Fourth-wave feminism

Some feminists argue that in the 1980s conservative figures like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan challenged gains feminists had made up to that point. At the same time, feminists in North America, Latin America, and Europe had succeeded in some of their goals, including the creation of state-run institutions that explicitly promoted women's rights, or feminist involvement in government; however, these institutions also weakened feminist movements by letting the state take over implementation of feminist goals. European and Latin American third-wave feminism began in the 1990s, as lipstick feminism and consumerist feminism started to come to an end and as feminist activists were rejecting queer theory espoused by American academics. Fourth-wave feminism developed slowly, globally via the media and the Internet. It was about drawing together in collective groups to work together towards a common goal of ending violence against women in order to free them for the options to take the paths they desire; it was about mutual commitment and support to other women. , London, 2017 The movement in Spain traces its roots to the murder of Ana Orantes; on 17 December 1997, Early fourth-wave Spanish feminism used television and newspapers as the primary social network. and resulted in RTVE changing its policies on how the station reported on gender-based violence. Similar conversations took place at other television networks and media organizations across the country. The beginnings of this movement in this period took place in Latin America and Poland. Some of this global desire to act, particularly in a Polish context, came out of the World Conference on Women, 1995 in Beijing. Social media had an amplifying effect as the fourth-wave feminist movement began to grow. Fourth-wave feminism began its peak in Spain, Argentina, Chile and Brazil in 2018 as a result of a number of different factors, with women mobilized on a large scale to take to the streets. Social media helped organize and connect these protests, allowing feminist movements to support each other across the world. It also gave opportunities for more voices to be heard, especially people from marginalized groups, and helped prove that gender inequality is linked to other issues like race, class, and sexuality. and in 2011, Jennifer Baumgardner dated the start of the fourth wave to 2008. Twitter, the social network most popular with the 18-to-29 age group, was created in 2006, making feminism more accessible and giving rise to "hashtag feminism". In 2013, Democratic Texas State Senator Wendy Davis staged a 13-hour filibuster in Texas, in an attempt to prevent an anti-abortion bill from passing. Other women showed support by rallying around the Texas State Capitol and those who were not physically present used the hashtag #StandWithWendy. Similarly, women protested the perceived sexist questions (for example, focusing on appearance or love life) often directed at female celebrities by tweeting the hashtag #askhermore. Other feminist movements and "calls to action" have arisen from the fourth wave. One is the "HeForShe" campaign which originated from Emma Watson's viral UN Women speech in 2014 and her subsequent activism. Several other incidents have galvanized the movement, including the Delhi gang rape (India, 2012), Jimmy Savile allegations (UK, 2012), Bill Cosby sexual assault cases (US, 2014), Isla Vista killings (US, 2014), trial of Jian Ghomeshi (Canada, 2016), Harvey Weinstein allegations (US, 2017) and subsequent Me Too movement and Weinstein effect, the Westminster sexual scandals (worldwide and UK, 2017) and the La Manada gang rape case in Spain (2018). Due to the simultaneous existence of multiple waves of feminism – namely the second, third and fourth – many scholars are questioning the use of the wave metaphor in feminism. However, it is still the terminology most commonly used and most easily understood by the public. As the fourth wave finds much of its definition in relation to the previous ones, it is important to understand what the other waves were. Internationally, comparisons between waves can be difficult. Anglospheric first-wave feminism is second-wave for Europeans and Latin American feminists. Second-wave American and British feminism is also third-wave for Europeans and Latin Americans. Spanish feminism went through several waves in the Franco era. Broadly speaking, there are first-wave feminism taking place from the mid-nineteenth century to 1965, second-wave feminism taking place from 1965 to 1975 and third-wave feminism taking place from 1975 to 2012. Fourth-wave feminism in Spain began in the mid-1990s. Each feminist wave has a separate identity, although they get harder to distinguish and define clearly as time goes on, due to debate among activists and scholars. In an Anglospheric feminist context, the first wave was characterized by the suffragette movements and had the aim of legalizing women voting in public elections. ==Ideas==

