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The Feminist Fourth Wave

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The Feminist Fourth Wave Conclusion The history of the wave is a` troubled one, even while it might seem to describe surges of feminist activism very accurately. It has led to progress and loss narratives emerging, both of which are used to justify tension and divisions between different generations of the social move- ment. The attention received by the multiple waves has also resulted in certain time periods being considered as ‘outside’ or ‘inactive’. Understanding feminism as divided into four wave moments of notable action, implies that the politics lapses into inaction between the surges. This, of course, is not the case, but our understanding of the wave ensures that ongoing and long-term activism are effaced from our overall understanding of the social movement. Waves have also come to be associated with specific figureheads and identities. The second and third wave are crudely characterised as earnest, consciousness-raising, and then DIY zine and punk cultures, respectively. The surge in activist intensity in those times ensures that specific women are positioned as representa- tive of the wave as a whole. The women, unfortunately, are often not reflective of the diversity actually occurring within the wave itself, making the narrative appear to be entirely tied to white feminism, as opposed to a more multicultural and intersectional social movement. It © The Author(s) 2017 185 P. Chamberlain, The Feminist Fourth Wave, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-53682-8 186 Conclusion is no surprise then, that the wave has been widely critiqued, and in some cases, wholly rejected in relation to a historical understanding of feminism. In spite of these difficulties and limitations, the wave narrative still seems to dominate feminist scholarship and history. Even those who choose to reject the wave are adopting a position in relation to the narrative: in not using the wave, critics are forced first to invoke it, explain it and then reject it. As such, whether considered useful or limiting for feminism, the wave still maintains a dominating presence in feminist scholarship. The question posed by my work here, as a result of this, is how the wave narrative might be reclaimed in a positive sense. How can it be moved away from any associations with generation and identity, and how might it be used to address feminism’s exclusions and difficult history? Instead of associating the fourth wave with a genera- tional need for a new feminism, I have understood it as relating to a surge of affect within the social movement itself. These surges or waves are created by a number of intersecting factors, none of which relate to specific identities, or specific age groups. Rather, they emerge in response to changing socio-political cultures; they gain momentum and strength as certain campaigns or issues capture public imagination; they are sustained through a number of activists becoming visibly involved in what appear to be the central concerns of that moment. The wave, then, becomes a more fluid happening, one that is not inevitable, and also cannot be anticipated. The start of a wave occurs very organically, when a set of circumstances create the context in which feminism surges with greater strength than usual. This does not negate a wider sea of feminism that has been at work, but rather, suggests that internal and external contexts impact directly on the intensity with which feminism manifests in the UK. The wave needs to be approached such that it can be continually opened, both within the moment and retrospectively. Rather than offering takes on the wave that limit its scope, or hinder an exploration of the non-wave moments of feminism, it is possible to see the surges as a phenomenon specific to unique contexts. In order for this to take place, it was necessary for me to consider feminist timekeeping. I suggest that feminism should not be viewed as linear in the sense that it moves in a Conclusion 187 straight line from one achievement to another, ever progressing forward to total equality. The present should not necessarily be viewed as an improvement on the past, in the same way that the future needs to be entertained continually because its possibilities sustain the social move- ment. With this in mind, then, the past and future are so central to feminism, and an understanding of feminism, that the surges in activism cannot be without them. As such, wave moments become a contempor- ary: a simultaneity of unfolding activism within the moment, tempered through knowledge of the past and sustained by intent for the future. These surges are not status quo and nor can their energy be maintained for such periods of time that they come to dominate the history of feminism. Instead, there is a finitude to the temporal intensity of contemporary feminism where the wave moments are driven by a forcefulness that, at some point, will have to dissipate. It is the finitude of the waves, the impossibility that they can maintain the same level of energy for an indefinite period of time, that makes the wave moments so pronounced within the timeline of feminism. They do not negate the past, but instead acknowledge it, using it in conjunction with the future in order to allow for an intensely unfolding activism to take shape within the wave moment. Affect is central to this way of thinking about the wave narrative. It bridges the gap between the individual and the collective, the personal and the public, and then feeling and mobilisation. Starting in individual feelings all harboured by different feminists, affect is the cumulative effect of those feelings experienced within a specific context. The com- bination of these two allows for affect to draw from its surroundings, using legislative change, austerity measures, increased social media usage and more personal testimony coming to the fore in order to gain traction. The affective surge of the wave is not comprised of uniformly shared feeling. It can be a composite of negative affects, emerging both within and without feminism, as well as the more positive experiences of solidarity and empowerment. The strength of these multiple feelings at work, and then the way in which they become a collectively experienced force, allows for a passage to be made in both temporality and then wider society. By this I mean that the affective intensity of these moments is what constitutes a wave: there is a movement from feeling 188 Conclusion responses to a cohesive social movement, which begins to move with time. The force and the passage, outlined by Seigworthy and Gregg, do not undermine the individual, nor do they overlook feeling. Instead, the affective environment creates a certain stickiness: one that adheres feminists together within a finite period of intensive social activism. The Fourth Wave The fourth wave of feminism is comprised of a range of affects, not all of which seem to complement one another. The Slut Walk and its relation- ship to low rate conviction for sexual assault, rape culture and the judgement of sexually active women, creates feelings of resistance, anger and rebellion against culpability. It also, in contrast, engages with feelings of disgust and disbelief: in spite of the numerous pieces of legislation passed against rape, the fact that women can still seem responsible for their attack in any way, is both demoralising and incred- ible. Everyday Sexism, as I outlined, creates a sense of solidarity, togetherness and sharing, in a culture that encourages women to think of their experiences of sexism as both exceptional and unimportant. However, the mass of submissions to the site are overwhelming, with the volume creating a sense that everyday sexism is inevitable as opposed to easily challenged. Feminism’s reliance on capital, as explored through the FBook Rape Campaign, also creates a range of feelings. While women might feel empowered through mobilising their brands on behalf of the politics, there is also a sense of complicity and resignation. Needing capital in order to sway industry towards feminism is tiring, and demonstrates a lack of actual interest or investment on the part of the brands. Similarly, creating stronger ties or relationships with brands forces feminism to become complicit in a capitalist system that makes use of gender inequality, whether through sexist advertising, or perpe- tuating the pay gap. The trolling that resulted from the £5 note cam- paign has also raised a number of different feelings. Of course, there was a sense of triumph and success when the campaign was effective, but this was paired with the realisation that such progress will be met with Conclusion 189 threats of violence. The anonymity and mass of online responses to Criado-Perez not only made her fearful, but injected a sense of worry, fear, resistance and futility into the movement as a whole. It might be possible to effect change when British institutions are involved, but how can cultural change be effected when masses of trolls respond to a woman on the £10 note with violence. The case of Mustafa is similarly troubling for what it reveals about intersectional feminism. It is quite clear that feminists of different identities will receive very different treatments, depending on how they are understood and encoded by wider society. Mustafa also demonstrated how the tactics of feminism are now disappointingly being wielded against feminism. Hate speech, exclusionary practices and silencing are being attributed to those femin- ists who are most on the margins, creating an environment in which it is nearly impossible to challenge more hegemonic voices. In addition to this range of feelings, all of which seem to crash against one another, as opposed to working in harmonious dialogue, there are the mass affects created through the existence of another wave of feminism.
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