PowerPoint on Third Wave Feminism

1. HUM16 Arts
& Ideas
American
Culture:
THIRD WAVE
FEMINISM

2. 1. Third-wave Feminist Movement (1990s-)
 Third-wave feminism rejected essentialism of second wave
 Gender essentialism: idea that all members of a particular gender share at least 1
“essential” characteristic
 Gender roles: sometimes tied to idea that all members of a particular gender
share psychological traits rooted in physiology or biology, and therefore are
particularly suited for certain roles in family or society
 2nd wave had projected/assumed upper middle class white women’s experience =
universal
 Distinction b/t sex & gender
 Sex: may be defined as biological (genitalia, hormones, genetics) and/or
psychological (brain chemistry)
 Gender: identity based on set of social & cultural characteristics & behaviors
associated with a specific sex

3. 2. Major issues of third-
wave feminism
 Anti-essentialism + intersectionality
 i.e., identity is unique composite of factors
(race, class, ethnicity, etc.)  cultural
analysis must see how systems of
oppression work together to create a new
whole that isn’t just the sum of parts
 Violence against women
 Reproductive justice (reproductive rights +
social justice)
 Parental leave; child care
 Riot Grrrl, SlutWalk, etc.
 Sex positivity
 Body positivity
 Trans* rights

4. 3. Alison Bechdel, artist
 Bio (1960-)
 Born to Catholic family in Pennsylvania
 Father: English teacher & funeral home director
(closeted); Mother: actress & teacher
 Education:
 Oberlin (art & art history)
 Career:
 Cartoonist (“Dykes to Watch Out For”)
Originated “Bechdel Test”:
 Does the work of fiction have at least 2 female
characters?
 Do they talk to each other?
 About something other than a man?
 Graphic novel memoir, Fun Home
 Turned into Broadway musical

5. 4a. Bechdel, Fun Home
 Themes:
 Gender & sexuality:
What does Alison’s desire to hide her gender reveal about what she (as a kid) thinks
gender is?
How and why does Alison recognize the bulldyke (p. 132-133)?

6. 4b. Bechdel, Fun Home
 Themes:
 Family:
Bechdel’s references to Proust: “After dad died, an updated translation of Proust
came out. Remembrance of Things Past was re-titled In Search of Lost Time. The new
title is a more literal translation of À la Recherche du Temps Perdu, but it still doesn’t
quite capture the full resonance of perdu. This means not just lost but ruined,
undone, wasted, wrecked, and spoiled” (133).
What does Bechdel suggest is lost?
What do you get from Bechdel’s depiction of the relationship between her and her
father?
 Kinship/similarity: both gay; similar experiences (photos)
 Difference: dad’s closeted; acceptance of self?; acceptance of ambiguity?

7. 5. Anna Quindlen, writer
 Bio (1952-):
 Born in Philadelphia, PA to Irish- & Italian-American
parents
 Education:
Barnard College
 Career:
 Journalist (New York Post; The New York Times; Newsweek)
 Pulitzer Prize (1992) for Times column “Public & Private”
 Novelist
 Two novels turned into films

8. 6. Quindlen, “Still Needing the F Word”
 Question: What gets associated with the word
“feminism”?
 Quindlen’s definition of feminism:
 “Fem-i-nism n. 1. Belief in the social, political and
economic equality of the sexes” (p. 165).
 Evidence that U.S. society isn’t “postfeminist”:
 Women (still) report spending time on appearances
 Women (still) report hiding intelligence to succeed
among men
 Question: “F Word” was written in 2003; what’s
changed & what’s stayed the same since then?

9. 7. Quindlen, 2 straitjackets
 Quindlen argues that women have 2 straitjackets:
 (1) being perfect homemaker/woman for male partners
 (2) being perfect working professional/woman for male coworkers
 Question: Who’s included and excluded in her assessment?

10. 8. Quindlen, feminist issues
 Unequal representation in workplace (e.g., university faculty positions)
 Violence against women (e.g., sexual harassment)
 “The point is not that the world has not changed for women since Friedan’s book
lobbed a hand grenade into the homes of pseudohappy housewives who couldn’t
understand the malaise that accompanied sparkling Formica and good-looking
kids…But the world hasn’t changed as much as we like to tell ourselves.” (p. 166)
 “The F word is not an expletive but an ideal—
one that still has a way to go” (p. 167).