By: Stephanie C. Martyr
Learning about third wave feminism is very interesting to me because it is so current and also is continuing to develop with our contributions added. Taking from the introduction in “Colonize This!”, Women who have been taught by “white feminism” in universities are now understanding their mothers’ choices for motherhood, and are currently carving out schools in feminism for particular sects for women belonging to certain races (Rehman & Hernandez xx-xxiv). What is I find striking is that while the current (third) wave of feminists are criticizing the second wave feminists for having a dominant voice (the white suburban housewife), the same group of women is now missing from the dominant message and literature. This message of stereotyping also pits women from different schools of feminist thought against one another, and could this approach be leaving some women (those who do not want to identify as a feminist) out of the feminist club entirely? I have observed that feminists use rhetoric such as “Are you a feminist? If not, you’re a bigot.” –Gloria Allred (from the youtube.com). These types of fallacies ultimately turn women off from identifying as feminists- when they should learn that as a woman you are a feminist because every woman has the basic right to be- like a citizenship to a country. Asking a woman what her ideas about feminism are should not always be reduced to a rhetorical question meant to trip one up and make an example out of. Are you a feminist? Yes. We all are, in fact. If I answer no, I understand that I still am because (Insert any reason here since it IS valid). Women need to be delicate in bringing resistant women into the sphere of knowledge feminists are aware of; this is not an arms race for which group privileged or not can get the most rights first- feminism is about empowering each other as women and seeing each other finding our own paths and succeeding.
As an Irish-Native American woman, I enjoy having my individual story, and I agree with the authors in “Colonize This!” that there has been a white wash of culture in America, and as a result people have lost a sense of their identities and heritage. Feminist theory seeks to rectify this by establishing women as individuals, with their own struggles, stories, and rights. However, feminist theory also seeks to deconstruct gender, which tends to exclude issues such as labor and breastfeeding, a highly gendered womanly activity. Therefore, this “choice” (to be a mother or not, to be gay or straight, to abort or not, to use birth control or sterilization or not) suggests sexism is within the very content of feminism. I personally see this inner division of feminists into self-labels for the purpose of saying, “I’m not that kind of woman, I’m this kind of woman” and that should no longer be any kind of accepted form of feminist thought. Because third wave feminism is our generation, it is up to us to further women’s rights and power in society by defining what feminism is. I appreciate the women from the 1st and 2nd waves of feminism for fighting for the right to choose. I like how the 3rd wave feminists are diverse, individualized, and fight for everybody’s rights. However, I am dropping the attitude that feminists are a separate group of women. All women are feminists whether they claim to be or not, all women have an equal voice- a woman’s right is to choose anything and it be allowed, and she will have her sisters to support her. Feminists should not criticize women who deny being feminist, since we know that society constructed them that way anyhow. When it comes to my understanding about the history of feminism, I know that all women were fighting for rights any way that worked and as long as we continue to have a history of pitting certain women against each other (mothers and non-mothers, white women and women of color, gay women and straight women), then it is impossible to achieve equality for all.
Works Cited:
Rehman, Bushra; & Hernandez, Daisy “Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism” Introduction. Seal Press
