Defining Todays Feminism

Nathan Mckee

Defining Todays Feminism

Table of Contents
Context ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Process ............................................................................................................................................ 6
Analysis......................................................................................................................................... 13
Application .................................................................................................................................... 23
Activity ......................................................................................................................................... 26
Works Cited .................................................................................................................................. 28

Context
Traditionally, feminist ideology and its wide impacts have been described by using the wave
model (Springer 2002). This categorization groups feminism into different waves which coincide
with historical events, central figures, social movements, and political discourses (Heywood
2006). For example, first wave feminism is said to be the first concerted movement working for
the reform of womens social and legal inequalities in the nineteenth century (Snyder, 2008).
Many agree that the beginning of first wave feminism in the United States can be traced back to
the origins of the womens suffrage movement at The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 (Boles,
Hoeveler 2004). This was the first womens rights convention held in the US and it was
organized by two notable first wave feminists and abolitionists, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth
Cady Stanton (Boles, Hoeveler 2004). The first wave was primarily concerned with education,
married womens legal rights, employment opportunities, and suffrage (Heywood 2006). The
second wave was a world-wide revival of an organized womens movement, beginning in the
late 1960s in the United States and Europe (Snyder, 2008). Although criticized for primarily
representing white, upper-middle class womens issues, it held many of the central ideas of the
first wave and also advocated international peace, racial equality, and abortion rights (Springer
2002). The second wave held well-known feminists like Gloria Steinem and Betty Freidan, and
many of the feminist institutions of today are rooted in the second wave movement (Boles,
Hoeveler 2004).
But feminism is an ideology that is shaped by individuals and evolves with public perception.
It is fluid, with fuzzy edges that are not easily defined when strictly attached to a specific time
period or group of people. The wave-model has been debated and criticized for placing feminist
ideology and history into a box (Springer 2002). And although the wave model has persisted

throughout our history and serves as a convenient way of understanding feminism, it

undoubtedly generalizes what is actually much more complex and messy (Springer 2002). In our
modern times, the wave model seems even less applicable (Snyder 2008).
When I looked for something I could call the feminist movement, I was confused and
overwhelmed. On the surface, the feminism I see today seems faceless, but at the same time,
widespread. I know there is a feminist discourse happening on the internet, on blogs, vlogs, and
other non-academic discourse communities; however, if I were asked to pinpoint important
feminist leaders of today, like what was done to describe first and second wave feminism, I
would not be able to. At the same time, seemingly disparate people like Beyonce and Hilary
Clinton will proclaim they are feminists yet there has continued to be a loud group of people on
the news media and the internet that are self-proclaimed antifeminists, who call out supposed
feminazis and publically announce that feminism is unnecessary. I was noticing contradictions
and complexities galore. That is why I wanted to investigate what the feminism of today really
was about. At first I asked a nave question to direct my research but I quickly learned that I
would have to completely focus on defining the feminism of today in order to really understand
it.
In this paper I will investigate what feminism means today, going beyond simple
generalizations and archetypes, to better define where the feminist movement currently is.
Therefore, the first literacy I am gaining is in the social, political, and historical contexts of the
current feminist movement. This topic may seem very far from my usual discourse within
environmental studies, my area of study. But I am also interested in learning more about
feminism so that I can apply it, and the new skills I learn from researching it, to my major. That

is why I am also gaining literacy in the research process. Both of these literacies will be helpful
in my major and in my later career.
Unfortunately, I cannot use past projects or experiences to prove my new literacies. Instead, I
hope to use this paper as proof of my literacy. Therefore, I will write for a general audience so
that anyone, regardless of background, should be able to understand what I am writing about.
Since this project is for my English Composition 2089 class, my professor and my peers will be
the ones judging me. If, at the end of this paper, I have proven my literacies then I will have
succeeded in my goal.

Process
This project was unique for me because I had come into it with no knowledge about my
topic. But what may seem to some people as a poor decision of what to investigate, it was
actually my total lack of knowledge and powerful curiosity that drove me to find out more about
feminism. And in doing so, I was able to grow far more than if I had chosen a topic closer to
home.
As my first step, I began with what I thought would be a logical question: Why isnt
feminism stronger today? And as my next step, I followed what I had been taught to do in my
usual discourse community which was to go online and type in buzz words to find pertinent
academic articles! But I was going about it all wrong because my usual discourse community
was within the sphere of science and engineering, not the social sciences or the humanities. I was
looking in academic journals to no avail. Not only wasnt I sure where to look for good primary
sources but I was also lacking in the necessary context that would have informed me of who
accomplished writers were, where the current discourse was going on, or what publications
were appropriate and respected. I had become frustrated and tired. I felt like I was grasping at
straws, only scratching the surface, unable to delve into what I was really looking for. I could not
find good sources and my investigation looked like it had come to a standstill.
To make matters worse, on further reflection, I learned that I had made an incorrect and
overarching assumption about the current state of feminism. I had assumed that the reason why
the feminist discourse was seemingly weak in society and why feminist issues were not being
more aggressively fought for had to do with a breakdown in the way people were learning about
feminism. In other words, my initial plan was to examine ways in which we teach feminism to
our youth, find out better ways to get the feminist platform to more people, and try and