British journalist Kira Cochrane and British feminist scholar Prudence Bussey-Chamberlain describe the fourth wave as focusing on justice for women, particularly opposition to sexual harassment (including street harassment), violence against women, workplace discrimination and harassment, body shaming, sexist imagery in the media, online misogyny, campus sexual assault and assault on public transport and rape culture. They also say it supports intersectionality, social media activism and online petitioning. Its essence, Chamberlain writes, is "incredulity that certain attitudes can still exist". Events and organizations involved in fourth-wave feminism include Everyday Sexism Project, UK Feminista, Reclaim the Night, One Billion Rising and "a Lose the Lads' mags protest". 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. Third-wave feminists began introducing the concept of male privilege in their writings in the 1990s and fourth-wave feminists continue to discuss it in academia and on social media. American Peggy McIntosh was one of the first feminists to describe the phenomenon of privilege in 1988, calling it (in regards to white privilege) "an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks." Fourth-wave feminists have taken action to reduce and combat this "knapsack" by raising awareness of privileged and unprivileged groups. Alliance is greatly encouraged by these feminists, who believe that males and other privileged groups can still take action for social change within their communities. London author Nikki van der Gaag discusses the damaging effects of raising young boys with privilege, citing the Consultative Group on Early Child Care and Development, "a tendency to privilege boys [...] does not teach boys responsibility, nor clarify what will be expected from them". Fourth-wave feminists have argued that reinforced gender stereotypes create pressure for men to be breadwinners, as opposed to women, who feel obligated to take on the role of homemakers. Feminists argue that these pressures to conform socially can cause gender discrimination in the workplace and more widely in society. According to Pew Research, a majority of women working in male-dominated workplaces believe that sexual harassment is a problem in their industry. Fourth-wave feminists have also pointed out how gender roles and inequalities show up in fields like architecture. Torsten Lange and Lucía C. Pérez-Moreno explain that feminist scholars have pointed out how architectural history has often ignored women's contributions and only focused on male ways of thinking in theory and practice. They show how gender bias in both architecture schools and also in professional workplaces illustrate bigger social patterns--for example, how men are seen as doing “serious” work while women are expected to take on other traditional roles. This kind of thinking affects who gets opportunities in the field today. It's an example of fourth-wave feminist concern about how workplace culture can reinforce outdated gender stereotypes. == Intersectionality ==

One of the main critiques of past waves of feminism has been the centrality and privileging of the voices of middle class white women in the movement. The concept of intersectionality originates in black feminism throughout the 20th century and the specific term's coinage is attributed to Kimberle Williams Crenshaw in 1991. Intersectionality in a broad sense is defined as "the interactivity of social identity structures such as race, class and gender in fostering life experiences, especially experiences of privilege and oppression". It addresses the complexities of how different systems of oppression interact and overlap and has expanded to become a topic in fields of study outside of gender studies and feminism as well, and its main goal as a tool within the feminist movement is to give a voice and power to those who have been pushed to the margins, namely women of color and queer people. While it has been used widely in conjunction with feminism since the 1990s, the fourth wave of feminism gives the concept a new level of prominence in the movement as the voices of those with marginalized identities are more easily heard with the use of social media. Intersectionality is most closely associated with black feminism in the eyes of both the general public and the world of academia, as a community operating under the oppressive systems of both racism and sexism and as the term intersectionality first gained traction through the work of black feminists. Some would say that "black feminists are read as the embodiment of intersectionality". While the use of intersectionality as a lens through which to view feminist discourse and practice has helped the movement make leaps of progress in regards to bringing forward the voices and needs of oppressed identities, the close association with black women and feminists has given rise to critiques on both sides of the debate. argues that although celebrities are at the forefront of fourth-wave feminism, ready access to information has enabled the movement to draw greater attention to economic inequalities faced by women than heretofore possible. Regarded as more inclusive of the LGBTQIA+ community, have protested stereotypes surrounding men's supposed uncontrolled sexual desire and objectification of women. He states that gay men specifically are stigmatized by such stereotypes because they lie outside of the typical standard for masculinity. Canadian art historian Ruth Phillips argues that fourth-wave feminism falls within the broader agenda of financial, political and environmental concerns and is recognized as a key factor in alleviating poverty, improving women's health and achieving economic growth. In Latin American fourth-wave feminism, a similar concept to intersectionality is that of transversality. It describes "a form of feminism that addresses a wide range of issues in an effort to represent the heterogeneity of society". Examples include addressing colonialism or racism, economic topics and LGBTQ issues. == Globally ==

