Fourth-Wave Feminism Explained

The fourth wave of feminism is a period of political activism and social change seeking to expand women’s civil rights and social equality. The movement succeeds first-, second-, and third-wave feminist movements by taking on distinct characteristics, priorities, and postures toward the dominant social and cultural forces of its time. Fourth-wave feminism is generally dated from the early 2010s to the present.

In the late 1990s, the third wave of feminist activism—with its celebration of diversity, its reclamation of feminine ideas and tropes that previous iterations of the women’s rights movement had rejected, and its deep grounding in the academy—began to wane. With the rise of social media, a new, less formalized type of feminism took shape.

The ubiquity of the Internet is one of the leading causes of the new wave of feminism. With the relative ease of access to online message boards, blogs, and social media apps, it became possible for feminist activists, especially young women, to participate in the social movement and promote consciousness-raising. Online, they also had the option of anonymity, making it potentially easier to share stories of sexual harassment, sexism in their private and public lives, and experiences of misogyny and oppression. Social media also propelled the organization of the Women's March, which took place in Washington, D.C., after the inauguration of Donald Trump in 2017.

With the rise of the Internet and social media platforms, fourth wave feminists can organize global campaigns online. Some of the defining characteristics of the fourth wave of feminism include:

1. 1. Intersectionality: Third wavers emphasized the concept of intersectionality, and many fourth-wave feminists are working on expanding this. The fight for social justice and gender equality is more significant when women of color, and the layers of oppression women experience, are part of the conversation. Violence against women is more prevalent and extreme in combination with other modes of oppression, like class, race, and sexual identity.
2. 2. Internationalism: The wave model of feminism has roots in the Western world; feminist movements globally were often less emphasized in public and academic discussions in the West. Fourth-wave feminism seeks to redress this, especially in its inclusion of voices from historically marginalized and oppressed groups struggling under the patriarchy.
3. 3. Solidarity: Fourth-wave activists celebrate solidarity across different ages, races, creeds, and gender identities. As with the third wave, most fourth-wave feminists also consider capitalism, particularly its neoliberal strain, as a source and a magnifier of oppression.
4. 4. Decentralization: The Internet allows for new avenues of organization and activism. The Internet makes it possible to publicly call out influential figures, offering opportunities for disempowered women to seek redress and find empowerment. The fourth wave of feminism has brought to light cases of sexual violence inflicted by men in politics, business, entertainment, and new media.

The feminist movement—also known as the women’s movement, the women’s liberation movement, and the women’s rights movement—is often broken up into historical periods called waves. The movement comprises periods with specific ideas, strategies, and political struggles:

1. 1. First-wave feminism: The first wave dates back to the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, where the salient issue, pushed by activists called suffragettes, was the voting rights of women. After the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution passed in 1920, guaranteeing women the right to vote (Black women, especially in the South, found this guarantee to be decidedly limited), the intensity and progress of first-wave feminism waned.
2. 2. Second-wave feminism: The second wave of feminism, roughly dating from the 1960s to the 1980s, involved expanding previous ideas and victories of first-wave feminism. Second-wave feminism pushed more broadly for equal rights and specifically for equal pay in the workplace, equal opportunities in the home and public sphere, and reproductive rights. The movement was also concerned with indirect and direct oppression, including rape and domestic sexual abuse, and everyday sexism.
3. 3. Third-wave feminism: The rise of third-wave feminism brought greater inclusion in the movement. Activism in academia expanded the scope of gender studies and feminist theory in critical discourse and study areas. These studies focused on the concept of intersectionality, a term coined by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in 1989. Noting how the effects of class, race, and gender tended to overlap and compound was a crucial aspect of the movement.
4. 4. Fourth-wave feminism: The rise of fourth-wave feminism parallels the rise of social media platforms such as Twitter, created in 2006. Online, feminist activists can share stories, find solidarity, and organize in ways that might be difficult or impossible in person. Fourth-wave feminism sheds light on rape culture and the normalization of sexual assault against women. Hashtag campaigns, such as the #MeToo movement and #TimesUp, can gather momentum quickly and galvanize public awareness. Kira Cochrane’s book All the Rebel Women: The Rise of the Fourth Wave of Feminism, a foundational text, was published in 2013.

Feminism is an intersectional movement with a focus on issues that touch every part of our lives, including reproductive rights, workplace culture, and caregiving. Gain access to exclusive videos on feminism with the MasterClass Annual Membership and get a crash course from leaders Tina Tchen, Gloria Steinem, Amanda Nguyen, and adrienne maree brown.