understand why more people didnt hold the self-proclaimed title, feminist. That is the reason
why I started with the question, Why isnt feminism stronger today? But this approach showed
my naivety in the field. I was working on an assumption that implied something that some
feminists would probably think of as offensive: that is, if the feminist platform and its ideas were
dispersed in a friendlier, more palatable way, then maybe womens issues would finally be able
to come to the forefront. Getting the word out, bringing more people into the club, and spreading
information are all very important but this type of thinking totally ignores our long and complex
feminist history and the real struggles that were fought over what we consider today to be
fundamental rights. What I found out quickly and frustratingly was that my initial question did
not make as much sense as I had once thought. It was not enough to ask why feminism wasnt
stronger today. Instead, I had to ask a more fundamental question What is feminism today
anyways? What does it mean?
My turning point was when I was able to meet face-to-face with my English professor, Dr.
Kristen Race. She was gracious enough to hold one-on-one meetings with everyone in the class.
We met at one of the two Starbucks on campus and began talking about why my project wasnt
exactly working. What is your biggest concern, she asked? I had an immediate answer: I cant
find any sources; I am totally lost with how to start researching, how do I know where to begin?
What I learned that day informed the rest of my research. We first went to the University of

Cincinnatis library webpage and used its search capabilities to look up feminism dictionary.

She asked me to write down the library call numbers of two useful reference books. The reason
for looking up dictionaries within the field was to get sources and information that would be
credible and specialized, unlike information from Wikipedia or Ask.com. Then she asked me if I
had ever checked books out of the library, which I answered with an embarrassed, No I
havent. She looked down at her watch to make sure there was plenty of time before her next
meeting and started packing up the laptop and notebook she had brought. To my surprise, we
went straight to Langsam Library, UCs main library, and picked out the books we had just
looked up! From these reference sources, I was able to define some important terms in feminism
that I was examining:

1. First Wave Feminism: The first concerted movement working for the reform of womens
social and legal inequalities in the nineteenth century The key concerns of first wave
feminists were education, employment, the marriage laws, and the plight of intelligent
middle-class single womenTheir major achievements were the opening of higher education
to women; reform of the girls secondary schoolsthe widening of access to the
professionsmarried womens property rights, recognized in the Married Womens Property
Act (Gamble 1999). First wave feminism was a social, historical, and political movement
beginning in the mid 1800s that emphasized ending legal gender discrimination and creating
equal voting rights (Heywood 2006). Many people recognize the 1843 Seneca Falls
Convention as the official start of the first wave and the collapse of the Equal Rights
Amendment as its end (Heywood 2006).
2. Second Wave feminism: the term second wave was coined by Marsha Lear, and refers to
the increase in feminist activity which occurred in America, Britain and Europe from the late
sixties onwards. In America, second wave feminism arouse out of the civil rights and antiwar movements in which women, disillusioned with their second-class status However, it
was obvious early on that the movement was not a unified one, with differences emerging
between black feminism, lesbian feminism, liberal feminism, and socialist feminism
(Gamble 1999). Feminist issues at the time were sexuality, reproductive rights, women in the
workplace and in the home, domestic violence, and finally passing the ERA (Heywood
2006).
3. Patriarchy: The rule by men as a group over women (Boles, Hoeveler 2004). whose
authority is enforced through social, political, economic and religious institutions. All

feminists oppose the patriarchy, although they differ in their conceptualizations of it

(Gamble 1999).
4. Intersectionality: The interconnected and dependent nature of social categorizations like
sex, race, or class. This usually refers to the understanding that individuals carry multiple
facets to their identities, each affecting the rest (Heywood 2004).
5. Essentialism: A term used to imply that there is some a priori essence or quality in men and
women that is as inherent as their genes. This essential femininity or masculinity
buttresses politically conservative arguments about what can and cannot occur for men and
women in our society. Believing that women must assume full responsibility for childbearing
because they are naturally nurturing is an example of an argument made on essentialist
grounds (Boles, Hoeveler 2004)
6. Poststructuralism: Based on the theories of deconstruction and using the writings of
Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, and Michel Foucault, among others, to claim radical
decentering of the subject and understanding of history Helen Couxious would be
considered poststructuralist in their visions and philosophical orientations. All of them to
some extent believe in an essential female nature, but only as a starting point from which
they go on to deconstruct all intellectual and social traditions (Boles, Hoeveler 2004).
The dictionaries I found became great starting points that lead me to reputable sources and
primary documents. The biggest breakthrough was now the ability to start from a well-known
source and use it to branch off with other ideas. I looked through the dictionaries and found more
sources and references that I could use in my writing. A big contributor to my research was
Leslie Heywoods, The Women's Movement Today: An Encyclopedia of Third-Wave
Feminism. This was a two volume encyclopedia on the topic of third wave feminism and those

