Fourth-wave feminism

International Women's Day, London, 2017

Fourth-wave feminism is the resurgence of interest in feminism that began around 2012 and is associated with the use of social media.[1] According to feminist scholar Prudence Chamberlain, the focus of the fourth wave is justice for women and also opposition to sexual harassment and violence against women. Its essence, she writes, is "incredulity that certain attitudes can still exist".[2]

Fourth-wave feminism is "defined by technology", according to Kira Cochrane, and is characterized particularly by the use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, and blogs such as Feministing to challenge misogyny and further gender equality.[1][3][4][5]

Issues that fourth-wave feminists focus on include street and workplace harassment, campus sexual assault and rape culture. Scandals involving the harassment, abuse, and murder of women and girls have galvanized the movement. These have included the 2012 Delhi gang rape, 2012 Jimmy Savile allegations, the 2014 viral Bill Cosby allegations that led to his 2018 conviction, 2014 Isla Vista killings, 2016 trial of Jian Ghomeshi, 2017 Harvey Weinstein allegations and subsequent Me Too movement, and the 2017 Westminster sexual scandals.[6]

Examples of fourth-wave feminist campaigns include the Everyday Sexism Project, Ni una menos, No More Page 3, Stop Bild Sexism, Mattress Performance, 10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman, #YesAllWomen, Free the Nipple, One Billion Rising, the 2017 Women's March, the 2018 Women's March, and the #MeToo movement. In December 2017, Time magazine chose several prominent female activists involved in the #MeToo movement, dubbed "the silence breakers", as Person of the Year.[7][8]

Those associated with fourth-wave feminism include Laura Bates, Jennifer Baumgardner, Kira Cochrane, Lucy-Anne Holmes (No More Page 3), Anita Sarkeesian (Tropes vs. Women in Video Games) and Emma Watson.

History

Journalist Pythia Peay argued for the existence of a fourth wave as early as 2005, one focusing on social justice and civil rights,[9] and in 2011 Jennifer Baumgardner dated the start of the fourth wave to 2008.[10] Twitter, the social network most popular with the 18–29 age group, was created in 2006,[11] making feminism more accessible and giving rise to "hashtag feminism".[12] Cochrane wrote in 2013 that many of the fourth-wave's leaders were teenagers or in their 20s.[1]

By 2013 it was obvious that a new wave of feminist protests was taking place. When Wendy Davis staged her 13-hour filibuster in Texas in 2013 to prevent an abortion bill from passing, women showed their support by rallying around the Texas State Capitol, and those who couldn't be there physically used the hashtag #StandWithWendy. Similarly, women protested the often sexist questions directed at female celebrities by tweeting the hashtag #askhermore.[13]

Ideas

Cochrane describes the fourth wave as focusing on sexual harassment (including street harassment), workplace discrimination, body shaming, sexist imagery in the media, online misogyny, assault on public transport, and intersectionality, relying on social media for communication and online petitioning for organizing.[1] [14][15] Events and organizations included the Everyday Sexism Project, UK Feminista, Reclaim the Night, One Billion Rising, and "a Lose the Lads' mags protest".[1]

Books associated with the new wave include Men Explain Things to Me (2014) by Rebecca Solnit (which gave rise to the term mansplaining); The Vagenda (2014) by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett and Holly Baxter (based on their online feminist magazine, The Vagenda, launched in 2012); Sex Object: A Memoir (2016) by Jessica Valenti; and Everyday Sexism (2016) by Laura Bates (based on Bates' Everyday Sexism Project).[16] Cosslett's and Baxter's book aims to debunk the stereotypes of femininity promoted by the mainstream women's press.[17] Bates, a British feminist writer, created the Everyday Sexism Project on 16 April 2012 as an online forum where women could post their experiences of everyday harassment.[18]

Criticism

One criticism of fourth-wave feminism is that it depends on technology. As Ragna Rök Jóns argued in Bluestockings Magazine in 2013, "[t]he key problem that this '4th Wave' will face will be the disproportionate access to and ownership of digital media devices." The fourth wave is left with the "inherent classism and ableism" created by giving the biggest voice to those who can afford and use technology.[19]

It is also argued that when people participate in Twitter activism, they may not feel the need to do anything else to help the effort. In an article for Newuniversity.org, Alex Guardado argues that after contributing their say, people just "continue on with their day, liking other posts or retweeting". Some may think of themselves as activists while never bothering to attend a single rally or extend their message beyond their Twitter fan base.[20]

Jennifer Simpkins of The Huffington Post argued in 2014 that fourth-wave feminism had created a hostile, Mean Girls–like atmosphere, in which women are more likely to tear each other down. "I've actually never once been belittled and attacked by a man for believing in the cause of feminism," she states, "but women are just about lining up to take a whack at the shoddy piñata of my personal tastes and opinions."[21]

