Introduction
Feminism is the philosophy of believing that women have equal rights on political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights as men. This entails philosophies, doctrines, theories and movements that concern and try to fight the oppression of the women. Women in the past have rose against their oppression of not being given equal rights as to their counterparts, the men. From the time of the cave man, women have been considered to be the inferior sex, being given roles of lesser value compared to the men. Women were considered to be caretakers of families. They were to stay home, care for their husbands, bear children and do home chores. With the rise of industrialization, came waves of women activists fighting for equal rights. These revolutions are divided into three waves (Nicholson, L. J. 1997).
The first wave of feminism took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, given birth by the rise of industrialism and urbanization. In the Daily Mail, 22nd January, 2011 article “How feminists tried to destroy the family”, this was the epitome of socialism as we know it, liberalization and the rise of today’s world. This was initiated to open up opportunities for women in socio-economical aspects. This began in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention in which more than 300 participants both men and women saw the need to empower women through fighting for equal rights as men. The likes of Sojourner Truth lobbied for equality in politics and economical fields giving rise to cult of domesticity (Nicholson, L. J. 1997).
The second wave rose up in the 1960’s to the 1990’s. This wave brought about the civil rights movements and radical issues such as sexuality and reproductive rights. This focused on the passing of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution of America ensuring women social equality unbiased on sex. This faces got its roots with protests against the American beauty pageant at Atlanta in 1968 and 1969 claiming that the competition degraded women as objects of beauty. Radical groups arose like the Redstockings who at one time crowned a sheep as Miss America publicly disposing make- up, high heels and other women wear. Having its ideals from neo- Marxism and psycho- analytical theories, it create further critique on capitalism, patriarchy, heterosexuality and roles of women as mothers and wives. As much as the first struggle entailed white women, the second wave integrated the black woman and the lower class strata in the economic spectrum. The class of thought in this wave included several factors. Marriage was already considered just a piece of agreement in a paper. Marriage was taken as oppressive to the women. Having more than one sexual partner was not punishable and birth control was taken as a blessing (Nicholson, L. J. 1997).
The third wave arose in the 1990’s. This was in the era of generation X who had been born in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The Star, 11 June, 2012 talks about why women should stand for what they want. This population had grown in the saturation of the media and the verge of socio- economic diversity of the modern world. They were already enjoying the fruits of the first and second wave of feminism such as equality sex rights among others but still tend to criticize the previous waves. Many of the daughters of the second wave had risen to power socially, politically and economically. Views however, contrasted with the other waves (Henry, A. 2004).
Madonna is a famous singer who had her premiere in the past century selling over 300 million records and considered to be one of 25 most powerful women of the 1900’s. This was during the second wave where women had refused to be taken as sex symbols banishing make- up and other beauty enhancers. To the second wave women, Madonna is taken as the betrayer of women. She is taken as the sole object of which women at that time considered male oppression. Her sexual identity, controversial dressing revealing her essence of womanhood is gravely opposing what the women of that time were fighting. Madonna was the sex icon of the past century, performing in hot pants and bras only to mention the least (Hernández, D., & Rehman, B. 2002).
In today’s era, many singers have come up to take the roles of Madonna. Rihanna, Pink and Lady Gaga have been in the forefront of magazines and social media displaying lipstick feminism. These are women with the power and authority to be feminists and at the same time engaging in public displays of sexuality. This is the stretch of feminism that the second wave could not approve of. A woman who can wear lipstick which they were against and at the same time be a feminist. These focuses on giving women a positive look on sexuality, pornography and sexual deviance without considering repercussions simply because it is their lives they are living. Taking control of their sexuality through the way they live is what Madonna expressed every day of her limelight life. The Madonna copy cats however stretch feminism to a whole other level. Lady Gaga is seen as the master mind of the new submission of the male to render women as the superior sex. In New York Times, 24th July 2011; Ladies have a problem, her music videos are displays of her ruling over the men, sitting on them and showing them that they are subordinates. Her appearances in award shows is seen with her wearing heels designed as male genitalia is a clear sign of a start of the fourth feminism wave. This wave focuses on putting the men in their ‘rightful’ place, under the women. This goes overboard as the women purposely expose their bodies configuring themselves as giving audience no room for criticizing them as long as it was out of their own consent. Lady Gaga seems to be lost in her own time as she tries to outdo what Madonna did in the past, the mark she imposed in today’s world (Heywood, L., & Drake, J. 1997).
Heywood, L., & Drake, J. (1997). Third wave agenda: Being feminist, doing feminism.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Hernández, D., & Rehman, B. (2002). Colonize this!: Young women of color on today's
feminism. New York: Seal Press.
Henry, A. (2004). Not my mother's sister: Generational conflict and third-wave feminism.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Nicholson, L. J. (1997). The second wave: A reader in feminist theory. New York: Routledge.