key issues surrounding it. The first volume was an A

A-Z
Z dictionary while the second volume
contained primary documents and excerpts from a wide range of different women. Not only were
these documents cited, but they sometimes
contained
ained other sources which I followed up
on. I was also able to check out the Critical
Dictionary of Feminism through UCs
book exchange
ange program with other colleges
in the country. This source had a great
authors introduction which spoke almost
directly to the topic of my paper and it too
contained an A-Z
Z dictionary of feminist
terms and cited explanations. Another
source that I found very useful was called
What is Third-Wave Feminism? by Claire
Snyder. I used this source, an online
line journal
article, extensively in my paper and it
helped inform my understanding of third-wave feminism. The way in which the article used the
second wave to exemplify and clarify aspects of the third wave through comparing and
contrasting was well done and effective in conveying information. From this source
ource I also
learned three non-academic magazines that act as discourse communities where people discuss
and write about current feminist thought. These are BUST Magazine, Bitch Magazine,
Magazine and
Ms.Magezine.

Most of my research came from reference dictionaries, the third-wave encyclopedia, primary
documents, and a handful of academic articles. What I learned from researching within the
humanities is that one must start from a respected source and branch out from there. The way in
which I did that was by starting with the critical dictionaries, looking up key words, and looking
for references to other important works. By doing this, I found great primary sources that directly
related to what I was writing about. For example, when I was researching critiques of the wave
model, I could find almost no one who was writing about the topic. It seemed as though there
was endless information describing the various waves of feminism, but little to no information
on the wave model itself. It was not until I looked at the index of the feminist encyclopedia and
searched for the term wave model that I found anything useful. Sure enough, there was one
document that perfectly critiqued the model and brought up many of its strengths and
weaknesses from an African-American perspective.
Although I only have marginal research experience within the humanities, I learned ways to
improve my research and practice it competently. In order to succeed, you must first brainstorm
key terms, this acted as my very first starting point. I then looked in critical dictionaries and
specialized books to define those terms. In doing so, I was able to read further explanations and
follow references/citations I found within the dictionaries. Along with searching key terms and
buzz words on the internet, this technique effectively found sources which were both respectable
and pertinent to my questions. The main point is to continue to dig and follow citations up the
ladder to find better and better information. Since I accomplished this research with little
experience, I proved my literacy.

Analysis
Through researching current feminism and writing this paper, I have had to enter a brand
new discourse community. Until this point, my academic life had revolved around the science
and engineering spheres. For example, I was part of the Math, Science, and Technology program
through high school and then went straight into engineering as a freshman at UC. While I was an
environmental engineering major, I had to turn directly to academic journals, textbooks, or
research projects in order to find out new and useful information. Often times, except for
foundational knowledge, old information usually meant outdated information. Furthermore, if
the information had come from non-academic sources, then it usually would not be considered
quality research. Expert opinion was the only opinion. Stepping out of that world and into the
world of the social sciences and the humanities was difficult. It made me rethink the way I did
research and forced me to adapt to new locations where discourse was happening.
Without previous knowledge of feminism or experience in women studies courses, I have
had only myself to rely on to be able to prove my new literacies. That is why I will prove my
literacy in the current feminist movement and in researching within the social sciences by writing
5 small essays relating to the most important topics that I learned. Through writing multiple
essays that include appropriate citations and support as well as demonstrating that I can apply
what I have learned to create coherent thoughts, I hope to prove that I have gone through the
process of obtaining these literacies. Therefore, I will direct my writing towards a general
audience so that anyone without previous knowledge of my topic should be able to understand
what I am writing about and decide whether I am literate in what I claim to be. If, at the end of
these essays, my reader has a general understanding of feminism today and what it takes to

research feminist topics, then I will have proved my literacy. These essays are meant to be
separate from one another but do follow an intentional order.