MeToo movement , Brazil, participating in the Ele Não movement Black activist Tarana Burke initially started the MeToo movement in 2006 to empower victims of sexual abuse. It was not until 2017 that #MeToo gained widespread use, following the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault crisis. Other countries began their own hashtags with a similar goal, even though reactions of local governments differed. Hashtags associated with the worldwide MeToo Movement include: • AndNow or NowWhat in Canada • in China • in France • NotinMyName in India • in Italy • BoycottAliZafar, #BoycottTeefainTrouble, #TeefaisTrouble in Pakistan • in the Philippines • in South Africa As the importance of social media in "creating and sustaining feminist community" For instance, in Canada, after the #MeToo hashtag began trending in October 2017, hundreds of people began crediting fourth-wave feminists with the movement. Another hashtag, #AndNow, became popular in Canada due to the support of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. #AndNow supported discussing the solution to sexual harassment or abuse in the workplace to help people fight for equity between all people. In India, there have been several movements or protests with large numbers of women, which have changed the perspective of many in the nation regarding femininity. Ni una menos (meaning "Not One Less", using the feminine form of "one") is a Latin American feminist movement originating in Argentina which aims to end violence against women. The movement has engaged in women's strikes, including the International Women's Strike. Ni una menos has been described as fourth wave feminism. According to Cecilia Palmeiro, a founding member of the Ni Una Menos collective, "By connecting perspectives such as indigenous feminism with black feminism, migrant feminism, queer feminism and popular feminism, we made alliances and enlightened the intersection of violences as well as featured possible strategies of resistance. That is why our movement has been described as a fourth wave of feminism or feminism of the 99 percent." It was being used even among national and international celebrities. Madonna was one of the international celebrities who took part in the movement. She posted on her Instagram, where she has more than 12.1 million followers, a picture in which she appears with her mouth sealed by a tape with the saying "freedom". Above, it reads in Portuguese (He won't devalue us, he won't silence us, he won't oppress us). Because Latin American fourth-wave feminism encompasses simultaneously distinct movements, many of which are in tension with one another, some refer to Latin American 'feminisms' in the plural. One of the more controversial branches emerged as a reaction to and rejection of queer feminism and of postmodern feminism, == Roe v. Wade overturn ==

On June 24, 2022, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3, in favor of ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization which subsequently overruled the previous landmark Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade as well as Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Dobbs ruled that the Constitution of the United States does not confer the right to an abortion. The case was presented on the Constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi law that banned abortion operations after the 15th week of pregnancy. This ruling makes Dobbs to be considered a landmark decision of the court. The decision on June 24, 2022 came after a leak on May 2, 2022, which showed leaked documents of the majority opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, which criticized Roe''. The following day the Supreme Court confirmed these documents to be legitimate but stated these documents do "not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case". The impact of the overturn of Roe was significant and impactful for all women across the country. Once Roe was overturned, various states across the United States followed suit in determining their stance on the Constitutionality of a protected right to abortion. Some states' older restrictions on abortion that were put on hold after Roe was passed, were now put back into place. Many states also had trigger laws that were put into place in May 2021, when the Supreme Court agreed to hear Dobbs arguments. These states include Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Some of the states never removed their pre-Roe abortion bans. They were unable to be enacted while Roe was in effect, but were put back into place after the overturning of Roe. Protests spread all across the U.S. after the announcement of the overturn of Roe. These protests were largely peaceful and were carried out in 46 states. The medical impact of the overturn of Roe has large and significant implications for medical and nursing education "and will reshape the knowledge, skills, and quality of care provided by future physicians and nurses, particularly in states with bans