Third Wave Girl

I am trying to find my feminist niche, but it is proving to be a difficult journey. I feel like one of the lost voices in the 2001 Le Tigre song “They Want Us to Make a Symphony Out of the Sound of Women Swallowing Their Own Tongues.” I adamantly repeat “I am a Third Wave girl, Uh-huh. I am a Third Wave girl, Uh-huh” without knowing what that means for me. How should this contemporary feminist movement translate into my everyday? The definition of what-it-is-to-be-a-feminist has turned with the generational tide. The Third Wave’s focus on “cultural creations” brings into view the young feminist value of individuality (quotations are Jennifer Baumgardner’s words). In this individuality feminism is able to take many different faces.


Who is a contemporary feminist? I like to think I am. I am a community college student working for a Paralegal Associates degree. I ride the SMART bus, I walk. I am an "avowed bisexual" (Greg Tate). I work hard at my job. I have a strong sense of respect for my family. Law and Order is my favorite TV show. I am passionate, maybe abrasive. But I wouldn't say I am an activist and I cannot say that I have made any impact on our sexist world. I do try to talk about feminism. I talk to my sister who discovered feminism in the same coffee shop in Arlington, Texas that I did. I talk to the 17 year old girl at my work who believes men and women should be treated differently because they are different. I try to talk to my grandmother who got her MRS degree and I try to talk to my friends who rather just enjoy the movie that I find offensive. As the Third Wave we are encouraged to create a feminist identity based on our individuality, but also I don't want to say this the person I am now is all I will ever be as a feminist. I want to do/be more.

I am glad to be a Third Wave girl, free to be my feminist-self -even if I do not know who that woman is exactly. I want to make an impact. A recent composition class has sparked my interest in writing again. Professor Gina Fournier (author of Thelma and Louise and Women in Hollywood) pushed me to coherently write about my interests while offering personal insights that were greatly appreciated. I believe my writing structure has improved although there wasn't much she could due to improve my grammar. I have also recently discovered my passion for personal narratives, which has reignited my love of reading. Even though I find it hard to put down my current collection of contemporary feminist essays, I still struggle with the fact that many of the authors I read are ivy league-educated women. I struggle with the fact that many feminist organizations, like the Feminist Majority Foundation and College Feminists, specifically target college educated women. I struggle with my feelings that the people who really need feminism are not being exposed to it. And I struggle with what I should be doing about it.

I hope that this blog is where I can challenge my feminist creativity for now, throw around ideas. I hope to start discussions. I wanna know what other young people think it is to be a feminist, what people think about what I've posted. I feel like it is worth talking about. I feel like feminism is worth talking about.