First, Second, Third Wave Feminism

First, Second, Third Wave Feminism

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Feminism may be referred to as the theory of the political, economic and social parity of males and females. Feminism may also be referred to as systematized activities that tend to serve the women’s right and their common interest. It is worth noting that there are a number of feminisms and various theories addressing women interest (Ritzer & Ryan, 2011). Feminisms attempts to recognize women as human beings despite the fact that they may approach things and are created differently when physically viewed. It further empowers women to participate in various things equally without any discrimination through recognition of the integral relationship of gender of gender. There was a belief that gender intersects with other social hierarchies and in order to achieve equality you must engage in social movements. This article evaluates and analyses the first, second and third waves of feminism and relates them with my own experience as a child, teenage and adult.

According to Ritzer & Ryan (2011), the three waves of feminism range from suffragettes to the third wave that is known as grrls. First wave feminism was because of context of industrial society and liberal politics. First wave feminism relates to the liberal women’s right movement and early socialist feminism between 19th and 20th century affecting the Eastern and Western societies. In the first wave, there was a huge concern regarding the access and equal opportunity of women in the society.

The second wave of feminism arose between 1960s to 1970s in the post-war Western welfare societies when the discriminated groups such as blacks and homosexuals were being defined and the issues of women empowerment. Finally, the third wave feminism began in the mid 1990sas a result of post-colonial and post-socialist world order. Third wave of feminism manifests itself in “grrl” rhetoric, which is global and multicultural and addresses womanhood challenges. These three waves of feminism have had huge impact on my life as a child, teenage and an adult (Walby, 2013).

I felt felt as a teenager that first wave feminism was very significant in addressing some of the challenges affecting the female sex. It was interesting to note that the demonstrators were very much comfortable with their arrests and did not even attempt to resist the police arrest. I took this very bold step as a child knowing that I have my own rights that I can only achieve when I fight for them. I understood that teenagers who are the most oppressed group could only access freedom through conflicts and radial practices. The human right movements were very effective and since then, I knew as an adult that women are equal to men and should therefore be given equal rights (Walby, 2013).

It was so obvious to me that even after agreements of exercising a specific right would still require certain reinforcement. There is actually a worry amongst the people responsible in infringing others rights when the oppressed realizes the impact of the injustice as well as the way out. As an adult, I realized that sexism and racism played significant role in the white male dominance society. National unity and patriotism serves as an important factor as far as growth and development in a working environment is concerned. It is undeniable that when issues such as discrimination against colour and sex are put forward, the nation or institutions may not succeed. As an adult, I have always felt that there is conventional behaviour applying to both males and females and that female should never be discriminated against (Ritzer & Ryan, 2011).

Women can equally be public persuaders and I have learnt that it is equally better to listen to a woman just as you would listen to a man. As a child, I experienced the power and strength that my mother and other women had in performing various tasks. The cult of domesticity was never that big issue to me because both my parents could perform any chore in the house. The presence of father and mother in the family were equally important. They were both responsible in ensuring that they controlled my behaviour, provided for our home and every other financial assistance (Herman, 2012). Allowing women to vote was therefore crucial in enabling them to participate in public issues. Being in class and even having played with girls at my tender age taught me a lot about women and made me realize their equal capabilities.

The Second Feminist Wave: “The Personal is Political”

According to Walby (2013), the second wave was so much involved in radical feminism that took place between 1960s and 1970s where performances were widely used to shed light on women oppression. Women’s look is still emphasized to date particularly in the fashion shows and beauty contests carried out. When I was a teen, I could pay much attention to some TV programs involving beautiful women bodies. Even at my adult age, I have experienced numerous incidences in both learning institutions and the media advertisements where several things happening in the society exposing the human body (Herman, 2012). Most women concentrate on artefacts such as lipsticks and other forms of makeups instead of focusing on their mind and intelligence. This is very evident in various retail shops available across the world selling women’s makeups just to ensure they appeal to men and the public. Although second wave feminism attempted to address this, it is still evident that portrayal of women body in the eye of the public is maintained.

Women in most organizations are still occupying inferior positions at work places and even learning institutions. In adulthood, I have heard of several organizations such as Wal-Mart that still discriminate against women. Looking at sports, the women sports events are never of great concern and the media pays less concentration to it compared to the male counterparts. For instance, the women’s soccer world cup is not regarded as important as the men’s are. During my life as a teen, I came across few female lecturers and female student leaders who could stand and voice their concern with authority because of their negative perception (Herman, 2012).

Generally, women liberation does not seem to have been achieved per se and most women still depend on men who are mostly economically stable. Social and political power of women is still embedded in the conventional thought and practice that emphasizes on sexism. Still, even in my childhood, I came across various housewives in the neighbourhoods whose reasons behind their status I did not know much about. Motherhood and caretaking are still associated with most women who taker a huge percentage of their time and resources looking after their families.

Poverty level amongst women of colour is still very common and I did not come across as many female students of colour as I was the white counterparts in high school (Walby, 2013). They were still segregated due to their race and associating with blacks was not that normal in the face of the whites who felt superior. I read about save trade and the issues of reproduction in the school library where women of colour felt so much discriminated to an extent of President Roosevelt introducing the pure race concept. Women of colour were told to control their birth and carry out abortion so that their population would go down. On the other hand, the women from white race were encouraged by President Roosevelt to give birth in plenty so as not to risk their race being overpowered by the black race (Herman, 2012).

Third Wave Feminism

According to Herman (2012), third wave feminism thought themselves as the most superior, strong and assertive of all the other wave feminism because it had more opportunities and less sexism. This movement introduced universal womanhood. I have come across various women campaigns from various media including social media, websites, TV and other forms of media. There is a lot of information revolution taking place in the current Hillary Clinton and Michel Obama are amongst the women who have assumed powerful positions in the world showing the achievements so far of the third wave feminism.

In my adulthood, I have come across numerous women in leadership and very powerful positions in governments and companies globally. Many victims of gender violence and discrimination have received massive support from the third wave foundation. Issues of gender, racial and social injustices are currently addressed globally. Various human rights institutions have condemned the recent female employment discrimination in various companies such as Wal-Mart. There are various disciplines and subjects addressing women role and equality issues. While still young and when I was a teen, I read several materials in class and outside the class touching on gender equality.

It is undeniable that feminism is a very sophisticated topic and is understood differently. Commencement of feminism movement indicated the seriousness of the gender issues and the impact it ad on their victims. The movement has contributed to a number of failure and success though much success has been experienced throughout. Issues regarding feminism are evident everywhere across the world. One can experience either the success or failure of the movements in the daily life practices. The waves have grown and developed in a very positive way despite many challenges and the media has really exposed the activities linked with the third wave.

References

Herman, D. (2012). Hopeless Cases: Race, Racism and the ‘Vexatious Litigant’. International Journal of Law in Context, 8(1), 27-46.

Ritzer, G., & Ryan, J. M. (2011). The Concise Encyclopedia of Sociology. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Walby, S. (2013). The Future of Feminism. Oxford: Wiley.