Third wave feminism is the composition of several diverse strains of feminist theories that emerged around the early 1990s, although much like the movement itself it’s origins are subject to a great deal of debate. When Rebecca Walker famously declared in 1992 “I am the Third Wave”, she opened the doors to a movement that moved past what they perceived as the second wave’s ideological rigidity (Walker). This essay explores a wide range of academic discourse on third-wave feminism with the intention of looking past the misconception that the third-wave movement is merely a revolt against the second-wave and can be dismissed as generational conflict. Through analysis of third wave publications and themes, I argue the movement rather expresses
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The third-wave is, therefore, more along the lines of an evolution in feminist thought, not a revolution and break from the past completely. There are three widely recognized waves of feminism stemming from the 1830’s to the present day (though there are some arguments that a new fourth wave has emerged since 2008 but it’s still too soon to tell): first-wave feminism, second-wave feminism, and third-wave feminism (A Brief History: The Three Waves of Feminism). To gain a better understanding of present day third-wave feminism, the past two waves and their objectives and impact on feminist theory must be understood. The first wave was primarily focused upon legal equality, and fought hard for women’s suffrage. …show more content…
Yet upon assessment of the fundamental differences between the two waves, it becomes apparent that the third-wave movement has true purpose as it works to move past impasses that the second wave faced. The thematics of third-wave feminism are hard to articulate for various reasons. One reason is because the majority of texts in third-wave anthologies are loosely edited personal narratives, both anecdotal and often times autobiographical in nature (Mann). Secondly, third-wave feminism is not as heavily centered upon feminist theory or politics as the second-wave was. Thirdly, third-wave feminists eschew any unifying, overarching agenda per se. When third-wave feminist writer Jennifer Baumgardner was asked to give a definition to the new movement she replied: “This insistence on definitions is really frustrating because feminism gets backed into a corner. People keep insisting on defining and defining and defining and making a smaller and smaller definition -- and it’s just lazy thinking on their part. Feminism is something individual to each feminist” (Leuptow). Though very different in structure, the third-wave is not simply just a hodgepodge of individualistic claims in a rebuttal to the second-wave, but rather upon closer look the evolution of the second-wave to address key issues on an individual
The third-wave is, therefore, more along the lines of an evolution in feminist thought, not a revolution and break from the past completely. There are three widely recognized waves of feminism stemming from the 1830’s to the present day (though there are some arguments that a new fourth wave has emerged since 2008 but it’s still too soon to tell): first-wave feminism, second-wave feminism, and third-wave feminism (A Brief History: The Three Waves of Feminism). To gain a better understanding of present day third-wave feminism, the past two waves and their objectives and impact on feminist theory must be understood. The first wave was primarily focused upon legal equality, and fought hard for women’s suffrage. …show more content…
Yet upon assessment of the fundamental differences between the two waves, it becomes apparent that the third-wave movement has true purpose as it works to move past impasses that the second wave faced. The thematics of third-wave feminism are hard to articulate for various reasons. One reason is because the majority of texts in third-wave anthologies are loosely edited personal narratives, both anecdotal and often times autobiographical in nature (Mann). Secondly, third-wave feminism is not as heavily centered upon feminist theory or politics as the second-wave was. Thirdly, third-wave feminists eschew any unifying, overarching agenda per se. When third-wave feminist writer Jennifer Baumgardner was asked to give a definition to the new movement she replied: “This insistence on definitions is really frustrating because feminism gets backed into a corner. People keep insisting on defining and defining and defining and making a smaller and smaller definition -- and it’s just lazy thinking on their part. Feminism is something individual to each feminist” (Leuptow). Though very different in structure, the third-wave is not simply just a hodgepodge of individualistic claims in a rebuttal to the second-wave, but rather upon closer look the evolution of the second-wave to address key issues on an individual