on abortion or pregnancy age restrictions". Medical students without the knowledge to perform a safe and legitimate abortion will also not have the knowledge to treat other pregnancy related complications such as placental abruption, infections, ectopic pregnancy, and eclampsia, because the techniques and tools used during these procedures are similar or the same to a standard abortion. Studies showed that in comparison to women who had an abortion, those who were forced to carry an unintended pregnancy to term and give birth, had poorer physical health. Similarly, women who were denied an abortion also had poorer well-being and reported an incline in their anxiety and depression as soon as a week after being denied. The discussion of where fourth-wave feminism falls into the overturning of Roe is on-going online. ==Social media==

While previous waves of feminism have encountered such obstacles as rigid sociopolitical structures and a lack of available communication channels, fourth-wave feminists harness digital media as a far-reaching platform on which to connect, share perspectives, create a broader view of experienced oppression and critique past feminist waves. Social media allows women to share their experiences from all over the world and is a space where people can rally for change. Clark-Parsons explains that networked feminism lets everyday people use digital media platforms to organize and lead feminist movements. Instead of depending on formal organizations, many fourth-wave campaigns grow from individuals using social media to speak out and bring people together in a more casual every day way. Due to the global participation made possible by the internet, it has been argued that the fourth-wave exists online. The speed of communication and concept of "going viral" has been a major factor in the success of contemporary feminist campaigns, fostering digital phenomenon such as "call-out culture". In the world of cyberfeminism, call-out culture is used as a tool to accuse sexual predators in a manner that allows for optional anonymity and the larger possibility of wide-ranged support. Hashtag feminism campaigns are often a result of this culture. and in so-called "hashtag feminism" campaigns, notably #MeToo, Girlgaze, launched by Amanda de Cadenet, is an online multi-sided platform that directly connects businesses, companies and brands with women and non-binary creative talent, promoting the need for diversity, inclusion and representation across the creative industry. Time named a group of activists prominent in the #MeToo movement, dubbed "the silence breakers", as its 2017 Person of the Year. Other fourth-wave feminist campaigns include the Feminist Coalition, Everyday Sexism Project, No More Page 3, , Stop Bild Sexism, Free the Nipple, SlutWalk, the 2017 and 2018 Women's Marches, Time's Up and One Billion Rising. Artistic endeavors include Mattress Performance and 10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman. The Everyday Sexism Project, established in 2012 by feminist author Laura Bates, is an example of a fourth-wave feminist campaign that began online and utilized the internet as a medium for women to share stories of sexism and sexual assault they had faced through the use of a hashtag and sites like Twitter and blogs. The project brought awareness to the prolific nature of structurally ingrained sexism and gendered violence that is often a stigmatized topic in the everyday. One critique of social media feminism is the emotional toll it can take on active leaders and participants as a form of unpaid labor that can often have harsh repercussions in the form of online harassment and abuse. Social media allows interconnected groups and individuals to network and connect with each other. Younger generations of feminists are more likely to form their beliefs and opinions and develop their support for the movement through social media. == Men and the fourth wave ==

Importance of men's participation According to the International Women's Development Agency, feminism is "about all genders having equal rights and opportunities." More than 70% of U.S. fathers take parental leave, but receive less than two weeks off after the birth of their child. Four times more men than women die by suicide in the U.S., due to stigma around mental health and seeking help for it. She cites examples from her own life where she has noticed this, including seeing her "father's role as a parent being valued less by society," and witnessing her male friends struggle to express their emotions. Challenges for male feminists Societal pressure and the ideals of toxic masculinity can make it difficult for men to support feminism. In many societies, to be considered 'masculine', men must be "strong, active, aggressive, tough, daring, heterosexual, emotionally inexpressive and dominant." In May 2023, researchers conducted an experiment designed to find the effect of feminist content on social media on millennial men and men from Generation Z. The findings included mixed messages, with one participant stating that so-called 'hashtag' feminism "[spread] real awareness of the struggles women face that [men] are not all the time aware of, and sometimes never aware of." Baldoni's TED Talk, "Why I'm done trying to be man enough", asks questions like "are you brave enough to be vulnerable?" and "are you strong