Addressing the Wave Model

Traditionally, the Wave Model is used to study the important historical, cultural, and
political happenings that surround the feminist movement (Nicholson 2010). It has served as a
tool in which to place the feminist movement into a wider historical context that acts to connect
current feminist thinking with past ideology and activism (Nicholson 2010). This model has
persisted in feminism and has been a good way of easily classifying the large swells of loud,
effective, and widespread feminist activity throughout history (Snyder 2008). In the 1960s, the
term wave began being used to describe the new uprising of feminist thought and it was
effective in implying that the second wave was more than just a historical aberration, it was
something that had roots in the first wave which mainly described feminist activities
surrounding the suffrage movement in the early 1900s (Nicholson 2010). But Nicholson notes
that this form of historiography oversimplifies and distorts the reality of gender activism which is
actually more complex and obscures the differences in the ideas that have motivated different
groups of people to pursue different kinds of political goals at different moments in time
(Nicholson 2010). For example, to start by calling the suffrage movement the first wave implies
that all of the political activism that was important in getting women the right to vote can be
attributed to feminist thought. However, this oversimplifies the motivations at the time. Nancy
Cott implies this in her well-known work, The Grounding of Modern Feminism, by including a
quote from a feminist at the time, All feminists are suffragists, but not all suffragists are

feminists (Cott 1987). By passing over these historical details and contradicting narratives, the
timeline of gender activism in America is diluted.
The wave model can also be seen as an especially poor metaphor, even if just talking
about the first wave, when investigating the African American perspective. By claiming that the
first wave encompasses the suffrage movement, the wave model implies that there was no
important feminism going on before this movement. When in reality, female slaves in the US
were practicing various forms of feminist resistance since the beginning of American slavery by
performing abortions for unwanted pregnancies or resisting rape whenever possible (Springer
2002). This exclusion of minority perspectives, such as African-American or Native-American,
continued and even grew in the second wave (Springer 2002). Often times, black women felt as
though the feminism of the second wave only cared about issues of middle-class, white women.
For them, feminism exclusively dealt with white issues which meant being black was completely
separate from being a woman.
Today, the wave model creates even more confusion than it clears up. Although this
model is good at highlighting aggressive and influential swells of feminism, it is very bad at
accurately describing history and multiple perspectives (Snyder 2008). Furthermore, from
personal experience, I think it restricts the understanding of feminism to that of a single, lazy
narrative. But for better or for worse, understanding that the wave model has both strengths and
obvious weaknesses, it is still the only working narrative that we have. It is this reason why I
chose to include the wave terminology throughout my paper and I will continue to do so in the
next essays. I still urge you to keep these strengths and weaknesses in mind when continuing to
read.

How the Second Wave Informs the Third Wave

Although some third wavers might like to think that they are reinventing the wheel and
creating a whole new feminism, the ideologies and issues of the second wave have informed the
struggles of the third wave (Snyder 2008). In Claire Snyders article, she explores some of these
ties. This essay explores third-wave feminism in an attempt to make sense of a movement
that on its face may seem like a confusing hodgepodge of personal anecdotes and individualistic
claims, in which the whole is less than the sum of its parts. While third-wave feminists do not
have an entirely different set of issues or solutions to long-standing dilemmas, the movement
does constitute, I would argue, more than simply a rebellion against second-wave mothers. What
really differentiates the third wave from the second is the tactical approach it offers to some of
the impasses that developed within feminist theory in the 1980s (Snyder 2008). In this quote,
which comes from the second paragraph of her article, Snyder implies a few things. First, she
declares that her purpose is to make sense of a movement (Snyder 2008). This is strikingly
similar to my own purpose in writing this paper. She then goes on to describe the third wave as
a movement that may seem like a confusing hodgepodge in which the whole is less than
the sum of its parts (Snyder 2008). I too have felt as though the feminist movement of today is
both widespread, but somehow invisible and hard to define. On one hand, women have the most
freedoms that they have ever had in our history. On the other hand, it seems like some issues are
sliding back or becoming worse. So how does one make sense of all these contradictions and
seemingly disparate perspectives?
The first step is to understand the historical and ideological threads that connect the
different waves of feminism. In doing so, the similarities and differences of the second and third
waves come into light and can be analyzed accurately. In Snyders article, she uses the second

wave as a foil to compare and contrast to the third wave (Snyder 2008). This is especially
important to do when the media frequently ignores subtleties and critiques distorted ideas of
feminism in order to pursue their own agendas. By doing so, she argues that there are real
differences between the two, and that there is support for the idea of two distinct waves;
however, not so distinct to imply that the second wave did not heavily influence the ideology of
the third wave (Snyder 2008). Snyder makes sure to emphasize that there are four major claims
about how third-wave feminism differs from second-wave feminism claims that contain some
truth yet overstate the distinctiveness of the new movement from its predecessor (Snyder 2008).
It is clear that Snyder believes the third wave exists and that it is connected to the second wave,
but is still different (Snyder 2008).
The first claim Snyder makes is that third-wavers want their own version of feminism
that addresses their different societal contexts and the particular set of challenges they face
(Snyder 2008). This means that third wavers rightly argue that the unique context of todays
society, such as living in a culture saturated with technology and media, means that the way in
which they interact with feminism is different than in other generations. Second, third-wavers
claim to be less rigid and judgmental than their mothers generation (Snyder 2008). Although
the third wave directly stems from the pro-sex branch of feminism that came out of the sex
wars over pornography and prostitution, it is not true that the second wave was only anti-sex
and anti-fun (Snyder 2008). Third, third-wavers depict their version of feminism as more
inclusive and racially diverse than the second wave (Snyder 2008). It is true that third wave
feminism places intersectionality and inclusion as ideological pillars (Heywood 2006). The third
wave can even be called a form of inclusion (Heywood 2006). However, this is not to totally
imply that the second wave was exclusionary. Finally, third-wavers claim to have a broader

