"What Is This Thing Called Feminism?"

Alice Costas

Feminism. No doubt, you know plenty of people with strong opinions regarding the F-word. People love to love or hate feminism, but what exactly is it?

Trust us, if you're confused you're not alone. The feminist movement takes on a whole slew of meanings for different individuals. Ecofeminsm, first wave, second wave, anti-porn feminism, global feminism, womanism, the list goes on. It's enough to make your head spin. Well, no need to fear intrepid GirlSpeaker, we're here to help. Read on for our guide to the feminist movement, in as many of its manifestations as we could stuff in.

First, The Basics

The number one rule of feminism is that there is no one definition of feminism. For Cheris Kramarae and Paula Treichle feminism is "the radical notion that women are people." Kathleen Hanna defines feminism as "a broad-based political movement that's bent on challenging hierarchies of all kinds in our society, including racism and classism and able-body-ism, et cetera, et cetera." While definitions direct the movement, a more concrete way to understand feminism is to look at its various manifestations. To break it down simply, most American feminists recognize 3 waves, or generations, of the feminist movement in the US.

The First Wave of feminism is introduced as the Suffragette Movement. It consisted of ladies like Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Lucy Stone, the Grimké sisters and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who fought for women's rights to vote, wear pants, go to school and work.

Many of the first wave feminists waged two battles simultaneously by also spearheading the abolitionist movement. The 1848 Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, marks the organized beginnings of first wave feminism, whose work later largely contributed, among many successes, to the passage of the 19th Amendment, which extended voting rights and suffrage to women in 1919.

The Second Wave of feminist activism gained a vocal presence in the 1960's. This time the goal was equality of women and men. Led by feminists like Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and organizations like the National Women's Organization and Ms. Magazine, the second wave movement achieved a ton of successes.

They secured the passage of Roe v. Wade, which provided all women the right to an abortion, Griswold v. Connecticut, which provided all women equal access to birth control, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which disallowed discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion or nation of origin, and Title IX which attempted to rid public schools of sex-based discrimination.

Second wave feminists also helped develop the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have constitutionalized women's equality to men, although it failed to pass through congress. The ERA is just one example of how the second wave met a lot of controversy.

You know that ridiculous bra-burning cliché? That stereotype arose out of the second wave. Many who viewed their actions as too hard-lined and revolutionary responded with sexist insults. Others viewed the movement as overly emphasizing the experiences of middle-class white women.

The Third Wave is the current feminist movement, tracing it's roots to the mid-1980's when feminist leaders like bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Gloria Anzaldua and Maxine Hong Kingston called for a change in the way feminism lacked diversity.

The Third Wave picked up where the second wave left off, this time honoring issues of race and class issues, as women of color were frequently perceived as secondary or voiceless in the second wave.

Third Wave feminism's political identity is also radically different from the second wave's. Instead of unifying on behalf of all women in the country, third wave protests frequently focus on smaller, more specific issues, like eliminating sweatshop labor, and forced marriage practices, and reserving access to reproductive rights like abortion and contraception in the US. Activism is central to the Third Wave.

Early Feminism in Other Parts of the World

The above summary addresses American feminism. However, feminism is an international phenomena and means different things according to the culture it functions in. It's imperative that we honor the multicultural roots of feminism. Here's just a sampling:

• Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, a self-taught scholar and nun from Mexico, wrote letters and poems urging for women's equality until she was forced to desist by the Catholic Church in 1690.
• French writer, Olympye De Gouge wrote her revolutionary text Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen in 1791.
• Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women published in 1792 in which she argues quite fervently for women's equal right to an education.
• Chinese women began the first all-girls school in 1898. Although written by a man, Women's Liberation, which advocated for the abolishment of polygamy, veiling and other practices that segregated women, was published by Quasim Amin in Egypt in 1899.
• In 1929, The Igbo Women's War, a series of protests by women, revolutionized female political presence in Nigeria.

Sub-Groups of Feminist Movements

As you've gathered by now, brilliant reader, the feminist movement is much more diverse than the categories of 1st, 2nd and 3rd wave. While there are too many feminist sub-movements to cover here, below you can find summaries of some of the more influential groups.

Spotlight on EcoFeminism:

EcoFeminism identifies environmentalism as an issue related to feminism. At GirlSpeak, we're huge fans. With global warming, city smog, and the relaxed environmental standards for corporations, environmentalism is a human rights issue. It was originally female community activists who picked up on the fact that the way we dispose of trash and destroy the environment in America is sexist and racist, frequently abusing communities with the highest numbers of low-income single mothers.

Ecofeminists believe that many of the same cultural issues that contribute to the mistreatment of women also contribute to the abuse of the environment. This isn't evoking a fluffy or emotional connection between nature and women, but a more serious shared history, in which both were regarded as passive and owned by men. Ecofeminism calls on the power of feminist and environmental activism to help conserve the world, an imperative goal considering that the world we live in is choking on industrialization.

Radical Feminism identifies patriarchy, or society organized around the leadership of males, as a pervasive and dangerous institution, and seeks to overthrow it through whatever means necessary. Radical feminism challenges the society we live in as the product of male hierarchy, from the nuclear family to seemingly liberal social movements like the counterculture movement of the 1970's, led by men that encouraged artistic and sexual expression frequently at the price of women. Radical feminism seriously challenges the status quo, generating strong thinkers who challenge preconceived assumptions about culture and society.

French Feminism is important because French thought was integral to the development of feminist theory. French feminism differs radically from American feminism in that it is largely philosophical as opposed to political. Many feminist theories like those of Luce Irigaray, Marguerite Duras, Simone De Beauvoir helped turn psychoanalysis on it's misogynistic (women-hating) head.

Womanism, as termed by author Alice Walker, offers an alternative to the white-centric second wave movement. Womanists also embrace the participation of women lacking a formal education. Emphasizing feminism as an alternative to all oppression, womanism calls on the intrinsically healing qualities of femininity. Womanists call on the power of traditionally female work, like food and clothing production, to emphasize how important the work is and empower the women who do it.

Riot Grrl feminism started in Washington State in the early 90's by female artists and musicians who championed creativity as a feminist and political expression. The Riot Grrl movement is angry that female artists aren't taken seriously. They are politically savvy and creative with their activism, wielding guitars and cans of spray paint to make a statement against the conservative status quo. Riot Grrl is a young movement, founded and fronted by women in their early twenties. Through Riot Grrl, young and assertive women like Kathleen Hanna, singer of groundbreaking feminist band Bikini Kill, negotiate the media in a challenging and intelligent way.

Global Feminism is a Third Wave tradition of addressing women's rights on a global scale, helping to bring global awareness to practices like female genital mutilation (FGM). The movement also focuses on the industrialized world's devastating impact on the social structures of developing nations.

Still want more? Check out finallyfeminism101.blogspot.com