What is intersectional feminism? Intersectional feminism is a fight for social justice that includes more factors than gender. This is important because there is no one-size-fits-all type of feminism. There are a variety of things that contribute to oppression. For example, white cisgender middle class person faces different discriminations than that of a transgender disabled black person. Feminism must be intersectional because equality struggles go farther than gender. As a human race, we are all different, but all deserve justice in social, economic, and political matters. Intersectional feminism is beneficial to everyone. It focuses not just on combating gender inequality, but also racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, fat/skinny shaming, classism, etc. Those …show more content…
who are opposed to intersectional feminism believe that Intersectionality is undermining feminism and spreading it too thin. They say that Intersectional feminism is just a critique of existing feminism, and not a substantive position on its own. This is incorrect because feminism has not been the same movement since its inception and is a changing movement. It is commonly divided into waves. 1st wave, 2nd wave, and 3rd wave. Each has different goals and fought for different rights. We are currently in the beginning of the 4th wave, and many say that it is unnecessary, but the same critiques were given to the first, second, and third waves. The 4th wave should be intersectional. The first wave of feminism goal was to create opportunities for women, mainly suffrage.
The second wave focuses on sexual and reproductive rights. and the adding of Equal Rights Amendment to the constitution. The third wave of feminism is readopting the second wave by young women, for young women. the main goal for third wave was for women to reclaim their bodies for themselves and fighting the patriarchy. The biggest flaw in the third wave is the cis hetro and white-normative mold of a feminist’s, but this flaw is fixed through intersectional feminism by including and fighting against all aspects of oppression without erasing our identities. Intersectional feminism will help our society progress by contributing to the treating of all people with justice. Some say that intersectionality causes too many issues to focus on, therefore nothing can be accomplished. This is a flawed way of thinking. You can't leave other marginalized people out of your social work. There are a number of things that contribute to our identity that reflect on our lives and experiences and many of these cause oppressions and marginalizations. You cannot ignore certain oppressions when they are experienced
intersectionally. POC are more likely to experience forms of violence than White people. of those murdered in LGBTQA-based hate incidents, 78% were POC. Transgender people are 27% more likely to experience hate violence than cisgender people. In short, all women are at risk for gendered violence in the United States, but some women are far more at risk. Our feminism must be intersectional.
In the United States there have been three waves of women’s rights movements. The first movement was called the women’s right movement. This movement was mainly focused on white women and their right to vote as well as hold office. (Wood, p.62) The second movement was the women’s liberation movement, also known as radical feminism. This movement mainly impacted college students because college campuses were a great place for radical feminism to emerge. The radical feminists protested the Vietnam War and fought for civil rights. The women in this movement risked their lives and physical abuse just like the males did. (Wood, p.64) The third wave of feminism in the United States was known as third- wave feminism. In this movement woman with different ethnicities, abilities, disabilities, classes, appearances, sexual orientation and gender identities came together to fight for their rights as women. (Wood, p.74)
The goal of the first wave was to open up more opportunities women including being able to vote. The second wave of feminism occurred from the 1960s to the 1980s. This wave predominantly revolved around the wage gap, sexuality, and reproductive rights. The passing of the Equal Rights Amendment which was an amendment proposed to the United States Constitution guaranteeing social equality for both genders was a priority of the movement. The third wave of feminism began in the 90s and is still ongoing. This waves main focus is on patriarchy. Unlike the previous two waves, politics is not the main focus although it is a huge factor, third wave feminism is about breaking gender boundaries and old conceptions of what men and women should be. This wave is also all inclusive as I have mentioned before which is the biggest difference between the second and third wave. The third wave of feminism has redefined what the movement is, it used to be about politics and women only, feminism is now much
Intersectionality is complex. For example, I experience race differently as a black female than a black man does. And similarly, a white woman experiences sexism differently than me. Despite the four systems of oppression that were discussed, there are also many ways in which I am privileged. As someone who conforms to gender norms, is heterosexual, able-bodied, credentialed, young, middle class, and fertile, my standing in society is a lot higher than most. The unique thing about intersectionality is both the oppression and privilege have made me into who I am today and have ultimately changed me for the better.
The origins of Third Wave feminism are highly debated, as there is no clear commonality that this wave uses to differentiate between the First and Second waves that occurred prior. Emerging during the 1990’s, Third Wave feminism sought to build upon the achievements and ideas that were accomplished during First and Second wave’s, by increasing the significance and accessibility of its ideas to a greater spectrum of people.
Intersectionality is the feminist framework that overlaps gender, race, class, etc. in order to work toward equality and justice for all. Through the lineage of intersectional speeches/writing we can see how it is imperative for contemporary studies, how the current use of intersectionality differs from original intent, and how the application of the intersectional framework is used on contemporary feminist usage.
