feminism

In the age of what many believe to be the “third-wave” of feminism, one that challenges the notion of what it even means to be “female” or “feminist” and has expanded to include those who may not or could not have been part of the first or second waves of feminism, it becomes clear that one of the major differences between the older waves of feminism and the one we are in now (third-wave) is exemplified in the attitude towards pornography. Here, I use the term in a very broad sense since so many feminists define it differently and I mean it to include both sex/sexual work such as prostitution and stripping as well as the pornographic movie industry.

 When I close my eyes and think “feminism,” I don’t think as a feminist; That is to say, I don’t close my eyes and think as I did before. Instead, I see color, texture, and light. I see the physical materialization of a movement, of a driving and ever-present force. The struggle to make sense of these colors and textures is one that I feel significantly shapes my definition of the summation of values held by feminists all over the world. I find that I cannot separate thoughts of past and current female oppression from the bright flashes of red gritty paint that manifest themselves in my mind’s eye. I cannot read a text about identity and womanhood without sculpting the female identity in my thoughts.

Louisa “Weezie” Lauher

November 21, 2007

Critical Feminist Theory

Paper Draft

Bryn Mawr Boys

Transgender Feminism at Bryn Mawr College

Introduction of Goals