“Post”Feminism vs The Third Wave

How far have we really come?

Post Feminism• Is feminism really over?• Have we reached equality?• Term coopted by the Right – Reclaiming gender “roles”– Depoliticizing to bring feminism back “into the home”– To oppress by subversion

• Epitomized by Bridget Jones’ Diary, Sex And the City, Ally McBeal,

• Debates about these works echo debates about current feminism

As Backlash to Feminism:

What the hell is postfeminism, anyway? I would think it would refer to a time when complete gender equality has been achieved. That hasn’t happened, of course, but we (especially young women) are supposed to think it has. Postfeminism, as a term, suggests that women have made plenty of progress because of feminism, but that feminism is now irrelevant and even undesirable because it has made millions of women unhappy, unfeminine, childless, lonely, and bitter, prompting them to fill their closets with combat boots and really bad India print skirts.

Susan J. Douglas Manufacturing Postfeminism

Third Wave Feminism

• Need to re-evaluate in light of advances, but also broader social perspectives

• “Second” wave feminism seen as too essentialist, also driven by White Middle Class.

• Gender may be more fluid