Explained: The Third And Fourth Waves of Feminism

This wave started from the mid-1990s and sought to challenge female heteronormativity- heteronormativity is the assumption that heterosexuality seems natural, coherent and privileged and that everyone is naturally heterosexual. Because of the great victories achieved by the second wave feminists, the third wave feminists enjoyed more rights and freedom.

Getty/klitmit

The third wave feminists sought to redefine femininity and sought to celebrate differences across race, class and sexual orientations. Until the second wave, not much importance was given to diversity and inclusion. The third wave was more inclusive of women and girls of colour and opposed to the stereotypes that women were passive and weak. Instead, they redefined women as assertive, powerful and in as people in control of their own sexuality.

Like second-wave feminist, third-wave feminists placed importance to access safe, legal and affordable abortions as well as access to contraception, pregnancy care and child support.

Wikipedia

The second wave of feminism was, however criticized because they put women as a whole under one group and showed that they have the same grievances but in reality, however, they are very different. Third wave feminists found that women face oppression in the society not just on the basis of gender, but also based on race, class, caste and ethnicity. This means that third wave feminists support postmodernism which is against generalization of everything under one category.

Women in this wave also focused on women empowerment and supported diversity and individual differences in how women explore and express femininity. Another thing that the second-wave feminist were criticized for was their resistance towards traditional femininity. Many women more freely expressed their sexuality which was a stark difference in comparison.

Even with all of these achievements by women, they still face violence and harassment like rape, domestic violence and sexual harassment. These are something that feminists and activists highlight and seek legal proceedings for.

The fourth wave of feminism

The fourth wave of feminism is newly emerging and is not yet completely defined. This emerged only during the last decade and this is more social media based as they do viral campaigns, protests and movements for women support. This wave¡¯s focus seems to be on sexual harassment, rape culture, body shaming. They support- queer people and are sex-positive, inclusive of transgender people and preach about body positivity.

One of the most significant events in this wave was the Me-Too Movement which was launched in 2006 in US to assist the survivors of sexual violence and the main focus was the women of colour.

In this wave, women sought more gender equality and they argued for equal pay and equal work and for equal opportunities in every field.

The fourth wave of feminism continues to strive for intersectionality. Many still critique the aspects of ¡®white feminism¡± as it ignores the struggles of the women of culture. Also, transwomen are still treated with hostility in the feminist community. This hostility and lack of inclusion id being tackled by the feminist and recently, there are many transwomen who are being accepted into society and also use the social media platform to gain support.

We can strive for a more successful outcome because of the inclusivity and support towards people of colour and queer people.

REFERENCES

Types of Feminism: The Four Waves. (n.d.). Retrieved from.

James.W. Wood. (n.d.). The third wave of feminism. Retrieved from.

Third-Wave Feminism: A History of Third-Wave Feminism. (October 8, 2022). Retrieved from