enough to be sensitive?" "Why I'm done trying to be man enough" touches on recognizing privilege, amplifying women's voices, and the importance of creating male friendships in which men can speak about real struggles together. Crews has also publicly voiced his support for gender equality in an interview with BUILD Series and on his Twitter account. Obama asserts that gender stereotypes "limit our ability to simply be ourselves" and that twenty-first century feminism is "the idea that when everybody is equal, we are all more free." In 2015, The Mask You Live In, a documentary film directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, premiered at Sundance Film Festival. The documentary details the environment and expectations that boys grow up with in the United States, using analysis from experts in various fields and firsthand accounts of experiences to illustrate how gender roles affect boys and men. In 2017, Alec Baldwin, Michael Moore, Ian McKellen, Rufus Wainwright, and John Legend, along with a plethora of female public figures, attended women's marches across the country. == Timeline ==

Fourth-wave feminism has been criticised for its reliance on emerging digital technologies; it is necessary to ensure that underserved communities can engage with these technologies in an empowering manner. Ragna Rök Jóns argues that "[t]he key problem that this '4th Wave' will face will be the disproportionate access to and ownership of digital media devices", and that the fourth wave is left with the "inherent classism and ableism" created by giving the greatest voice to those who can afford and use technology, while the growth of social media in regions plagued by pervasive social injustice remains slow. North American sociologist Amanda E. Vickery claims that fourth-wave feminism marginalizes women of color who are fighting for inclusivity, neglecting the specific injustices they face to make way for the mainstream struggle. Critics argue that efforts by large corporations such as Dove to capitalize on the movement through activist advertising may be inimical to fourth-wave feminism, which tends to be critical of capitalism as an economic system. The conservative critique of fourth-wave feminism is that when women believe that the world is set against them through social systems such as patriarchy, they will abandon all efforts instead of competing with men as equals. Author Joanna Williams writes in The American Conservative that fourth-wave feminism encourages women to "call upon external helpmates, like the state and ugly identity politics that push good men away". Williams also associates the movement with the "regressive left", claiming fourth-wave feminists are authoritarian and illiberal by dictating acceptable ideologies and policing the speech of men and women. It is also argued that when people participate in Internet activism, they may not feel the need to do anything else to help the effort and to make themselves feel good. This type of activism is addressed in feminist punk band Le Tigre's 2001 song "Get Off the Internet", from before social media came into the picture. Later, in 2015, Alex Guardado asserted in an article on Twitter activism for NewUniversity.org that after contributing their say, people "continue on with their day, liking other posts or retweeting". Some may think of themselves as activists while never attending a rally or extending their message beyond their Twitter fan base. While various feminist campaigns have spread via social media, the term slacktivism was coined to describe the mass media users who may speak out on their online platform but do little else to stimulate social action outside of their online platform. This forms part of a greater dialogue surrounding the roles and requirements of activism in an age where communities operate almost as equally online as they do face-to-face. 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 ... but women are just about lining up to take a whack at the shoddy piñata of my personal tastes and opinions". British scholar Ealasaid Munro says that the call-out culture of fourth-wave feminism risks marginalizing and separating people over minor disagreements when they could serve better as allies. The wave narrative itself is criticized due to perceptions that it is only inclusive of western feminist movements They believe there is no need for it anymore and that it can get confusing. The wave narrative is also contested due to the overlapping nature of the waves of feminism and the lack of concrete definitions due to disagreements between scholars and activists as to what the waves respectively encompass. Other critiques of fourth-wave feminism include its lack of clear evidence in most cases of social media use. Along with this, some argue that, though all issues should be addressed, smaller issues should not be inflated by the feminist movement. One example of this is Matt Damon's response to the Harvey Weinstein case, "I do believe that there is a spectrum of behaviour, right? [...] There's a difference between, you know, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right?" Social media also can be seen as ineffective as it brings down "bogeyman" individuals rather than, "invent[ing] a different language or logic that can excise or alter the structures of oppression" as Sarah K. Burgess describes. ==See also==