so easily overlook the struggles that many disabled bodies have to deal with, like disabled women who want to have children or public facilities not having wheelchair access. It’s sad to recognize how most people see the disabled as inadequate and compensate for that by pitying them, rather than trying to treat them the same way as an able-bodied person. This essay made me think of one of my good friend’s older sister with Down syndrome, and how when we are out in public with her how many people stare at her because her disability is visible. I found it interesting how this essay talked about how the female body is seen as disabled and inferior to men’s: weak, soft, passive, etc. This essay sheds light on how our society has been trained to undervalue those whose bodies are considered abnormal.…
Originating from the French and American revolutions in the late 18th century, titled as the First Wave of Feminism, however political views did not come into action until late nineteenth century. It wasn’t until mid-nineteenth century (1960s) that the ‘Second Wave’ of feminism arose with an emphasized support towards sisterhood and unity. Second Wave Feminism is also referenced as the Women’s Liberation Movement, began as what was later called Liberal Feminism. This type of feminism was believed to reform existing political structures to advance the interests of women along civil rights model. Around the world, we are able to see there are few societies, which are not patriarchal. Men have been rulers and are embodiments of power over woman for century’s, their dominancy have created much controversy and struggle around the world. Thus, the strong uprising movement of feministic power and the advocacy of equal dominancy between the…
Imagine, the supposedly happiest day of your life was also the day that you signed all of your rights away. It is hard to imagine that as far back in history as we can remember, marriage was not even close to what it is today. Marriages use to be arranged and as a woman, you would have no say in your own future. Prior to the first wave of feminism (1792-1920) woman did not have many rights to beginning with. Woman were seen as being more of a piece of property rather than a human being.…