vision of politics than second-wave feminism (Snyder 2008). While the third wave does
emphasize inclusion, environmentalism, the need to end racial discrimination, and charity
towards the poor, so has the second wave (Snyder 2008). In using the second wave as a foil to
compare and contrast with the third wave, Snyder has shown that they are simultaneously more
similar and more distinct than expected.

The Personal is the Political

The phrase, the personal is the political was an important rallying cry associated with
the second wave feminism of the 1960s until the 1980s (Boles, Hoeveler 2004). In contrast to
the first wave, which was only focused on womens right to vote, the 1960s brought about many
radical ideas that changed the way gender, sexuality, feminism, and politics were understood
(Heywood 2006). It is no wonder then, knowing how the second wave has influenced the third
wave, that this phrase continues to hold meaning today. A perfect example of what this phrase
means to the third wave can be seen in Rebecca Walkers article, in which she announces that
she is in fact part of the third wave: I am ready to decide, as my mother decided before me, to
devote much of my energy to the history, health, and healing of women. Each of my choices will
have to hold to my feminist standard of justice. To be a feminist is to integrate an ideology of
equality and female empowerment into the very fiber of my life. It is to search for personal
clarity in the midst of systemic destruction, to join in sisterhood with women when often we are
divided, to understand power structures with the intention of challenging them (Walker 1992). I
think what was once a call to action for feminists in the 1960s, is now an equally serious call to
action for modern feminists.

But the meaning that third wave feminists of today attach to this powerful phrase is
somewhat different (Snyder 2008). Current feminism seems to be in the water we drink and in
the air we breathe. It is partially because of this invisible yet widespread feminism that makes the
third wave difficult to identify. But that is not to say that third wavers do not participate in
politics. In fact, it means the opposite: that third wavers see more things as political, but not
necessarily feminist and they act in such a way to care about a wide range of issues (Snyder
2008). Important topics of today include abortion rights, easy access to affordable daycare, laws
protecting a mother or fathers right to maternity/paternity leave, the gender wage gap, the body
image of women, and obtaining a constitutional amendment to protect womens rights (Heywood
2006). And similar to some branches of feminism during the second wave, third wavers also see
issues that dont necessarily fall into feminism as fundamentally important to the movement as
well. These include things such as climate change, curbing our consumerist culture, ending the
unchecked influence of corporate interests on our government, and opposing unjust wars
overseas (Snyder 2008).

Intersectionality and Inclusion

The primary factor that seems to explain the difference in general perceptions between
second and third wavers is the third waves heavy emphasis on intersectionality and inclusion as
fundamental to the movement (Heywood 2006). Intersectionality is the understanding that a
single person is capable of holding multiple identities that can create unique perspectives (Boles,
Hoeveler 2004). This means that an African-American woman who is college educated and
Jewish has four identities that affect her life in different but equally important ways. Third-

wave feminism foregrounds personal narratives that illustrate an intersectional and

multiperspectival version of feminism embrace multivocality over synthesis and action over
theoretical justification and emphasizes an inclusive and nonjudgmental approach that refuses
to police the boundaries of sexuality (Snyder 2008). Inclusion and intersectionality are viewed
as more important than creating coherent ideologies that avoid contradiction (Snyder 2008). In
fact, the third wave seems to revel in different experiences and seemingly contradictory
identities. This, in my opinion, is what differentiates the third wave the most.
By emphasizing inclusion and intersectionality, the third wave makes clear what its
purposes are and are not. For example, inclusion means that the feminism of today cannot have
overarching agendas that are as concrete as the second wave because the third wave welcomes
almost all men and women so long as they continue to place intersectionality and social justice at
the forefront (Snyder 2008). But this has also been a double edged sword. Without the
foundational ability to say that all feminists in the third wave believe the same things, the most
crucial challenge the third wave will have to face is the problem of how to create a real
movement that might affect large scale change (Snyder 2008).

