Feminism and the New Challenges of Being a Woman in the 21st Century

Why we still need feminism in 2024 

Report by Nellie (L6) - 

We began the lecture with the question as to whether feminism has outgrown its purpose and the answer to that is – NO – it still has more to do. The feminist movement is not over and the fight for equality still needs to be fought. One author Dr Smith referred to throughout the lecture was a woman called Bell Hooks who writes about how feminism has touched all of our lives in a positive way. She demonstrates how women have come along way in history through the way in which most girls are in education beyond the age of 14, they are well read, and not forced into arranged marriages. Regardless of the message behind feminism, it has been a building stone for other movements to develop onto and inspire.

Societies impression and view on feminism has also changed massively since its origins with a decline of negative connotations associated with the movement. Its stereotypes has moved away from man-hating and bra burning to the respected movement that it is. Dr Smith shared some of her opinions about the controversial Valentines day which enlightened us to the many standardised misogynistic chores brought around by cheerful holidays. Even in 2003, Dr Smith spoke of how being a feminist was an unusual stance for a young girl to take and would make individual one to avoid, only portraying the made up negative assumptions about feminists. In the early 2000s it was thought that feminists were not needed but as life progresses there was and still is a strong demand for change to come and expel old formulas.

There have been waves of feminism throughout time and by describing the movement through waves, there is a connection between each change in society over the period of time. The first wave was experienced in the 1840s-1920s which was labelled the ‘political’ wave as it tackled legal issues and the right to vote. The second wave came around and focused more on economic equality, although through doing so only prioritised the progression of white middle-class women. However, this changed in the third wave of feminism which focused on culture as the lack of women from minority backgrounds in the second wave was brought to light. The author Hooks based much of her work on bringing attention to this matter and privilege checking was introduced ensuring that all identities were represented through intersectionality. The wave metaphor represents the rise and the fall of the movements but a greater point should be taken from this, that the momentum should be high throughout. There is an expected fourth wave coming which entails more psychological, social and technical aspects looking at body image and again the issue of the gender pay gap.

Dr Smith reminded us of the unconscious bias when it comes to domestic work and how mothers are left with the responsibilities which could be divided more equally within relationships. In this fourth wave of feminism there, could be greater justice over reproductive rights for example, Roe v. Wade and the idea that this should be implemented across the world, not just in countries with sympathetic politicians. There is a demand for more representation of disabled women just normalising their lives instead of being forced to be an inspiration, alongside climate justice and protection of transgender rights. There should always be a choice to get involved with anything in life and the UN website suggests; ‘supporting one another, join conversations, educate and share the work’ are the best ways to start. We concluded with ‘feminism does not promise us answers and it is hard work, but it is worth it’.