Fourth-Wave Feminism
Fourth-wave feminism – a stage in the development of feminist thought and activism that is generally considered to have begun around 2008 and to continue into the present. Fourth-wave feminism emerged, developed, and operates largely through the Internet. It is characterized by queer, intersectional, sex-positive, trans-inclusive, and body-positive perspectives, as well as by hashtag activism and campaigns against sexism, misogyny, and violence against women.
In 2009, American feminist Jessica Valenti, founder of Feministing.com, noted in an interview with The New York Times that the fourth wave of feminism was probably taking place online (Solomon, 2009). This observation became one of the central ideas associated with fourth-wave feminism. The Internet has become a space in which feminist discourse has gained renewed intensity: feminist debates take place online, digital feminist campaigns are organized, such as #MeToo, and offline actions, such as women’s marches, are planned and coordinated.
Today, the beginning of fourth-wave feminism is often located around 2008, when social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube became firmly embedded in everyday life and feminist blogs began to spread rapidly. By 2013, the view that contemporary feminism was undergoing a fourth wave had become widespread and had been taken up, although sometimes controversially, in broader international public discourse (Grady, 2018).
Among the figures commonly associated with fourth-wave feminism are Jessica Valenti, Laura Bates, Jennifer Baumgardner, Kira Cochrane, Alyssa Milano, Emma Watson, Eve Ensler, and others.
References:
Solomon, D. (2009, November 13). Fourth-wave feminism: Questions for Jessica Valenti. The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/magazine/15fob-q4-t.html
Grady, C. (2018, July 20). The waves of feminism, and why people keep fighting over them, explained. Vox. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2018/3/20/16955588/feminism-waves-explained-first-second-third-fourth
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