In that time, more and more social constructs were being dissected and societies perceptions of gender, sexuality and heteronormativity were being tested. Whereas the second wave of feminism rejected traditionally feminine things (which were seen as symbols of oppression made by men) such as lipstick and high heels, the third wave feminists readopted those same feminine symbols. The reasoning behind it was that you shouldn't have to choose between being beautiful or smart, you could be both. They A lot of the women in the third wave also refused to identify as "feminists." They found the term to be limited and even exclusionary. Some have even equated the word with misandrists. Third-wave feminism recognizes diversity. It recognizes race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation and gender identity and these differences are celebrated (Rampton,
Women are given a set of expectations, roles, and limitations within institutions run by men that have long been embedded into society and feminism seeks to change the unproportionate power which would ultimately lead to a more equally represented body of people. Feminism is a tool that can aid women in abolishing all the connotations that come with gender. In One Is Not Born A Woman, Monique Wittig argues that "To refuse to be a woman...does not mean that one has to become a man," to refuse to conform to the ideal images of women, and to break free from the social constraints, stereotypes, controlling images, expectations, and oppression from social institutions does not mean becoming a man. Feminists aren 't aiming to make everyone a man, it does not aim to "bring down" men or favor women, its goal is to liberate all oppressed groups because the privileges exclusive to men "should be considered as the entitlement of everyone" according to Peggy McIntosh in White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Feminism today is very important because it is not longer exclusive, and advocates for fairness for all (people of all ethnicities, any race, any religion, any social class, community, sexuality, etc). Instead of excluding people with different identities or
Feminist and feminism is just one more example about inequality. While feminism simply is about the equality of all genders, it is often used as an insult. People often connect it with the stereotype of angry, man hating lesbians that do not shave. A lot of people also do not see the purpose of feminism, since they do believe that all genders are treated equally due to their own privilege like explained before. However, there is also a group of people believing that female feminists want to turn the current situation around and want to be treated better than men and want to be the privileged ones. Yet, with that accusation men actually admit that they are privileged and that all genders are not treated
Oh feminism, oh feminism. Gone are the days of true equality and diversity. Here are the days of double standards, hate, and brainwashing. Introducing the brand new flavour of feminism, ‘third wave feminism’.
Intersectionality also known as intersectional theory originally was a theory which was encoded in feminism. Intersectionality was a term in which feminists developed to explain how they were being socially oppressed because they were woman, in particular this theory addressed issues of the women’s suffrage movement and women wanting to retain the same rights as their male counterparts. As time progressed it became more common to see see it branched out into multidimensional levels of institutions such as- race, class, sexism, culture, religion, and even biological transgender. Intersectionality by definition aims to analyze multiple identities exposing different types of discrimination and disadvantages that occur
The phrase “Third-Wave Feminism” was coined by a 23-year-old, African-American woman named, Rebecca Walker during an essay in 1992.This wave has been the most controversial amongst the Feminist community. In association with the advancement of technology, the Third wave feminism has been able to reach a much younger audience. Many older generation feminist feels as if the newer generation is misrepresenting the movement and what it stand for. Historically, Feminist have been more conservative on issues such as expressing their sexuality, but in The Third Wave, many of its new followers feel they deserve the right to express themselves as their male counterpart do. Many claim they are practicing the teachings of women
Furthermore, the second wave of feminism, which arose in the 1960s and 1970s, was concerned with social issues, such as, employment and payment, reproductive rights, and sexual harassment (Kroløkke and Sørensen 7-9). In addition, the second wave of feminism was related to movements that advocated the rights of other oppressed groups, for instance, blacks or homosexuals (ibid.). In their book Third Wave Agenda: Being Feminist, Doing Feminism, Leslie Heywood and Jennifer Drake define third wave feminism as “a movement that contains elements of second wave critique of beauty culture, sexual abuse, and power
Feminism is the movement towards women’s equality. It fights for equal rights in the social, political, cultural and economical aspects for women. Feminism also fights for equal opportunity for women in employment and education. A feminist is someone who advocates their support for women’s rights but is not restricted to only women; anyone who supports women’s rights and equality are feminists, including men. Feminism is not only about the females, it fights for gender equality for all. Feminist movements, or Women’s movements, campaign for reforms in household issues with domestic violence, political issues with equal pay, employment and maternity leave, and reproduction rights. All feminism movements fight for equal rights, but it cannot be conquered or be made known all at once. First wave feminism was mostly about women’s suffrage and political equality in general. Second wave feminism went more in depth about the social and cultural inequalities.
Feminism has been an important aspect to change the world. Whether it is in academics, where more women are tilting towards their education and career, then just focusing on their social life. Or in the labor and economic market, where women are managing leadership positions well. Or in politics, where there were more women voter then men in the last presidential election. Even though women have a come a long way to achieve this, there are still some ways to go in order to protect the dignity of all
The feminist movement helped earn women the right to vote, but even then, it wasn’t enough to get accepted into the workforce. They were given the strength to fight the journey for equality and social justice. There has been known to be three waves of feminism, each wave fighting for a different issue concerning women’s rights. Laws protecting sexual assault and alimony would be enacted, and women were now allowed custody of their children in divorce cases.