Changes

Previous DailyHistory articles have discussed the [[What was the First Wave Feminist Movement?|First]] and [[What was the Second Wave Feminist Movement?|Second]] Wave Feminist Movements. Like Second Wave feminism, Third Wave feminism emerged from some of the failures and conversations left behind from the wave before.  While there were many successes of the first two waves, including voting rights and greater access to reproductive control, Third Wave feminists have argued that these successes largely primarily benefited white middle-class women. The Third Wave feminists have actively sought to expand the rights of LBTQ and minority women. EssentiallyMainly, they have been interested in trying to achieve parity with white women.

During the Second Wave, the general discussions about reproductive choice were often framed in terms of access to birth control and the right to an abortion for white women, while . While non-white women were fighting for the right to control reproduction on their own terms, and not to be forcibly sterilized. These rifts were not crippling, but often benefited one faction of a coalition more than the other.

For many non-white feminists during the Second Wave, their experiences as women were inseparable from their experiences as people of color. They could not compartmentalize their lives or experiences. A new wave of feminism needed to adequately address all parts of their identityadequately.

Third Wave Feminism differed from the first two waves not just goals, but in substance. While the first two waves generally accepted traditional gender identities and norms, the third wave challenged ideas about what was traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine. Not only did third wave Third Wave feminists reject this strict separation and polarity between male and female, but third wave feminists they embraced a more complex and nuanced understanding of opportunities for gender and sexual expression, including identity.  Third Wave feminists took Second Wave feminism's "sexual liberation" one step further by also calling for the exploration and acceptance of a variety of sexual identities. Furthermore, Third Wave Feminists believe it is in their right to seek sexual pleasure on their own terms as well as a sex-positive movement.

At its core, Third Wave Feminism argues that it is more inclusive and accepting of a variety of identities. Third Wave Feminism attempts to wrestle more fully with intersectionality, that is: that race and gender are not "mutually exclusive categories of experience and analysis... Those who are multiply-burdened... cannot be understood" through a single lens or source of discrimination.<ref>Kimberle Crenshaw, "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics," Unversity of Chicago Legal Forum, vol. 1989, no. 1: 139-167, 139-140.</ref>. While  Third Wave Feminism does try to check its privilege at the door, it, like its predecessors, still does tend to have a white-middle class leaning. While this is has been more openly discussed, it still also remains a point of contention for some feminists in the Third Wave with some feminists calling for toleration and others for more ardent antiracism.

Some have argued that #MeToo movement, the 2016 Presidential Election, the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and the revelations about how common the sexual assault of an astounding number of women athletes (especially in women's gymnastics) is may have ushered in a Fourth Wave of Feminism. Both sexual assault and harassment have become central issues within the existing movement. Only time will tell if this is an entirely new movement, or if this is simply a continuation of the Third Wave after a dormant period. If this is a new Fourth Wave, it is clearly building on some of the Third Wave but is unique in its focus on sexual harassment and rape culture.