Lana Del Rey’s controversial stance on feminism really has made my head spin – she claims to be a part of the second wave of feminism, yearning for the acceptance of ‘soft’ and ‘delicate’ femininity, and here I am, a comp. lit student who’s read tonnes about intersectional feminism, post-marxist feminism and even gynocriticism, yet again floundered by another facet of the kaleidoscope.
Reading excerpts of Caroline Criado Perez’s ‘Invisible Women’ has been a depressing, although much needed, reminder of the subtle, mundane, scathing elements of patriarchy that a lot of us are too accustomed to to fight against, from the fact that Google’s voice recognition is 70% more likely to recognise men’s voices to the fact that orchestras have seen a 50% increase in the percentage of female performers as a result of blind auditions (Perez, 2019). However, does her analysis of algorithms and her consideration of the way technologies are used to project misogynistic biases place her in a totally new wave of feminism? Do I belong to this wave? Are Lana Del Rey and I a part of the same wave? Are the waves dictated by time or individual preference for positions on certain ends of the spectrum?
The Waves of Feminism: 101
The first wave: 1848 to 1920 (Grady, 2018) – the demand for equal opportunities for women, especially suffrage. This was the reign of the suffragette queens.
The second wave: 1963 to the 1980s (Grady, 2018) – a cry for end to gender-based limiting roles, the right to work, equal pay, access to abortions and general rights.
The third wave: 1991(?) to ???? (Grady, 2018) – fighting workplace sexual harassment and challenging powerful men. The emergence of cries for trans women’s rights.
The fourth wave: 2019 (?) to ??????? – the fight to end Big Data’s discrimination against women? An online wave?
Overall, I think the wave metaphor is highly limiting and doesn’t really encompass all of the nuances of feminism. Critical theory, however, is substantially more vast and is probably where you’ll find me trying to rationalise what femininity is in today’s context.
Bibliography
Grady, C., 2018. The waves of feminism, and why people keep fighting over them, explained. [Online]
Available at: https://www.vox.com/2018/3/20/16955588/feminism-waves-explained-first-second-third-fourth
[Accessed 2021].
Perez, C. C., 2019. Invisible Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. New York: Abrams Press.