The Waves of Feminism

Brief History of feminism

1st Wave Feminism
The beginning of the first wave of feminism has been debated, due to the fact it was not a unified global women’s movement, rather a series of movements occurring across the world at different times each with their own agenda. The North American first wave has been linked with the liberal women's rights movement, gaining first ground around the 1st World War. Germany had already recognized the suffragettes efforts and American women felt it was time there were recognized as well. They women began organizing and protesting calling for equality for all (Krolokke, 1-4).

The main concern of the first wave of feminists was assuring equal opportunities for women, and to achieve the right to vote; in a means of recognizing women as a legal person, who could not be rejected their civil rights (Krolokke, 1-4).

2nd Wave Feminism
The movement emerged in the 1960's and 1970's and grew out of the leftist movements of the post war era. The second wave was defined as an active movement, with women taking to the streets in protest. Demonstrations were organized to actively reject social ideals, such as the commercial ideals of beauty, and a protest against the Miss America Pageant was organized to exhibit their discontent (Krolokke 4-5).

The second wave was distinguished by their belief that oppression of gender was primary, and other intersecting differences came secondary, such as sexuality and race. The second wave made a distinction between gender and sex, in an attempt for reclamation of the body and sexuality. The second wave is also noted for its strong ties with academia and influencing research and analysis on the position of women in society (Krolokke, 4-15).

3rd Wave Feminism
The third wave of feminism is said to have started somewhere in the 1990’s. The third wave is defined as a move away from the previous “us” and “them” approach to discrimination, which had left some women disenfranchised. The third wave manifesto was to be more inclusive and recognize oppression as intersectional. This allowed women to choose multiple stances on equality, such as; race, sexuality, class and religion (Krolokke. 15-21).

Europe has defined the third wave as “new feminism” which encompasses local, national and transnational fights for equality; or a borderless approach. The transnational approach is a response to the affects of globalization in an increasingly interconnected society. The third wave is also characterized as a cyber wave, there is less visible activism, as the movemtns is using technology to communicate their messages to a mass audience (Krolokke15-21).

Krolokke, C., & Scott Sorensen A. Gender Communication Theories and Analysis. Three Waves of Feminism: from Suffragettes to Grrls. Sage, 2005.