Fourth-wave feminism is extremely interesting because it is all about not having a “central definition”. Even the Wikipedia site had a roundabout way to describe what feminism in the current day means to everyone. Essentially, it said that feminism is becoming individualistic as opposed to the previous forms of it being a political group. It also stated that this current wave is all about the usage of social media and media in general to get the feminist point across.
The Wikipedia site describes the history of this type of feminism and how it originated in countries outside of the United States. It was extremely interesting to find that fourth-wave feminism began as early as the ‘90s in some areas through the use of news outlets and television.
The Wikipedia article was packed with historical information, but it was lacking in the one area that mattered the most: intersectionality. Intersectionality had its own section, but there were around three small, two sentence paragraphs in the section. Clearly, this section did not matter as much to the authors because it was not pertinent in their minds.
bell hooks comments on this in Readings for Diversity and Social Justice when they condemn the current usage of the term feminism to describe a non-political white feminist movement. They also demonstrates how the overarching definition that exists now can push people away from the movement. The definition of “being equal to men” does not make sense because it does not include the fact that not all men are equal. The current movement centers around white feminism and needs to adjust according to intersectional issues including race and class.
I believe that the lack of specificity in the definition of feminism is one of the causes for the knowledge gap on the “Fourth-wave Feminism” Wikipedia page. Many people have access to the internet where some people with a low socioeconomic status may not. This causes for a rift in information because the people who are privileged enough to have access will report on these websites. This leaves room for people’s opinions, thoughts, and perspectives to not be heard.
Through bulking up the “Intersectionality” section in the Wikipedia article, this would add a whole new perspective to current feminism. It speaks to the importance of including all groups to fight together in order to change the system that oppresses them. It will not work just to change one aspect of the system — it has to be confronted at all angles. Through adding to this section, we are introducing the important idea of intersectionality to people who may not have known it existed and why it is so important.
Sources
bell hooks. “Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression.” Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, by Maurianne Adams, Routledge, 2018, pp. 359-362.
Fourth-wave feminism, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth-wave_feminism
