Fourth Wave Feminism... thoughts? -Henry Wilkinson, 4/26/17

I really enjoyed reading "Amber Waves of Blame," by Katha Pollitt from 2009, not only for the way it spoke about and critiqued feminism and the various waves but also because of the way it examined relationships. At feminism's core is relationships- how people perceive the world around them is directly tied to those around them, their upbringing, society, etc. so I found it very interesting how Pollitt examined the lumping-together of third wave feminists in their 40's with possible third-wave feminists who are closer to my age, 20. In my own experience and understanding of feminism, I identify as fourth wave in that I believe in intersectionality and combating the issues that fourth wave feminism deals with, especially the debate of sexuality/sex/bodies, though I can understand how some may not be aware of or even agree with fourth-wave feminism. But at the same time, I do feel like categorizing into waves various people from the movement, it can be a bit problematic. Take, for example, my ceramic teacher. She and I would go to all the same protests, discussions and seminars, and rallies... only she was in her sixties and I was in my teens. We believed in all the same things, we fought the same fights, only I could easily see people lump us into different groups because of the worlds we grew up in. It's an interesting thought and Pollitt touches on it a bit when she says that in some ways, "[60-year-old's] were more sexually radical than today's youth, because they made a bigger break with conventional ideas of sexiness." My ceramic teacher definitely was a "braless free spirit back in the day," that is for sure, but she is also a modern and contemporary feminist. I guess what I am trying to get at is that we're all feminists at the end of the day. There are some like Judy Chicago who were revolutionary in their day but are a bit passe now/not quite as "woke" as they should be given the day and age, but the vast majority of feminists believe in all the same things, regardless of when they were brought up and when they identified as a feminist.