The Three Waves of Modern Feminism

Feminism has always been simple at its roots: equality. However, over the decades, the feminist movement has evolved in ways that allow a distinction in its nature over certain periods of time. As such, the feminist movement has been categorised into what are known as ‘Waves’- a metaphor for the surge of activity characterising the beginning of a new phase, eventually reaching its peak. The first wave, occurring in the 19th and early 20th century, was mainly concerned with women’s right to vote and marks the earliest period of feminist activism in the United States and Britain. It was tied to the abolitionist movement in the United States, both sharing common goals of social reformation and liberation from oppression. First-wave feminism promoted equal contract and property rights for women, opposing ownership of married women by their husbands. By the late 19th century, feminist activism was primarily focused on the right to vote. American first-wave feminism ended with passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1919, granting women voting rights. This in itself shows the selective and exclusive nature of the movement. Women of colour were still practically disenfranchised. The first wave had marginalized black women, who faced discrimination based on race as well as gender. Members of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) saw the support of black women as liability- a hindrance to their cause- due to the widespread racism prevalent in the United States, specially in the Southern states. During the Second World War, as the men left to serve their country on international terrains, it was up to the women to join the workforce and support the war effort, by stepping into what were traditionally recognised as male roles. When the war came to an end, women were laid off, allowing the men to once again step in and take back their jobs. Women now began to question how society viewed them and the role they traditionally played. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ‘60s further fostered a climate of protest and activism. women of all ages began to fight to secure a stronger role in American society, which manifested as the second wave feminist movement. Second Wave feminism provoked extensive theoretical discussion about the origins of women’s oppression, the nature of gender, and the role of the family. In 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) formed and proceeded to set an agenda for the Feminist Movement. Among the specific goals set was the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), a Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing equal rights for women. In the late 1960s feminists instigated a debate on the proper description of the interpersonal relations of men and women by coming forth with the slogan “Personal is Political”. It postulates that many of the personal problems women experience in their lives are not their fault, but are the result of systematic oppression. The personal is political proposes that women are in bad situations because they experience gender oppression and massive structural inequalities. In 1970, following the same train of thought, Kate Millett wrote Sexual Politics and spoke about the patriarchal structure of society that controls sex, sexual expression, and ultimately politics and the narrative of political discourse. The third wave of feminism emerged in the mid-1990s. It was led by women who came of age in a media-saturated and culturally diverse milieu. Although they benefitted significantly from the legal rights and protections that had been obtained by first and second wave feminists, they also critiqued the positions and what they felt was unfinished work of second-wave feminism. These women and others like them grew up with an awareness of the barriers posed by sexism, racism, and classism, and chose to battle them. Third-wave feminists sought to question, reclaim, and redefine the traditional and narrow notions of womanhood, gender, beauty and sexuality. For third-wave feminists, therefore, “sexual liberation,” a major goal of second-wave feminism, was expanded to mean a process of first becoming conscious of the ways one’s gender identity and sexuality have been shaped by society and then intentionally constructing (and becoming free to express) one’s authentic gender identity. Until the start of the third wave, the white middle class woman seemed to be the representation of all women, and the third wave stands to change that and provide a universal identity for women from all backgrounds. The third wave advocates sexual freedom, LGBTQ support, reproductive rights, body positivity, and the fight to end violence against women. The ground-breaking anti-sexual assault and women’s empowerment movements “me too.” and Time’s Up upended the public conversation about women’s issues around the world, and elevated the global consciousness surrounding the obstacles women encounter in their daily lives, both personal and professional. As obvious as so much of feminism seems, the very practices it rallies against are so ingrained in our history and social interactions, we do not recognize how problematic they can be until we hyperbolize them. It thus becomes necessary to hold a mirror to the micro prejudices we see on a daily basis, as a first step towards tackling the bigger picture.

Written by Tanishi Sen.