March is Women’s History Month, and March 8 was International Women’s Day, purposeful in celebrating every shape feminism has taken since its revolutionary beginnings. Throughout the month, marches take place, many are clad in purple, white, and green, and at IHS, fourth wave feminist proponents meet in 3303 every Thursday, with bundt cake more often than not.
Currently, feminism is in its fourth wave, characterized by intersectionality, internationalism, solidarity, and decentralization. However, it took three waves of trial and error to build an inclusive feminist movement and there is still work to do. Feminism’s genesis is ceaselessly debated. Some claim it started with the APUSH classic “Remember the Ladies,” a letter by Abigail Adams. Others counter that feminism does not belong to the west and other civilizations were practicing much earlier. Despite this debate, the technical first wave began in 1848 with major players Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott tackling the topic of suffrage. Britannica states, “Stanton drew up the ‘Declaration of Sentiments’ that guided the Seneca Falls Convention. Using the Declaration of Independence as her guide to proclaim that ‘all men and women [had been] created equal,’ she drafted 11 resolutions, including the most radical demand—the right to the vote.” It would be 72 years until voting was a constitutional right for women, and almost immediately after, America would plunge into an era of idealized domesticity. That is until these ideas were flipped once again as the counterculture and civil rights movements emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, years that were a blur of signs on streets. Britannica continues, “The notion of a women’s rights movement took root at the same time as the civil rights movement, and women of all ages and circumstances were swept up in debates about gender, discrimination, and the nature of equality.” This was exacerbated by the amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which extended protection against discrimination “on the basis of sex” in the workplace. Britannica continues that “Excluded from male-dominated occupations for decades, women began finding jobs as pilots, construction workers, soldiers, bankers, and bus drivers.” Feminism became intertwined with professional and educational spheres, moving away from the inherent patriarchy within them. This happened through major legislative change, and in quieter ways like promoting “Ms.” as a neutral address for women, coining the term “sexism,” establishing support centers for victims of rape, and the release of children’s books that aimed to eliminate gender stereotypes. Something new that the second wave saw was emerging branches of thought within feminism: mainstream, radical, and culture feminism. Mainstream feminism zeroed in on governmental and institutional change, radical feminists argued that patriarchy was too deeply woven into society and a total revolution was necessary to eliminate it, and cultural or “difference” feminism aimed to celebrate qualities associated with women. The third wave of feminism was orchestrated by Generation Xers in the 1990s, learning from their parents, the ministers of the second movement, but modernizing and diversifying – upgrading to address unfinished work. Britannica defines the second wave as “[battling] such obstacles by inverting sexist, racist, and classist symbols, fighting patriarchy with irony, answering violence with stories of survival, and combating continued exclusion with grassroots activism and radical democracy.” The second wave also concentrated on flipping the narrative of values associated with women. Britannica says, “The third wave was much more inclusive of women and girls of colour than the first or second waves had been. In reaction and opposition to stereotypical images of women as passive, weak, virginal, and faithful, or alternatively as domineering, demanding, slutty, and emasculating, the third wave redefined women and girls as assertive, powerful, and in control of their own sexuality.” Each wave of feminism has built the groundwork for the next, aiming to correct flaws and increase inclusivity, but the main ideal has remained the same – gender equality.
Currently, we are experiencing feminism’s fourth wave that was catalyzed by Tarana Burke’s “Me Too” movement and the Women’s March. The Women’s History Museum states that the root of Burke’s movement was “a way for young women of color to share their stories” and “not only designed to facilitate healing, but she also wanted to train survivors to work in communities of color.” The movement then shifted into the public sphere when it was revealed film producer Harvey Weinstein had sexually harassed and assaulted women working under him for years and actress Alyssa Milano tweeted: “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too.’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.” The Women’s History Museum continues, “In less than 24 hours, 4.7 million people engaged in the “Me too” conversation, with more than 12 million posts, comments or reactions.” This occurred in conjunction with the election of Donald Trump, infuriating for many people who knew he had a history of regarding women with blatantly inappropriate remarks. After a proposal online, millions took to the streets. Brittanica states, “Known as the Women’s March, it grew to include demonstrations across the United States and around the world. The protests took place on January 21, 2017, the day after Trump’s inauguration, and as many as 4.6 million people attended the various events in the United States, making the Women’s March perhaps the largest single-day demonstration in that country’s history.” Another facet of the fourth wave is empowerment, which we have seen through an emphasis on femininity, an increasing volume of media being made by women and through the feminist lens, as well as women in positions of authority traditionally held by men.
Regardless of spins, shapes, and leadership, the true definition of feminism has stayed the same. As sophomore Liv Newell defined, “Feminism, the actual definition is equality for both genders. Equality and not constantly feeling lesser than others. That is what feminism is to me.” This definition is often misconstrued as a desire for superiority. Newell continues, “I believe that feminism is interpreted as [women] want to be superior, take over the world, be better than men, when really, we want to be equal with them.” Women’s history month is a crucial time for awareness, when those who are miseducated about the feminism movement can be redirected. President of IHS’ feminism club Senior Kayla Tehero states, “Women’s history month is a time to simultaneously recognize and celebrate women’s achievements and things they have already done and things they are currently doing while also recognizing that there is still a lot of change to be made.” Junior Paige Meredith adds, “There is still a lot of discrimination present today.” Across the US, this change looks like the Biden administration recognizing women’s health through an executive order aimed at researching women’s health, widespread intolerance for prejudice against women in every sphere, and women advocating for their rights. At IHS this looks like feminism club. Freshman Reese Allen states, “I like all the supportive people coming together. The conversations are important and mean a lot.” Pursuit of these essential conversations is necessary this month, and every month.
