Feminism and Three Waves of Feminism in gender studies
Discuss the three waves of feminism. What was the influence of the three waves on the feminist movement in Pakistan?
Outline
1. Introduction
2. What
is feminism?
3. First
wave of feminism
4.
Second wave of
feminism
5.
Third wave of feminism
6.
Influence of these
waves on feminist movements in Pakistan
7.
Critical Analysis
8. Conclusion
Introduction: Three waves of
Feminism. From equity to traverse.
Feminism
is a very diverse school of thought in gender studies. Since the 18th
century, the world has gone through particular eras of feminist movements
segregated into three waves. Academically, it has evolved the status of women
and gender from equity to traverse. The feminist movement had a trickle-down
effect on Pakistan as well. The state has witnessed the gaining currency of
gendered discourses in legal, political, and social spheres.
What is Feminism: Definition and its waves?
“Feminism is about all
genders having equal rights and opportunities.”
(International Women
Development Agency)
The extent of feminism:
Ideology and movement for
equality of sexes at
 |
Political Economical Social Legal
Waves of feminism: An infographic
Analysis
Marxist feminism
Liberal feminism
Equity
Universalism
First wave
radicalism
psychoanalytical
Second wave
Postmodernism
Identity perspective
Third-wave
Traverse
The first wave of feminism
1. Background:
i)
French revolution and
ii)
Seneca Fall convention
iii)
Works of Mary Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, JS Mill
2. Key features of the first wave
i)
Equity:
The Seneca fall
convention challenged the text of the American Declaration of Independence:
“All men are created equal.” They claimed the inherently gendered nature of the text
and came up with their own text: “All men and women are created equal.”
ii)
Access
to resources:
The first wave was primarily
concerned with liberal feminism and demanded women’s access to equal resources
in the economic, political, and social spheres.
Illustration:
Mary Wellstone Craft’s
indicators of the rights of women challenged the rationale of education and
demanded the inculcation of women in educational spheres.
iii)
Universal
suffrage:
First-wave feminism led
to the formation of the National Women Party (NWP) and the American Women Suffrage
Association (AWSA) to fight for universal suffrage.
Illustration:
Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
Alice Paul, and Mary Wellstone Craft all played their part in the Suffrage movement.
Women used protests and marches to portray their demands.
“Germany has been granted the adult
franchise. Is Germany more
democratic than the USA?”
(Slogan of suffrage movement)
iv)
Marxist
/ Social perspective:
Feminists such as Rosa
Luxemburg highlighted the gendered discrimination meted out to women in the form
of over labor, underpayment, etc. a point of specific nature of jobs for women
was also contested.
Illustration:
“There are very
few jobs that require the vagina and the penis to do.”
(Virginia Wolf)
3.
Achievements
of the first wave:
 |
19th
amendment:
Equality in
Highlighted the
universal suffrage
educational
sense gendered
discourse of
in the USA. marxism
4.
Criticism:
It
did not focus on intersectionality.
Second Wave of Feminism
With
the success of the suffrage movement, the feminists still were not satisfied with
the extent of equality. Universalism had become the new demand.
Background:
1. Miss
America’s Pageant show protests.
2. Simone
De Beauvoir’s The Second Sex.
3. Betty
Friedan’s: The Feminine Mystique.
4. the Second
wave was coined by Math Lear in her article ‘The Second Feminist Wave.’
Key
Features
1.
Radicalism:
Radical Feminism was a theory that
focused on the structural oppression of women. It believed that oppression was
enshrined in social structures.
Illustration:
The
Feminine Mystique has succeeded in burying millions of women alive.
(Betty
Friedan)
2. Psychoanalytic:
Another variant of the Second Wave was
psychoanalytic. Betty inspired by Freud’s theory proclaimed that men
had an inherent urge to subjugate women. This urge lies somewhere in the
psychoanalytic of man.
Illustration:
a. The
concept of Penis Envy and vagina envy.
b. Patriarchy
leading to the ghettoization of women.
c. Sex
and Power debate of Simone De Beauvoir.
d. Gendered
division of labor is psychoanalytic.
e. Objectification,
prostitution, and anti-abortionism all lie in men’s nature.
Key Achievements:
Autonomy v/s Introduction Equal National
integration debate of birthrights act organization
giving birth to control
for women
Women studies 1966
Criticism
i) Ghettoization
of other genders and marked the lesbian and gay movement.
ii) Did
not focus on intersectionality.
The third wave of Feminism
The
criteria were unsatisfied with the Second Wave because of its less focus
on other genders and intersectionality.
Background:
i) Post-
modernism
ii) Queer
Theory
iii) Rebecca
Walker’s third wave foundation
Key Features
i)
Rejection
of Essentialism
The queer theory rejected heterosexual essentialism and questioned the multiple gender diversity.
ii)
Particularism
and Traverse
Gender became a
particular and traversing phenomenon. The traverse was expressed in the legal
recognition of different genders.
social construction and gender
performativity
The social construction of
gender became normal and Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity
gained weight. She claimed that gender is not an essential phenomenon but has
become a dominant discourse because of performativity.
‘We do gender.’
(Judith Butler)
iv) Diversification of feminism
The problem of intersectionality was
resolved with the diversification of Feminist thought.
Illustration:
Black
feminism Eco Feminism Cyber Feminism
Achievement:
Recognition of Analysis of Gender in
gendered discourse intersectionality development
in legal sphere
approach
·
Birth of gender studies.
Criticism
Ø Lack
of uniformity in knowledge.
Ø Question
marks on the nature of gendered theory.
Influence of Feminist Movements on
Pakistan
1.
Influence
of First Wave:
Ø Universal
suffrage since 1947 and enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan.
Ø Formation
of All Pakistan Women Association.
Ø Women’s
participation in elections. Fatima Jinnah was the presidential candidate.
Ø Benazir
as women Prime Minister.
2.
Influence
of Second Wave Feminism:
Ø Literary
texts of Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Fehmida Riaz, Parveen Shakir, and Asma Jahangir point
toward structural oppression and psychoanalytic.
Ø Pakistan
also inaugurated the women in development approach through the reservation of quota
in assemblies in the 1973 constitution.
Ø Nusrat
Bhutto participated in the women’s Mexico conference in 1975.
Ø Formation
of Women Action Forum to retaliate Hudood ordinance.
Ø Women
study centers, development of women bank, and ratification of CEDAW.
Ø national
commission on the status of women 2000.
Ø Women
Protection Bill 2006.
Ø Protection
against harassment bill, Women Work Place Act 2016.
Ø Acid
Protection Bills.
Third Wave Feminism:
Ø Recognition
of the transgender act in KP.
Ø Transgenders
as newscasters.
Ø Almas
Bobby.
Ø Sarah
Gill is a transgender doctor.
Ø My
body, my autonomy.
Critical Analysis
The world has embarked on the
path of traversing. However, Pakistan is still behind on the gendered
discourse. The prime reason is the religious, ideological, and cultural
constructs. Owing to these constructs, Pakistan may not become as traverse as the West but there will always be some breaking of glass ceilings.
Conclusion:
To
sum up, the three waves of feminism are a journey from equity to traverse.
Now, the world is up to the 4th wave of feminism in this age. However,
the feminist discourse has always led to the diversification of knowledge.
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