my understanding is that the “third wave” movement started when Alice Walker’s daughter Rebecca Walker graduated from Princeton (about 12 years ago?), realized like so many college students that she had no job skills, and so formed the organization Third Wave, which she was the president of. She had the resources to do it. (Then came _Bitch_ and _Bust_. Et, voila, a new “movement!”) http://www.thirdwavefoundation.org/

I heard her speak right around that time, and was really pretty offended by the presentation. (to be fair, i haven’t read her books, and probably should…)

Having not been around at the time of the suffragists, i pretty much understood through the 80’s that my feminist theory and activism followed, historically the 2nd wave women’s movement of the 60’s and 70’s. As a women’s studies student in college, i came to realize that there was no one movement; there were MANY strains of this movement, and the women in it descended from a variety of very different movements and life experiences.

some liberal white feminists did descend from the disgruntled housewives that Betty Friedan described, and from the ensuing CR groups, and worked for things like equal pay for equal work and getting more women into elected office.

many liberal and radical feminists descended directly from their frustrations with the white-boy new left. they wanted men to stop being violent rapist sexist asholes and they wanted birth control and abortion.

some of those women turned out to be lesbians. some wanted to be lesbians. lesbian movements formed from those strains as well as from the women who had been lesbians all along in their own gay/queer subcultures. there were tensions…

some women descended directly from the civil rights and black liberation movements. in the late seventies and eighties especially, there was an explosion of writing, theory and activism among feminist women of color. This lead to activism and writing by various other groups of women of color, as well as jewish women, and to discussions and debates about what disparagingly came to be called “identity politics.”

Of course, there were always women of color and lesbians scattered through all these different movements. But, i think that when we say “second wave feminists” the image most people get are white women, maybe former housewives, or maybe bra-burning students and/or young women with very liberal politics. (including Rebecca Walker, who honestly should know better, having had the direct experience of having for a mother a very important feminist woman of color!) I’m trying to say that there were women with very radical politics that were a very important part of the second wave movement, and many (or most?) of those women were women of color and/or lesbians.

So, when rebecca walker came along to tell us that we needed a new movement, a third wave movement because the second wave was racist white women, was simultaneously homophobic and man-hating, and was sex-negative, and that the third wave was going to appeal to younger women and men because, well it would be more fun and more sexy, more “black and white together,” more “gay and straight together,” more “can’t we all just get along?”… well, i kinda lost it.

i mean, i don’t want to gloss over the racist mistakes that some strains of the white feminist movements did make. we made ‘em, but we’ve also been accountable for ‘em, at least, some of us have tried to be. But whatever, who cared about us, when there were women like Audre Lorde in the world? I think the biggest disaster will be if the “third wave” can’t be bothered to notice the work of Audre Lorde, and Crystos, and June Jordan, and Gloria Anzaldua, etc.

so, that’s the framework that i use to understand feminist movement. i hope it’s not too historically inaccurate or offensive or racist. i’d love to hear thoughts.

I think I get Ginjoint, and even if I don’t, am familiar enough w her politics that I wouldn’t question her calling another woman on this blog a cutie-pie.

But I also think I get Freyakat. The comment taken out of context – e.g. said patronizingly by someone with more power – would be completely irritating! Hone that righteous indignation, sister – when aimed wisely, I like it I like it!

OK, so, Eliza, what was the response to yr question abt State by State and patriotism?

Ok I just have to explain to the universe (via this blog)that this turn of events is NO. FAIR.

And now I will attempt to move on…