as it did me, that the fight is far from over. Let this dismissal of a woman’s
experience move you to anger. Turn that outrage into political power. . . .
I am not a postfeminist feminist. I am the Third Wave.”
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THIRD WAVE FEMINISM
Building upon the successes of the First and Second Waves of feminism,
Third Wave feminists worked to be even more inclusive, ensuring
they were moving beyond
experiences of only white,
middle-class women. They
began to explore ways in which
the patriarchal structure in the
United States was harmful
to women of color, minority
groups in general, and men.
One important voice of Third
Wave feminism was bell hooks,
MS
. MAGAZINE
Ms.
magazine is a revolutionary American women’s magazine first published in
1971 as an insert in
New York
magazine. It first appeared as a separate magazine
in 1972 and was published in that format every month from 1972 to 1987. As of
2018, the magazine was still in print but was published on a quarterly basis.
Ms.
magazine was founded by Second Wave feminists Gloria Steinem and Dorothy
Pitman Hughes. The magazine was meant to be a voice in the mainstream
media for women that was actually created by women. The magazine’s first
years focused on challenging social norms for women. Steinem and Hughes
wanted a magazine for women that would focus on topics beyond fashion and
housekeeping. The magazine was originally going to be called
Sojourner
, named
after Sojourner Truth, but this title was perceived as being the title of a travel
magazine. Some important milestones in the feminist movement come from works
published in
Ms
. The magazine made history when, in 1972, it published names
of women who had had abortions. The Supreme Court would legalize abortion
a year later. A story published in 1976 was the first story to address the issue of
domestic violence in a national magazine.
“So I write this plea to all women,
especially the women of my generation:
Let [Clarence] Thomas’ confirmation
serve to remind you, as it did me,
that the fight is far from over. Let this
dismissal of a woman’s experience
move you to anger. Turn that outrage
into political power. . . . I am not a
postfeminist feminist. I am the Third
Wave.”
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—Rebecca Walker, writer
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