Timeline

Date Event Sources
16 April 2012Laura Bates creates the Everyday Sexism Project for women to report sexist encounters.[18]
Aug 2012Lucy-Anne Holmes starts No More Page 3 to stop The Sun in the UK publishing images of topless women.[22]
Sept 2012Eve Ensler founds One Billion Rising to end sexual violence against women.
Sept 2012Allegations lead to the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal.[23]
Alissa Quart coins the term hipster sexism.[24]
16 Dec 2012The 2012 Delhi gang rape sparks protests in India and global outrage.
2014Free the Nipple argues for women's right to show breasts in public.
Feb 2013Cao Ju (pseudonym), first woman to bring gender-discrimination lawsuit in China, wins 30,000 yuan and apology from the Juren Academy.[25]
7 March 2013Anita Sarkeesian launches Tropes vs. Women in Video Games.
December 2013Kira Cochrane's book All the Rebel Women: The Rise of the Fourth Wave of Feminism published.[26]
22 Jan 2014President Barack Obama launches the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.
April 2014Rashida Manjoo, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, criticizes UK's "boys' club sexist culture".
24 May 2014#YesAllWomen begins in response to the 2014 Isla Vista killings.[27]
Aug 2014Gamergate begins, leading to sexist harassment of female video-game developers and widespread condemnation.
14 Sept 2014Female graduate student at the University of Miami reports Colin McGinn for sexual harassment, sparking debate about sexual harassment within academia.
20 Sept 2014Emma Watson launches HeForShe at the UN.
Sept 2014Emma Sulkowicz begins Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight) to highlight campus sexual assault.
27 Oct 2014Release of 10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman.
Nov 2014First women speak out about the sexual assault by Bill Cosby.[28]
Oct 2014Kristina Lunz starts Stop Bild Sexism to stop the German Bild newspaper from objectifying women.
31 Oct 2014#BeenRapedNeverReported tweeted millions of times in response to the Jian Ghomeshi sexual-assault allegations in Canada.[29]
Dec 2014Comic book Priya's Shakti features an Indian girl who is gang raped.
23 Dec 2014Time magazine writes that 2014 "may have been the best year for women since the dawn of time".[30]
22 Sep 2015Launch of blog "Breasts Are Healthy", to assist women to appear in public bare-chested without police interference.
1 Feb 2016Trial of Jian Ghomeshi begins in Toronto.[28]
21 Jan 20172017 Women's March supports women's rights and protests inauguration of Donald Trump.[31]
5 October 2017Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations first reported by The New York Times.
10 Oct 2017#MeToo campaign, based on a slogan created in 2007 by Tarana Burke, begins in response to the Weinstein allegations.[28][32]
30 Oct 2017The first 2017 Westminster sexual scandals appear on the Guido Fawkes blog.
6 Dec 2017Time magazine names #MeToo campaign as Person of the Year.[7]
1 January 2018Time's Up, a movement against sexual harassment, is founded by Hollywood celebrities in response to the Weinstein effect and #MeToo.[33]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Cochrane, Kira (10 December 2013). "The Fourth Wave of Feminism: Meet the Rebel Women". The Guardian.
  2. ↑ Chamberlain 2017, p. 115.
  3. ↑ Solomon, Deborah (13 November 2009). "The Blogger and Author on the Life of Women Online". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Zerbisias, Antonia (16 September 2015). "Feminism's Fourth Wave is the Shitlist". NOW Toronto. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Cochrane 2013.
  6. ↑ For Cosby, Ghomeshi, #MeToo, and fourth wave, see Matheson, Kelsey (17 October 2017). "You Said #MeToo. Now What Are We Going To Do About It?", The Huffington Post.
    For Savile and fourth wave, see Chamberlain 2017, pp. 114–115
    For page three, Thorpe, Vanessa (27 July 2013). "What now for Britain's new-wave feminists – after page 3 and £10 notes?", The Guardian.
    For Isla Vista killings, see Bennett, Jessica (10 September 2014). "Behold the Power of #Hashtag Feminism". Time.
  7. 1 2 Zacharek, Stephanie; Dockterman Eliana; and Sweetland Edwards, Haley (6 December 2017). "The Silence Breakers", Time magazine.
  8. ↑ Redden, Molly, and agencies (6 December 2017). "#MeToo movement named Time magazine’s Person of the Year", The Guardian.
  9. ↑ Peay, Pythia (2005). "Feminism's Fourth Wave". Utne Reader. No. 128. Topeka, Kansas: Ogden Publications. pp. 59–60. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  10. ↑ Baumgardner 2011, p. 250.
  11. ↑ Brodzky, Brandon (18 November 2014). "Social Media User Statistics & Age Demographics for 2014". LinkedIn Pulse. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  12. ↑ Bennett 2014.
  13. ↑ Chittal, Nisha (26 March 2015). "How Social Media is Changing the Feminist Movement". MSNBC.
  14. ↑ Abrahams, Jessica (14 August 2017). "Everything you wanted to know about fourth wave feminism—but were afraid to ask". Prospect.
  15. ↑ Martin, Courtney E.; Valenti, Vanessa (15 April 2013). "#FemFuture: Online Revolution" (PDF). Barnard Centre for Research on Women.
  16. ↑ Bates 2014.
  17. ↑ "Letter from the Editor". The Vagenda. 19 January 2012.
  18. 1 2 Aitkenhead, Decca (24 January 2014). "Laura Bates Interview: 'Two Years Ago, I Didn't Know What Feminism Meant'". The Guardian.
  19. ↑ Jóns, Ragna Rök (19 August 2013). "Is the '4th Wave' of Feminism Digital?". Bluestockings Magazine.
  20. ↑ Guardado, Alex (3 March 2015). "Hashtag Activism: The Benefits and Limitations of #Activism". New University. University of California, Irvine.
  21. ↑ Simpkins, Jennifer (20 January 2014). "'You Can't Sit with Us!' – How Fourth-Wave Feminism Became 'Mean Girls'". The Huffington Post.
  22. ↑ Thorpe, Vanessa (July 27, 2013). "What now for Britain's new-wave feminists – after page 3 and £10 notes?". The Guardian.
  23. ↑ Chamberlain 2017, pp. 114–115.
  24. ↑ Quart, Alissa (30 October 2012). "The Age of Hipster Sexism". New York Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012.
  25. ↑ FlorCruz, Michelle (February 3, 2014). "Chinese Woman Wins Settlement in China's First Ever Gender Discrimination Lawsuit". International Business Times.
  26. ↑ Cochrane, Kira (2013). All the Rebel Women: The Rise of the Fourth Wave of Feminism. London: Guardian Books. ISBN 9781783560363.
  27. ↑ Grinberg, Emanuella (27 May 2014). "Why #YesAllWomen took off on Twitter", CNN.
  28. 1 2 3 Matheson, Kelsey (17 October 2017). "You Said #MeToo. Now What Are We Going To Do About It?", The Huffington Post.
  29. ↑ Gallant, Jacques (31 October 2014). "Twitter conversation about unreported rape goes global", Toronto Star.
  30. ↑ Alter, Charlotte (23 December 2014). "This May Have Been the Best Year for Women Since the Dawn of Time", Time magazine.
  31. ↑ "Women's March Floods Washington, Sparking Rallies Worldwide". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  32. ↑ Garcia, Sandra E. (20 October 2017). "The Woman Who Created #MeToo Long Before Hashtags". The New York Times.
  33. ↑ "Reese Witherspoon, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Aniston: See Who's Given $500k, More to Fight Harassment". People Magazine. January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.

