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Feminism And First Wave Feminism

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Feminism is defined by Bell Hooks as a movement and ideology intended to end sexist oppression. The recession and intensification is classified as occurring in waves, and this characterization parallels the wave feminist movements tend to crash over society. For the scope of this paper, the focus will be centered on American feminism and the conditions associated with and imposed upon the participants. Although the first wave of feminism was considered complete with the granting of women’s suffrage, feminism has evolved with the times to encapsulate the issues facing the women of the time. While the fundamental premise of each feminist wave is the desire to overcome sexist oppression and gender-based inequalities, intergenerational conflicts exist between the “new” and “old” feminists. Feminism is plagued by opposing values as opponents believe it is too extreme, yet advocates believe it is not extreme enough. The internal and external strife leads to an aversion among the younger generation when assuming the identity. These conflicts are counterproductive to the renunciation of misogyny as they divide the movement meant to unify women. Deborah Siegel’s Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild examines the chasms present in the intergenerational debate of feminism as they defined the feminist movement. Second wave feminism was focused on broadening the debate presented by first wave feminist. While first wave feminists sought to overcome legal

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