Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ms. Dewey
ENG 101
11 November, 2018
“Feminazi”, “Man-Hater”, “Social Justice Warrior”. These are all terms used to describe
feminists, whether they were the women and girls fighting for women’s choice to work in the
1960’s through the 1980’s or the new modern more inclusive intersectional feminism we have
today. Of course the first women to fight for women's rights were the most rejected and attacked.
Feminism is the “advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of equality of the sexes” (“New
Words: Feminism”).First Wave Feminism (1900’s - ), second wave feminism (1960’s - 1980’s),
third wave feminism (1990’s - 2012), fourth wave feminism (2012- present) all these different
period of heightened feminist activity had one specific purpose for their marches and events
(Feminism p ar 3). First wave suffragettes wanted women to have the right to vote and the second
wave feminists wanted to be allowed to work and leave the kitchen. The Feminist movement is a
very powerful one. Whether you’re looking at the second wave of feminists in the 1960’s to the
1980’s or the intersectional feminism we have today. They influence outlooks and sometimes
laws that have to do with the betterment of women’s health and their environments.
These “waves” of feminism are referred to as so because they derive from the feminist
eras in the past. Even though these two periods of time have different goals they both still fought
for the equality of the sexes with a focus on the struggles of women. Where they tend to differ
however is whose struggles they represent across the board. Second wave feminism did not
display all women’s experience as women, they did not fight for all womens struggle they fought
for those of middle class white women. As the IWD Coalition members said in their article
“white feminists cling to the false assumption that the womens movement is a homogenous
group, made up of people who experience the same forms and degree of oppression” ( “Meryl
Streep’s Divisive Feminism” par 1) . Many lower class women of color in the 1960’s through
the 1980’s were not fighting for the chance to work and leave the kitchen. They’d already been
forced to work, the narrative the feminists were pushing at that time did not fit them. In
intersectional feminism all women rights are considered. “..gender is just one element of a
of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or
subcategory in the big umbrella feminism looks over, however this sub-group fights for the
rights of all women, black, mexican, disabled, transgender, whether they are 90 years old or 5
The feminist movement both second wave and intersectional have brought on important
changes to our legislators by influencing the way women are thought of in society. Second wave
feminism made it possible for women to choose whether or not they want to reproduce by
challenging the thinking of society and bring female voices to the forefront of this conversation
rather than letting old white men choose it for them. Intersectional feminism has fought for
gender neutral bathrooms for trans-women who face the brunt of all transphobia because of the
heinous actions actions men in power deflect on others, trans women are women at the end of the
day. They deserve to feel safe in any place not even because they’re women but because they are
humans too. Intersectional feminism acknowledges the increased danger black women and their
babies face when they give birth to their children in hospital (Villarosa par 12). It was shown that
black mothers who lived in low income neighborhoods had a higher rate of dying. This study
brought on a conversation in the feminist community and opened eyes to the unusual treatment
black women receive from those who are supposed to watch out for their health.
Feminism is very much necessary in today’s world, which in a way is kind of sad.
However, the growth presented in each wave demonstrates that feminism will ultimately grow to
have the necessary effects on all aspect of society. Second wave feminism made it possible for
intersectional feminism to come about. It made it possible for women to be included in the
corporate setting, to be able to choose whether or not they want to have children. Intersectional
feminism could not have existed had it not been for the very first feminists. It’s important to
Hanagan, Nora A., and Mary Lyndon Shanley. "Feminism." American Governance, edited
by Stephen Schechter, et al., vol. 2, Macmillan Reference USA, 2016, pp. 221-226.
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3629100260/OVIC?u=mcc_glendale&sid=OVIC
expense of everyone else, say five members of the International Women's Day coalition
it's time for a new agenda, taking race, class, sexual orientation and disability into
account Gender isn't everything - all issues are women's issues." Globe & Mail [Toronto,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A164249933/OVIC?u=mcc_glendale&sid=OVIC&xi
"Meryl Streep's Divisive Feminism: How White Feminists Silence People of Color." Daily
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A449349074/OVIC?u=mcc_glendale&sid=O
VIC&xi
Crisis.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Apr. 2018,
www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/magazine/black-mothers-babies-death-maternal-m
Ortality.html.
www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/intersectionality-meaning.
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism.