Customer Reviews

Third Wave Agenda: Being Feminist, Doing Feminism

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What is third wave feminism? Many people have asked this question while others speculate whether a third wave even exists in the first place. The various contributors of "Third Wave Agenda" attempt to answer these questions and more. Third wave feminism aims to incorporate the lessons learned from the second wave while simultaneously adapting to current social contexts. This phenomenon is highlighted by the following quote, "I consider feminism a quest that we continually redefine, rather than a doctrine that seeks to confine me" (p. 136)

Third wave feminism includes a departure from essentialism that plagued the second wave. Second wavers spoke of the experience of the woman (read: middle- to upper-class white heterosexual) that excluded many women. Instead, third wave feminism takes a multitude of forms which includes, rather than excludes, the very audience they are advocating for.

"Living in McJobdom" by Michelle Sidler was the essay that resonated the most for me. In this essay Sidler argues that the focus of third wave shouldn't be patriarchy but rather capitalism. Although the second wave succeeded in getting more women into the workplace, there is clearly more work to be done. Women continue to earn less and occupy less prestigious jobs than their male counterparts, not to mention the current stagnant economy and dismal job market.

Overall this book was insightful, although the editor's writing was unnecessarily dense and thick at times (but they are academics so I'm not surprised). Another good book on third feminism worth checking out is "Manifesta".

This book is an excellent combination of current 3rd wave feminist thoughts and how our modern culture has shaped them. No one's saying "I'm not a feminist but..." in this book; these are writers who are proud of their decision to support the evolution of the women's movement and to analyze how it has spread throughout our culture. Heywood and Drake bring together insightful essays, both humourous and thought provoking, with cricitism of pop culture icons. A great read for any one interested in where "feminist" has gone...and is going...since the 80's!

In the "Acknowledgements" section of this 1997 collection, the editors wrote, "This book was put together to offer witness to the complications of contemporary culture and the difficulties of thinking between and among them." They add in the Introduction,"Characterizing the 'third wave' as a movement defined by contradiction is not new. In fact, the definitional moment of third wave feminism has been theorized as proceeding from critiques of the white women's movement that were initiated by women of color..."

Here are some quotations from the book:

"Feminism in the 1960s and 1970s worked toward giving women the same economic opportunities as men. Now, however, there will be fewer economic opportunities for either gender, so we have to broaden our concerns to include issues previously viewed as gender neutral." (Pg. 31)
"My sister's mother is not my mother. The gap is eight years, from 1955 to 1963. In 1963, Kennedy was shot." (Pg. 169)
"Although the reality of 1970s feminism was more complex than the stereotypes allow, third wave feminism has, in many ways, set itself in opposition to a 'straw feminist' of the second wave." (Pg. 179)
"Part of being a 'third wave feminist' means grappling with the contradictions of sympathizing with second wave feminism while trying to divorce ourselves from its legacy of separatism." (Pg. 198)

The third wave agenda in an attempt to defend it's modern day merrit, in the face of "post-modern" critics, has only succeeded in promoting "post-modern feminism". The arguments made are proof enough that the third wave is out of touch with the current direction in feminism.