A patriarchy is defined as a society or government system in which men hold power and women are largely excluded. In America, we live in a patriarchal society where our country is male-dominated, and women are oppressed. Everyone suffers under the patriarchy. Women are oppressed by being given fewer opportunities, mistreated, discriminated against, and controlled. Men must follow rules that require them to fit a stereotypical view of how a man should behave. When either side steps out of the set social standards line, the patriarchy tries to push, bully, and oppress people back into their boxes.
Some women are content and fulfill their life’s purpose by caring for their family, taking care of a household, or pursuing interests that don’t meet the requirements to be specifically labeled a “career.” Throughout the years, women grew tired of being seen as merely housekeepers and homebodies. They longed for a sense of purpose and passion for following their own desired goals and dreams. They at least wanted the option to make decisions for themselves. Women were tired of being passed from father to husband like a piece of property. Thus, feminism was born.
Feminism is defined as the advocacy of women’s rights for the equality of the sexes. While feminism fought for women’s rights, it was not always intersectional. Intersection is defined as a point or line common to lines or surfaces that intersect. Kimberle Crenshaw, critical race theorist, defined Intersectional Feminism as “a prism, for seeing the way in which the various forms of inequality often operate together and exacerbate each other” (Washington-Harmon, 2020). Taylyn Washington-Harmon, writer of What Is Intersectional Feminism and Why It Matters article for health.com, perfectly states, “the term recognizes the different factors such as race, class, and sexual orientation, among others, that affect gender equality. Intersectional feminism acknowledges that a middle-class, cisgender white woman and an impoverished transgender Black woman, for example, are not exactly fighting the same battle” (para. 2). Intersectional feminism means not only looking to make change through one type of individual’s lens. It means recognizing the differences between people, how those people are oppressed in various ways, and fighting against those oppressions to gain justice for all.
The first wave of feminism fought for women’s right to vote and gained that right through the 19th amendment. Although legally, women were granted the right to vote, that didn’t mean they actually could vote. Other oppressions were in place to keep them from exercising that right. According to Terrance Smith, who wrote the article Timeline: Voter Suppression in the US from the Civil War to today for ABC News, laws were in place from 1877 to the mid-1960s. Prohibiting convicted felons the right to vote, southern states were enforcing Jim Crow laws that allowed segregation in public spaces and other oppressions such as poll taxes and literacy tests. Smith also states that Black women went to the polls in 1920 after the 19th amendment was ratified. Still, many were turned away and possibly primarily due to gerrymandering, which gives a political party an unfair advantage by dividing election districts (Merriam-Webster Dictionary.) Voter oppression is still active today in terms of voter ID laws, closing polling places, and cutbacks to early voting, elimination of same-day registration, photo identification requirement, and more (Smith, 2020.) These set-backs target a wide range of people. The working class can’t always take time off from work to vote, and voting times can be extremely inconvenient. States with the elimination of same-day registration require people to take more time out of their lives going to a location to vote, which may require taking even more time off work that they are not allowed to get or can’t get due to needing the money. Location can also be a set-back depending on whether the voter has a car. Looking through an intersectional lens, this is extremely classist because it places these restrictions making voting most convenient for people with the time, money, and materials to get to the voting location.
The second wave of feminism, led primarily by middle-class white women, fought to accomplish several goals. They wanted change at a governmental and institutional level, integrate women into the power structure, reshape society, fight male bias, and fight for more equality between men and women (Burkett and Brunell, 2020). The problem with the second wave of feminism was that since white women were mainly running it, they only fought for their issues. Black women had to fight the intersectional discrimination of being oppressed not only for their gender but also their race. There are inherent differences between people when analyzing situations through an intersectional lens. Black women fight a different kind of fight that white women at the time weren’t able to or weren’t open to understanding. Many different types of women fought for the same things, such as daycare, abortion, maternity leave, and violence (Burkett and Burnell, 2020) which is where Black and white women could fight together.
The third wave of feminism was built on the previous waves of fighting for reproductive rights, participating in grassroots activism, speaking out, and using irony and radical democracy (Burkett and Brunell, 2020). The third wave was built up of a more diverse group of people in gender, race, class identities, and more. The third wave is more intersectional in terms of the people involved and what it’s fighting for. Black women are more involved by participating in activism, writing, and music (Springer, 2002.)
Burkett and Brunell, 2020, stated that “a fourth wave of feminism began about 2012 with a focus on sexual harassment, body shaming, and rape culture, among other issues.” The beginning of a fourth wave is debated by some people. Throughout this fourth wave, we see events such as GamerGate, the Women’s March after Trump’s inauguration, and the Me Too movement. Black women were largely involved in the Me Too movement, which called out sexual harassment and assault. The Me Too movement also presented a unified front from various intersectional individuals about sexual violence and harassment. Transgender, nonbinary, and men also joined the movement to voice their own experiences.
Black women and their history were excluded from the first couple waves of feminism. They had to fight against racial discrimination but also gender discrimination. Looking through an intersectional lens, some may have also been juggling being oppressed by sexuality and class. Feminism has grown over the years and has become more inclusive. While many transgender, LGBTQ+, nonbinary, and people of all races, colors, and classes consider themselves to be feminists and fight for their issues and each other’s, we still have a long way to go.
Check out these amazing sources for additional reading!
Burkett, E., and Brunell. Laura (2020, September 23). Feminism. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism
Snyder, R. (2008). What Is Third‐Wave Feminism? A New Directions Essay. Signs, 34(1), 175-196. doi:10.1086/588436
Springer, Kimberly. 2002. “Third Wave Black Feminism?” Signs 27, no. 4: 1059–82.
Jennifer C. Nash; Practicing Love: Black Feminism, Love-Politics, and Post-Intersectionality. Meridians December 1, 2020; 19 (S1): 439–462. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/15366936-8566089
Taylyn Washington-Harmon. (2020). What is Intersectional Feminism and Why it Matters. Health. What Is Intersectional Feminism? | Health.com
Terrance Smith. (2020). Timeline: Voter Suppression in the US from the Civil War to today. ABC News. Timeline: Voter suppression in the US from the Civil War to today – ABC News (go.com)
Sarah Elizabeth Adler. (2020). Black Women Had to Fight for the Right to Vote on Two Fronts. AARP. Black Women and The Fight For the Right to Vote (aarp.org)
Olivia B. Waxman. (2020). It’s a Struggle They Will Wage Alone. How Black Women Won the Right to Vote. Time. When Did Black Women Get the Right to Vote? Suffrage History | Time
Philip Cohen. (2012). America Is Still a Patriarchy. The Atlantic. America Is Still a Patriarchy – The Atlantic
Shannon Ridgway. (2013). Patriarchy and How It Shows Up for Everyone. Everyday Feminism. Patriarchy and How It Shows Up for Everyone – Everyday Feminism