Third Wave Feminism : First And Second Wave

speaks exclusively about the different “waves” of feminism. The first and second wave are often coupled with the abolition of slavery and the civil rights movement respectively. This is so because many women were petitioning for these things and then realizing that they themselves do not have these simple freedoms. This thinking sparked the women’s movement. The first wave had one ultimate goal of attaining citizenship for women, most importantly the right to vote, which was achieved in August of 1920. The Second wave valued the equality of men and women. The Third wave was about bring feminism everywhere one went instead of mass movements. The fourth wave, which we are in right now, has become much more modernized with the creation of social media, which helps the word spread faster leading to change

First wave feminism addressed many issues including employment, marriage laws, and education. Voting rights were later embraced the voting rights movement.

Second wave feminism stresses the difference of women, and challenges the centrality of masculine values – either values associated with masculinity (reason, detachment, power) or values inherently masculine (autonomy, aggression). They also stress the difference between sex and gender: sex is our biological and natural being; gender is the social and cultural interpretation of that being. Therefore there is a need to assert women's sex and challenge rigid models of gender. Whereas ‘first wave' feminism insists that sexual identity is inessential or secondary to our humanity. Feminists disagree about what sexism consists in, and what exactly ought to be done about it; they disagree about what it means to be a woman or a man and what social and political implications gender has or should have, it was obvious early on that the movement was not a unified one, with differences emerging between black feminism, lesbian feminism, liberal feminism, and social feminism. Therefore the important topics for feminist theory and politics

It began in the early 1990s and is continued to the present day. It is an "individual movement" in the sense that its purpose includes redefining what it is to be a feminist. It attempts to expand feminism to include women with a diverse set of identities, recognizing that women are of "many colors, ethnicities, nationalities, religions and cultural backgrounds". Rebecca Walker said the "Third Wave" is to highlight the focus on queer and non-white

However, during this wave the economic independence for women was also a central concern because at this time, American women could not own property. The second wave, also known as the liberation movement, was in the late 1960s to early 1970s. This is when the term “feminist” emerged. Many achievements were made during this wave such as the Equal Pay Act, the Women’s Educational Equity Act, and Title IX. This helped gain gender equality in universal sports, and on an economic and educational standpoint. Although this was a successful time period for women, some argue that the movement did not speak for women of minorities. The third wave is generally dated from 1980 to present time. Third wave feminists continue to fight for many legal and institutional advances that second wave feminists aimed for. While second wave feminists commonly consisted of upper-class, heterosexual white women, the third wave feminists are more diverse (Healey 2003).

Women now were educated, voting, and even aiding their states during war times. In the U.S. many activists were fighting for similar issues addressed by the predecessors, however they were able to take things further, since there was a precedent. Instead of just gaining access to higher education, Second-Wavers were pushing for Women’s Studies classes and departments, and for prominent historical women to be included in academia. Women in the U.S. were also beginning the enduring battle of saving the environment. “Second-Wave feminists brought internal attention to the problems caused by violence against women and by poor environmental practices.”

To understand why modern, third wave feminism is a failure, one must first understand why the first and second wave movements were successful. First wave feminism first became prominent as a movement in the 1890s under the banner of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, or NAWSA, in response to the redefining of the social and economic role of women in the time during and immediately after the Civil War (The National).The objective of first wave feminism was clear and well defined: to obtain suffrage on a national level for all women. After a few minor successes in New England, securing state-level voting rights, the

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.

Towards the end of the twentieth century, feminist women in America faced an underlying conflict to find their purpose and true meaning in life. “Is this all?” was often a question whose answer was sought after by numerous women reaching deeper into their minds and souls to find what was missing from their life. The ideal second-wave feminist was defined as a women who puts all of her time into cleaning her home, loving her husband, and caring for her children, but such a belief caused these women to not only lose their identity within her family but society as well. The emotions that feminist women were feeling at this time was the internal conflict that caused for social steps to be taken in hopes of

Some of the major issues that broadened the debate for the second wave femanism were sexuality, family, the workplace, social issues, and reproductive rights (Foster 72). The Third-Wave Feminism challenged the second wave 's "essentialist" definitions of femininity, which was often seen as one universal female identity and over emphasized the experiences of upper middle class white women, and began to introduce women of color and other cultures in developing nations (Drake, Heywood 49). This wave is also resposible for reclaiming sexuality (Drake, Heywood 53) Both movements brought about major changes that affected women 's personal life at home, job opportunities, and culture changes, causing us to changed the way we talk and think. As a result, most of today 's women now believe that their options are/should be as open as men’s. Although femanism was present in both decades, the issues women brought foward and how those issues effected them are different. Linda Hogan 's People of the Whale and Karen

“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.

While the second wave seemed centered on the rights of upper middle class white women, the third wave embraced women of all races, classes, and cultures. Many more specialized types of feminism arose from this wave, such as ecofeminism, which combines environmentalism and feminism, and womanism, which is aimed toward the rights of women of color. While the third wave has ended, there are still many active feminist movements happening today.

The First Wave of Feminism initially targeted at getting equal rights of property and child however by the end of the nineteenth century, it started focusing on issues like

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.

The idea of women being equal to men has been debated for a very long time. Even when civilizations were just starting, most women were treated very differently from men. When women started fighting against this oppression they were called feminists. Feminism can be separated into three waves. The first wave of feminism was from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. The second wave was from the 1960s to the 1980s. The third wave of feminism started in the 1990s, but its end is unclear. Some people believe it has ended and the fourth wave of feminism has started, but others believe it continues today. The different waves have been very different in some aspects, but very similar in others. The main differences between the first and third wave of feminism are what they fought for, how they protested, and society’s reaction to their cause.