- Published: September 18, 2022
- Updated: September 18, 2022
- University / College: University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
- Level: Secondary School
- Language: English
- Downloads: 13
The paper ” Waves of Feminism – From Silence to Performance” is a wonderful example of an essay on gender and sexual studies. Feminism is a term used to explain the quest to establish equality in terms of gender. It is done through the incorporation of cultural, political, and moral values in the society and the nation as a whole. These aspects are considered as they affect the activities of women on a daily basis. The beginning of feminism can be traced back to the early twentieth century. During this period, the society had the mentality that men were the superior being or in other words, there existed a male-dominated society. It is classified into three main waves with the earliest occurring in the 1920s.
There is a significant difference between the three waves with the greatest difference easily notable between the second and the third wave. Time of existence is the first major difference between the two. The second wave existed during the early periods when the level of education of women was still low, and the fight for women education was an agenda by the then formed groups (Kroløkke 50). The second wave took place when the form of communication had advanced, and the women had different inequalities to handle.
The second wave, which is the most famous among the three waves, women applied the tactics of using literature and materials that are highly publicized. These tactics aided in the formation of small groups that acted as channels to pass the message on the agenda to the women in the society. Nevertheless, the different groups located in different regions pursued varying agendas such as liberal feminism and black feminism.
Conversely, the third wave is different from the second wave. The first difference is in the tactic used. The third wave applies a low-key method and individuals who hold positions in the society push for the reform on the agenda of gender inequality. The other difference is the agenda being tackled in the third wave. The agenda on the third wave included things such as the use of contraceptives, women protection at the workplace, and rights for safe abortion.
Since the first feminism, a lot of changes have taken place in the world of women and gender equality. The activities and moral values in the society today highly depend on the steps taken by the women towards attaining gender equality. The third wave with the use of low-key tactics still continues the fight.