References

  • Bates, Laura (2014). Everyday Sexism. London: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4711-3157-8.
  • Baumgardner, Jennifer (2011). F'em! Goo Goo, Gaga, and Some Thoughts on Balls. Berkeley, California: Seal Press. ISBN 978-1-58005-360-0.
  • Chamberlain, Prudence (2017). The Feminist Fourth Wave: Affective Temporality. Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-53682-8. ISBN 978-3-319-53682-8.
  • Cochrane, Kira (2013). All the Rebel Women: The Rise of the Fourth Wave of Feminism. London: Guardian Books. ISBN 978-1-78356-036-3.
  • Rivers, Nicola (2017). Postfeminism(s) and the Arrival of the Fourth Wave. Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-59812-3. ISBN 978-3-319-59812-3.

Further reading

  • Diamond, Diana (2009). "The Fourth Wave of Feminism: Psychoanalytic Perspectives". Studies in Gender and Sexuality. 10 (4): 213–223. doi:10.1080/15240650903228187. ISSN 1940-9206.
  • Munro, Ealasaid (2013). "Feminism: A Fourth Wave?". Political Insight. 4 (2): 22–25. doi:10.1111/2041-9066.12021.
  • Retallack, Hanna; Ringrose, Jessica; Lawrence, Emilie (2016). "'Fuck Your Body Image': Teen Girls' Twitter and Instagram Feminism in and around School". In Coffey, Julia; Budgeon, Shelley; Cahill, Helen. Learning Bodies: The Body in Youth and Childhood Studies. 2. Singapore: Springer. pp. 85–103. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-0306-6_6. ISBN 978-981-10-0306-6.
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