My Environmentalism and My Feminism

Although environmentalism is not usually seen as a top priority in the feminist sphere, unless
referring to a specific branch like ecofeminism, many feminists are still aware and concerned
about environmental topics (Heywood 2006). In the third wave movement especially, fighting
climate change and promoting sustainability are seen as key components that will be central in
maintaining the previous work that has been done for womens causes (Heywood 2006). In the

eyes of young people today who have grown up listening to the heated public debate over
climate change and who have seen first-hand the abuses that nature has struggled to withstand,
protecting our Earth means protecting ourselves. I share this same belief about our Earth and feel
that my feminism and my environmentalism are two sides of the same coin. This is why, as an
environmental studies major, I chose to study feminism so that I could apply what I learned to
my professional discipline.
Through my research, I have seen important similarities between the environmental and
feminist movements. For example, environmentalism and feminism are similar because they are
both movements that revolve around the idea of healing and reinforcing broken areas. They
overlap when it comes to ideas such as the need for drastic changes in our society in order to fix
structural injustices, protecting otherwise vulnerable spaces/groups, and the importance of many
people coming together to speak up for someone or something. That is why it was only a small
leap for me to think that both movements might have some common thread when it comes to the
ways in which we teach and advocate for them. I also think there must be a more effective way
to spread information so that more people will be on the side of tackling these issues.
Between the years 2002-2010, one study investigated the factors that influenced public
opinion on climate change. Shockingly, they found that elite cues and
movement/countermovement advocacy were the most influential when it came to shifting
public opinion (Brule 2012). That is to say that the opinions and information that came from
elites such as large corporate owners or politicians, as well as advocacy done by organizations
and activists, changed the opinions of the masses the most. Although the media was an option for
what influences opinion, the media usually reflects elite cues and advocacy messages (Brule
2012). Another interesting facet of this study was that it found individuals do not possess

integrated true attitudes on most issues that are relatively peripheral to their Climatic Change
everyday concerns. Instead, they tend to respond to survey questions based on the most recent
information that they have been presented on that issue (Brule 2012). This means that most
people do not have concrete or even well-supported opinions on subjects that they do not deal
with on an everyday basis. Instead, most people will tend to form opinions based on the most
recent information they heard about the subject, as long as the information generally supports
their worldview.
In my opinion, this articles suggests that advocacy is the most important way that common
people can affect larger change. I think this information is applicable for the feminist movement
as well. The most important and useful ways to change opinion are by a large-scale campaign
with strategic and widespread dissemination of information. Going forward, I hope to use this
information to help me progress issues that I care about.

Application
Unlike first wave feminism that focused on legal womens equality or second wave feminism
that emphasized core struggles that women faced in society, todays feminism draws from poststructuralist ideas that throw out essentialism and place intersectionality at its center (Heywood
2006). Intersectionality and inclusion, in fact, are so fundamental to the third wave that the
movement itself has been described as a form of inclusion; meaning that todays feminism is
less of a unified movement and more of a coalition (Heywood 2006). This way, the perspectives
of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer communities feel much more at home
within third wave ideology, just to mention a few (Snyder 2008). Similarly, the third wave is
presenting itself to be much more open to multifaceted perspectives and possibly it could start to
welcome minority voices, something that the previous waves failed to do (Springer 2002). It is
for these reasons, that third wave feminism involves more perspectives and tries to encompass as
many identities as possible, that the third wave has struggled to fit within the wave model
(Snyder 2008). Therefore, I suggest we put aside the restricting context in which the wave model
creates and focus more attention on finding the complex and interesting reasons for this
mysterious feminism. If we are successful at finding the core issues behind our current feminism,
we then may be able to incite many more honest, critical debates within the public. This, in my
opinion, is the only way to bring about lasting, sustainable change for the better.
But todays feminism is still embryonic. Although it takes ideas from individual freedom,
poststructuralist, and postmodern areas, it is still an evolving and infant movement (Gamble
2000). Possibly even, the feminism we see today might not be a movement at all (Snyder 2008).
Feminists of today see themselves as less political and more open to the wider goals of feminism,
whether that be in the realm of politics, the home, the bedroom, or any other facet of a womans

life; whether that woman is gay, Latina, poor, or bilingual (Gamble 2000). Therefore, the
feminist movement we see today is still growing and validating itself. Unfortunately this means
that social and political activism is not as deeply tied to the overall message. But I think that this
will improve in the future and hopefully there will be a home for public debate and
progressivism once again.
Until that day, I am prepared to use the information that I obtained through this research
project to better myself, others around me, and the larger movement itself. Having completed
this project, I now feel confident that I have shown skills that might be helpful or necessary in
my professional life. These skills include:

Understanding feminism and multiple perspectives

Performing academic research
Interpreting academic journals and articles
Writing excellently
Applying primary sources when appropriate
Adapting and learning from mistakes
Synthesizing coherent arguments from multiple sources
Formulating methods of research
Advocating for social change

In the future, I would like to continue to grow my skills and progress within my discourse
communities. Some skills I could continue to work on are citing sources properly, using the
library, finding respected and pertinent sources, and learning more about feminism in general.

