The third wave (1990’s – early 2000’s): 

The “micropolitics” of gender equality

The Third-wave feminism began in early 1990s, responding to perceived failures of the second wave and to the backlash
against second-wave initiatives. The beginning of the third wave is pegged to two things: the Anita Hill case in 1991, and
the emergence of the riot “grrrl” groups in the music scene of the early 1990s. This ideology seeks to challenge the
definitions of femininity that grew out of the ideas of the second-wave, arguing that the second-wave over-emphasized
experiences of upper middle-class white women.

Issues raised in this Wave:

The main issues were prefaced by the work done by the previous waves of women. The fight continued to vanquish the
disparities in male and female pay and the reproductive rights of women. Work continues to end violence against
women in our nation as well as abroad. This wave was about acceptance and a true understanding of the term
‘feminism’. Feminists advocated for a woman’s right to make her own choices about her body and stated that it was a
basic right to have access to birth control and abortion. When the Supreme Court upheld the Partial Birth Abortion Ban
Act and restrictions on abortion, there was a huge protest march called the ‘March for Women’s Lives’ in Washington DC
in 2004. Attended by activists, Second and Third Wave feminists and celebrities, the march showed how important the
issue of reproductive rights was to the Third Wave. The Act was not repealed, and methods of limiting access to abortion
such as parental or spousal consent continued.

This Wave was concerned with reclaiming terms which was used to oppress or label women by the patriarchy and use
them as tools of liberation. Terms like “bitch”, “slut”, “cunt”, were embraced and claimed by feminists. The book “Bitch:
In Praise of adverse Women” by Elizabeth Wurtzel published in 1999 is simply one example of this. Another is that
the reclaiming of ‘slut’ with the inception of SlutWalks. the thought was to send a message about the justification of rape
by bearing on a woman’s clothing and appearance, and rape culture as a full.

Trans feminism was brought more into the mainstream within the Third Wave. The rights of trans
persons weren't included in feminism till recently and therefore the have to acknowledge the legitimacy of their
concerns was pressing. The discussions of gender, body image and sexuality that defined the Third Wave of feminism
made it more inclusive to trans feminists. Even today there's ignorance among large sections of society about the
identity of trans persons, but the Third Wave was important in taking the primary steps towards educating others.

This wave of feminism also raised voice regarded race, social class, and transgender rights as central issues. It also paid
attention to workplace matters such as unfair maternity-leave policies,  motherhood support for single mothers by
means of welfare and child care, respect for working mothers, and the rights of mothers who decide to leave their
careers to raise their children full-time.

Criticism:

One issue raised by critics was an absence of cohesion due to the absence of one cause for third-wave feminism. the
primary wave fought for and gained the proper for girls to vote. The second wave fought for the correct for girls to
possess access to a civil right within the workforce, in addition because the end of legal sex discrimination. The third
wave allegedly lacked a cohesive goal and was often seen as an extension of the second wave. Some argued that the
third wave may be dubbed the "Second Wave, Part Two" when it came to the politics of feminism which "only young
feminist culture" was "truly third wave".

Feminist scholars such as Shira Tarrant objected to the "wave construct" because it ignored important progress between
the periods. Furthermore, if feminism is a global movement, she argued, the fact that the "first-, second-, and third
waves time periods correspond most closely to American feminist developments" raises serious problems about how
feminism fails to recognize the history of political issues around the world. The "wave construct", critics argued, also
focused on white women's suffrage and continued to marginalize the issues of women of color and lower-class women.
Third-wave feminists proclaim themselves as the most inclusive wave of feminism. Critics have noted that while
progressive, there is still exclusion of women of color. Black feminists argue that "the women rights movements were
not uniquely for the liberation of Blacks or Black Women. Rather, efforts such as women's suffrage and abolition of
slavery ultimately uplifted, strengthened, and benefited White society and White women"

Third-wave feminism was often associated, primarily by its critics, with the emergence of so-called "lipstick" or "girly"
feminists and the rise of "raunch culture". This was because these new feminists advocated "expressions of femininity
and female sexuality as a challenge to objectification". Accordingly, this included the dismissal of any restriction,
whether deemed patriarchal or feminist, to define or control how women or girls should dress, act, or generally express
themselves.