Introduction: Defining the Third Wave

Since the early 1990s a set of literature which identifies a ‘third wave’ of feminism has been developing, often provoking lively debates about where feminism has been and where it is going. The concerns examined in this literature and the problems that are identified are linked to the second wave of Western feminism associated with the 1970s and 1980s. However, in this literature the case is often made that feminism has reached a key turning point in its development and that questions must be asked about its applicability to contemporary gender relations and transformed late modern social conditions. Third wave feminist assessments of the state of feminism therefore aim to offer a corrective to established tenets, so that feminism may have greater resonance with women’s lives today. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.