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Second wave feminism essentially broke into two separate ideological movements: Equal rights feminism and radical feminism. These movements approached feminism from very different perspectives. Under equal-rights feminism women sought equality among men in political and social spheres through legislation and efforts to ‘’the glass ceiling’’ in the working world. <ref> LeGates, Marlene. <i>In Their Time: A History of Feminism in Western Society</i>. New York: Routledge, 2001, 347. </ref> The second approach, radical feminism advocated the destruction of the patriarchal structure of society that oppressed women. Until this structure was destroyed, women’s oppression would continue. As long women were oppressed, it was would difficult to eliminate any inequality because the oppression was the root of all other oppressions. <ref> LeGates, Marlene. <i>In Their Time: A History of Feminism in Western Society,</i>. New York: Routledge, 2001, 357. </ref>

Both ideologies eventually merged into ‘’Third Wave’’ of feminism. What separates the two different movements is the distinction between discrimination and oppression. Radical feminists would choose to focus on demolishing the patriarchal oppressive structures that they saw as over-arching all other oppressions. The equal-rights feminists were largely white, older in age, and most came from affluent backgrounds. Radical feminists were made up younger white affluent women, and minority women of all ages who were active in the Civil Rights movement as well. <ref> LeGates, Marlene. In Their Time: A History of Feminism in Western Society. New York: Routledge, 2001, 352. </ref>

Women of color, especially during the Civil Rights movement, were finding themselves underrepresented in both racial and gender movements that were simultaneously fighting for their equality. Black, Latina/Chicana, Asian, and Native American women were all active in feminist agendas but wary of the whiteness that seemed to dominate the organizations that were dedicated to the destruction of patriarchal structures. All over the United States, minority women began the fight of racial and gender oppression by creating their own organizations. Some had already existed thanks to the serge of participation in the workforce during the 1940s, like the National Council of Negro Women. Other organizations developed during the 1960s and 1970s included the Third World Women’s Alliance. The Third Women's World Alliance primary goal was to expose the relation between race, sex, sexuality, gender, and class oppressions. This approach is now referred to as intersectionality. <ref> Aguilar, Marian. "Third World Women's Alliance." <i>Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History</i>. Edited by Colin A. Palmer. 2nd ed. Vol. 5. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2006, 2191-2192. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 June 2016.</ref> The views organizations of minority women eventually became the drivers of the major themes of the ‘’third wave’’ of feminism that exists today. Bell Hooks, Angela Davis, Gloria Anzaldua, and Cherrie Morriega successfully imposed their view of feminism onto third wave feminism.