Although I have researched the topic extensively and have shown my literacy in researching and
in feminism basics, there is still a world more to learn.

Activity
The final component of this discourse analysis will be a 5 minute presentation to my class.
The purpose of this presentation is to showcase what I have learned throughout this process and
to demonstrate to my professor and to my peers that I am able to teach others about what I
learned. This means that the audience I will be presenting to will be my professor and my
classmates. Since this course is also an honors course, I will be attempting to teach roughly 25
honors students about feminism. My audience, therefore, will be comprised of critical,
motivated, and intelligent people with a wide range of interests. This fits well with my topic
because being able to listen attentively and then reflect on the information is key to taking away
the important parts of my project. However, I will still assume that my audience is totally lacking
in prior knowledge or that they might even have misconceptions about my topic. By recognizing
this, I want to present my topic so that it re-teaches anybody who hears it. I want my presentation
to guide my audience through what I learned and how I learned it. The most important aspects of
my topic are my process in learning about it, and the understanding that feminism today is
incredibly nuanced and fascinating but is also accessible and important.
Because my project is supposed to define a movement clearly and concisely, my presentation
will have to reflect that same intent. My presentation must be clear and concise so that it reflects
well on me and my paper. Knowing this, I have decided to present a tri-fold poster which will
enable me to use visuals, pictures, and concise information to drive home my topic. A tri-fold is
the perfect genre for me to use because my entire project was research based so I can only
present the information I had found myself instead of, say, a project I had done for another class.
Another reason for a tri-fold is the ability to pack it full of pictures which is incredibly important
to my presentation.

During my poster presentation my purpose will be to explain the central ideas of todays
feminism whilst also providing context and to give my audience a general sense of the process of
learning I went through in order to complete this project. Hopefully I can persuade people to care
about the movement and create more people who can spread the message. For this presentation I
will need a computer, a tri-fold poster board, scissors, a color inkjet printer, and pens/markers.
I plan on presenting two things. First, I will present my findings as to the status and roots of
todays feminist movements. Secondly, I will present my process of how I learned about
feminism and about how important sources are to this process. I am presenting this way for two
reasons. First, I want to inform people about the nuances, contradictions, unique qualities, and
important contexts of todays feminist thought. Secondly, I am presenting this in order to show
my audience a relatable story as to how someone learned to research properly and go about
investigating a topic they are interested in but knew little about! If I am successful, my project
will exemplify the two literacies I have obtained. One is my literacy in understanding feminist
thought, specifically todays feminist thought. Secondly is my research literacy and being able to
investigate something professionally. In order to tell whether or not I succeeded, my audience
will have been interested the whole time and my final grade should reflect the hard work and
time that I put into this project.

Works Cited

Andermahr, Sonya, Terry Lovell, and Carol Wolkowitz. A Glossary of Feminist Theory.
London: Arnold, 1997. Print.

This is a reference dictionary of feminist terms and theories. It is a good source because it
defines important terms within feminism and it is a respectable source.
Audience: Academics and non-academics
Genre: Book, dictionary
Purpose: This dictionary attempts to define key terms for anyone who wishes to investigate
feminist principles
Context: This source has acted as a general dictionary of terms within feminism for me

Boles, Janet K., and Diane L. Hoeveler. Historical Dictionary of Feminism. 2nd ed. Lanham:
Scarecrow, 2004. Print.

This is a historical dictionary, is well cited, references other respectable and important sources
Audience: Academics and non-academics
Genre: Book, dictionary
Purpose: To provide historically contextualized definition of key feminist terms
Context: I used this source as a dictionary of key terms and, most importantly, as a way to
research pertinent references and reputable sources

Brulle, R. J., Carmichael, J., & Jenkins, J. C. (2012). Shifting public opinion on climate
change: an empirical assessment of factors influencing concern over climate change in the
US, 20022010. Climatic change, 114(2), 169-188.

This academic report goes into depth about the changes in public opinion on climate change.

Audience: Academics and scholars interested in how the media, factual information, and natural
events have shaped public opinion on climate change in the past 10 years
Genre: Online academic journal
Purpose: This exists to try and create an academic report that finds the true causes of change to
public opinion on climate change.
Context: This source says that public opinion has changed about climate change because of the
ability to find factual information, the news media, and natural events. Public opinion and policy
is closely related and so the general attitude toward this topic determines what actions are taken
for it. This applies to feminism because many of these same opinion changing factors affect the
realm of feminism too.

