Following one of the topics discussed in class Thursday, is the problems evolving from the “waves” of feminism and how the attempt at universalizing could be construed as detrimental to the feminist movement itself.
Each wave is a designated period in the feminist movement. The first wave of the feminist movement describes the period in feminism in which women in America were fighting for basic political and civil rights, such as voting. This happened in the early 20th and late 19th centuries. After this comes the second wave of feminism, which focuses more on cultural aspects. These aspects include the significant differences in sex and gender, and learning to value feminism itself. Finally, there is the third wave of feminism, which we are currently in. This wave questions the homogeneity of the previous two waves and the flaws of its universality.
The third wave of feminism calls into question the aspects of the previous waves of feminism and how they might be flawed. One of the main criticisms put up by the third wave feminists is the universal aspect of previous theorists. They claim that the universal aspect of feminism is self-defeating to feminism as a whole, and that all previous definitions of the feminine and how they define a woman is that of the western, privileged woman. Given the many different aspects of a woman and how many cultures around the world, they argue that the previous ideas of the woman do not adequately recognize other women than the privileged, and they argue that much like the oppression on woman by the patriarchal and male-dominated society, the definition provided is extremely exclusive and the theories only apply to a particular group in a particular place from a particular time period.
What I want to raise then, is the question of whether or not the idea of “feminism” as it was raised by the first and second wave ideologists, is even applicable today, or if it is something that has become antiquated and should be used not as a prime model for discussing women’s rights and their advancement towards equality in society, but rather a basis on which to form new theories and ideas? It seems to me, given the views presented recently in class by the third wave philosophers, that in fact, the older ideas are something that are no longer completely relevant to our society to the present issues involving sex and gender equality as they did in their origins. What do you think? Should we continue to use the first and second wave teachings or move onto something more inclusive and universal? Or is the implementation of something universal too difficult to even come up with given the diversity of the subjects involved?
Matthew, you bring to attention vital questions that should be asked, but for the lack of "moving on" feminism seems to not have answered nor given thought to these issues. It is generally understood that there is something problematic with the universalization of feminism, but no one has considered the "So what?" piece yet. What needs to take place now is to understand the future of feminist theory. I don't think that the fundamental ideologies of the first and second waves of feminism should be completely done away with. We can still utilize this information to help groups of women who are currently in similar situations achieve what has already been achieved in the West with such theory. However, Western society has to be mindful of the fact that such ideologies will need to be tailored specifically to the new population of women. We cannot simply ignore them; we would only be continuing the cycle of exclusivity that needs to be broken.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, there seems to be an issue with breaking the universalizatoin and moving towards more diverse feminist theory. I wonder how cohesive such a movement could be...will there be factions within the movement? Calling into account the great culture diversity of the world there could be some serious issues to arise out of so many different feminists theories all falling under the same umbrella. Now that I think about it, there is no simple answer. The answer about the future of feminist theory is definitely one that is seriously complex.
I think one would be hard pressed to find a universal form of feminism. This is largely due to the fact that one cannot find a universal characteristic amongst women. I personally have always faltered in my understanding of third wave feminism because I can't seem to identify any overarching theme, though that might be the point. There is great diversity throughout the world and I do not believe that any single form of feminism can be broadly applicable.
ReplyDeleteThis calls to mind the idea of "third world" feminism, which seems to be geared more towards non-white or non-western women (depending on who you ask). I feel like the very existence of the term suggests that the feminism of the first and second (and maybe even the third) waves are no longer relevant in our society, at least when looking at "our society" as more than just the United States or the west. It seems to me that it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish between us and them, especially as we make the shift towards a globalized society. I personally find it difficult to think about what feminism is and where it is going because it doesn't seem like the first wave, or the second for that matter, really applies to me and my experiences. Maybe that is the gap that the third wave is trying to mend.