The Fourth Wave of Feminism

The Fourth Wave of Feminism

Erin Olmos

WS 2300

Centralized Issues

Intersectional Feminism

(Early 2010's to the present)

Digitally Oriented

Some of the main issues most commonly associated with the fourth wave of feminism are sexual harrassment, rape culture, gender norms, body shaming, etc.

Feminists in the fourth wave take into account more ways a woman can experience discrimination. This movement tries steer further away from "white femenism" and is more trans-inclusive, inclusive of women of color, queer women, and more.

A big factor that defines the fourth wave of feminism and seperates it from previous waves is the use of social media. Wether it's used for spreading awareness on issues, pushing feminist messages, or holding people accountable for problematic behavior, the internet is now largely incorporated to our approuch to feminism.

Me Too founder, Tarana Burke

In 2006 Tarana Burke founded the Me Too movement with the intention of helping survivors of sexual assault, especially women of color, by offereing things like leadership training and a safe space to share. When it was revealed that Harvey Weinstein had been both sexually harrassing and sexually assaulting women, numerous victims of many different races and ethnicities began sharing their stories online using #MeToo. The movement grew and many of the sexual assaulters and harrassers received repercussions.

The issues feminists fight for today are issues brought up and fought for by the previous waves, as well as new issues that plague our society currently. An important and recent issue that has come up is Roe V. Wade being overturned making abortions inaccessible for people in many states, most notably people of color and low-income households.

There is resources eveyrwhere online that include, online communities, sites that detail where to find resources , and more awareness than ever.

Resources

Resources Cont.

Planet, D. (2022, August 22). Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Decision: Twitter’s Decidedly Negative Reaction - Digital Planet. Digital Planet. https://sites.tufts.edu/digitalplanet/roe-v-wade-supreme-court-leak-twitters-decidedly-negative-reaction/#:~:text=Nearly%2050%20years%20later%2C%20on,announcement%3A%20they%20overturned%20Roe%20v.

What are the Implications of the Overturning of Roe v. Wade for Racial Disparities? (2022, October 6). KFF. https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/what-are-the-implications-of-the-overturning-of-roe-v-wade-for-racial-disparities/#:~:text=The%20abortion%20rate%20was%20highest,ethnic%20groups%20were%20not%20available.

Steenbergen, C. (2014, October 24). Women’s Equity Action League | American organization. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Womens-Equity-Action-League

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2021, July 15). Tarana Burke | Biography, Me Too Movement, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tarana-Burke

Feminism: The Fourth Wave. (2021, December 3). National Women’s History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/exhibits/feminism-fourth-wave

Simplified Pakistan. (2022, April 26). All Four Waves of Feminism Summarised | Gender Studies [Video]. YouTube.

Helen Explains. (2021, May 18). Four Waves of Feminism: what are they? From the Suffragettes to #MeToo [Video]. YouTube.

In The Know. (2017, December 27). The waves of feminism (in under 2 minutes) [Video]. YouTube.

Southbank Centre. (2016, March 14). Kimberlé Crenshaw - On Intersectionality - keynote - WOW 2016 [Video]. YouTube.

Why Body Positivity on Social Media is More Important Than You Think. (2020, August 18). Voices of Youth. https://www.voicesofyouth.org/blog/why-body-positivity-social-media-more-important-you-think