Third Wave Feminism, as described in Manefesta, is a continuation of the historical process of feminism in the United States that began in the late 19th Century with the Suffrage Movement. This early movement has come to be known as the First Wave that culminated in the vote for women. The Second Wave that began in the early 1960s is still in effect today. ôEach wave has brought a swelling of momentum that has carried us closer to womenÆs equality. Many young feminists today are choosing to call themselves the Third Wave in order to herald the futureö (69).
The Third Wave, as espoused by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards in this book, is not just a continuation of the Second Wave (the generation of the mothers of Third Wavers), but a new direction for feminism. The subtitle of the book is ôYoung women, feminism and the future,ö and Baumgardner and Richards as Third Wavers want to speak for themselves; they donÆt want the older generation to act as their spokesperson. Our generation of feminists, they assert, ôwants its own institutions and a right to its own attitudes and interpretationsö (138). The authors acknowledge, however, that Third Wave feminismÆs contribution to womenÆs history builds on the foundation of the Second Waveö (17).
The world of Third Wavers, however, is quite different from the world the First and Second Waves were born into since these younger women were born into freedom. Funds for equal opportunity for female sports in schools under Title IX and co-ed gym classes was a fact, just as the right to vote, to run for office, to demand equal pay for equal work were already established. Thus, the clear-cut battles fought by earlier feminists were won, if not completely then to a large degree. The Third Wavers, in other words, have reaped what feminism has sown, as the authors admit.
The authors give substantial reasons why the new generation of feminists need to speak for themselves. ...