Cott, Nancy F. The Grounding of Modern Feminism. Yale UP, 1987. Web.

Nancy Cott is a respected and experienced feminist writer, author of a famous piece of work
Audience: Academics and non-academics
Genre: Online academic article
Purpose: This is a famous piece of feminist writing and it attempts to explore various facets of
modern feminism
Context: Cott includes insights into the true feelings and perceptions of feminists within the first
wave and how they viewed politics and the purposes of feminism compared to suffrage.

Gamble, Sarah. The Routledge Critical Dictionary of Feminism and Postfeminism. New
York: Routledge, 2000. Print.

This is a critical dictionary and hold cited definitions and explanations. It also references other
very reputable sources.
Audience: Academics and non-academics

Genre: Book, dictionary

Purpose: To define key terms within feminism and to provide important and pertinent, cited
references to help people research more in-depth.
Context: This critical dictionary had many useful ideas within its introduction about the history
of the first, second, and third waves as well as incredibly useful definitions and references

Heywood, Leslie L. The Women's Movement Today: An Encyclopedia of Third-Wave

Feminism. Vol. 1. Westport: Greenwood, 2006. Print. A-Z

This encyclopedia is very well cited, well-known, respected as a contributor to feminist theory
and is an overall very good source
Audience: Academics and non-academics
Genre: Book, dictionary
Purpose: to define key terms within feminism and attempt to explain each term with references
and examples
Context: This source gave many important insights that I used extensively throughout my
research

Heywood, Leslie L. The Women's Movement Today: An Encyclopedia of Third-Wave

Feminism. Vol. 2. Westport: Greenwood, 2006. Print. Primary Documents

This encyclopedia is very well cited, well-known, respected as a contributor to feminist theory
and is an overall very good source
Audience: Academics and non-academics
Genre: Book, primary documents
Purpose: This encyclopedia attempts to delve deeper into feminist theory and history by using
excerpts from primary documents of various prominent feminist thinkers

Context: I also used this extensively in order to quote from it and look up valuable commentary
about the topics I had been researching

Nicholson, Linda. Feminism in "Waves": Useful Metaphor or Not?, Vol. XII-4 (48)(2010).
Retrieved from http://newpol.org/content/feminism-waves-useful-metaphor-or-not.

This was published in a peer-reviewed journal so the information within it is well cited and
pertinent to my research
Audience: Academics
Genre: Online academic article
Purpose: To show an in-depth critique of the wave model and to show its strengths and
weaknesses
Context: This source argues that the wave model detracts from the study of feminism and distorts
the historical record to exclude minority perspectives

Snyder, R. Claire. "What Is ThirdWave Feminism? A New Directions Essay." Signs 34.1
(2008): 175-96. Web.

Since this was published in a reputable, peer-reviewed journal, the information within it is well
cited and pertinent to my research
This is an academic article which is peer-reviewed and published. This is a good source because
it tries to define third wave feminism in academic terms.
Audience: Academics and scholars
Genre: Online academic article
Purpose: This text tries to define third wave feminism in academic terms to help the field of
study as a whole

Context: This source is saying that third wave feminism is much more complex and intricate then
people understand. Furthermore, there is no agreed upon definition within the academic
discourse. This is a detriment to the field of feminism and it hurts the current movement by
creating unnecessary ambiguity.

Springer, Kimberly. "Third Wave Black Feminism?" Signs 27.4 (2002): 1059-082. Web.

Springer is included In the above encyclopedia and is a respected African-American feminist

Audience: Academics, African-American feminists
Genre: Online academic article
Purpose: This article critiques the wave model and shows how it excludes minority perspectives
and voices
Context: This article goes into detail about why the wave model itself totally erases minority
voices from the feminist historical record

Taeuber, Cynthia M. Statistical Handbook on Women in America. 2nd ed. Phoenix: Orynx,
1996. Print.

This statistical handbook gathers important statistics surrounding women in the United States.
This information comes from the census bureau and other valid organizations
Audience: Academics and non-academics
Genre: Book, statistical handbook
Purpose: To help people find pertinent statistics surrounding women in the United States
Context: I used this for my own information in order to look up various stats on women. I then
used this information to build my perceptions about what it might be like to live as a woman

Walker, Rebecca. "Becoming the Third Wave." Ms. Magezine Jan.-Feb. 1992: 39-41. Print.

Rebecca Walker is known for popularizing the term third wave in this groundbreaking article

Audience: All feminists

Genre: Magazine article
Purpose: To reinvigorate the third wave and proclaim that she is proudly a part of the third wave
Context: This is arguably the origin of the term third wave and brought the term into popular
use. She has incredible insights into the female perspective and the generational divide between
her feminism and her mothers feminism.