Overview
My chosen gender justice movement is the Third Wave of Feminism Movement. This movement aims to bring justice for not only ciswomen, but also women of color and trans and gender non-conforming people. Additionally, it is community-led meaning that those who are being directly affected by discrimination are leading the movement to bring about change. This movement is currently happening, but it began in the 1990s. This movement stemmed from the Second Wave of Feminism movement which originated in the 1960s and lasted until the 1980s. The wave movements were originally a solely feminist movement; however, as times have changed, the movement has evolved to include more issues as well as groups of people. They aim to help end all types of discrimination, which is primarily why I chose this movement. It shows that gender justice is not only brought about by advocating for ciswomen’s rights, but also advocating for queer women as well as women of color. This movement stemmed from the case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, in which abortion was very much restricted and did not allow women to make their own decisions. Rebecca Walker, the founder of the movement, created the movement in January 1992 in Brooklyn, NY, so that she could give a voice to young women to fight for their rights. However, Third Wave is a national movement. Frankly, I am very glad that the Third Wave movement is national, because of how relevant and important it is to today’s society. It is very interesting to consider the history behind the Wave Movements of Feminism and how they can still be applied today. The movement has been very much impacted by organizations that are supporting different aspects of feminism and it is through a united force of cis-women, trans-women, and women of color that changes will be made.
Organizations
National Abortion federation (naf)The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is dedicated to help women who are going through abortions with support and protection against anti-abortion violence. This organization started in 1977 after Roe v. Wade and since then, they have reached out to other countries: Colombia and Mexico, and stationed clinics there. They helped pass the “Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act,” which gives women a safe and protected environment when entering an abortion clinic. It also protects women from the protests that are held outside of abortion clinics by pro-life supporters, making them feel uncomfortable about their right to choose abortion. Additionally, they helped create more education programs for healthcare providers about abortion, so that they could better understand the importance of abortion and how crucial it is to keep the women safe. Lastly, they began a hotline (1-800-772-9100) for women in need of services and/or a professional to speak with. These seemingly simple policies truly make a difference in the care and protection of women and help end discrimination against pro-choice.
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black lives matterThe Black Lives Matter Movement is one of the most recognizable movements today and although it is not truly an organization, it still supports the Third Wave Movement. For example, its mission is to help empower people of color and end race-related violence, which is similar to the Third Wave Movement’s mission to end all types of feminist discrimination, especially for women of color. This movement began in 2013; however, its rise to prominence occurred after the death of Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2014. Recently, they have been advocating for releasing rapper 21 Savage from jail and on February 12, 2019, they rallied in Atlanta, Georgia for his release. This movement was started by three women of color: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, who knew that the injustice of Martin’s death was the breaking point for the African-American community. Although feminism and advocating for women’s rights is not its main focus, Black Lives Matter still encompasses the Third Wave Movement by fighting to end race-related discrimination.
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transjusticeThe Trans Justice Funding Project’s mission is to help support trans people and advocate for trans rights through funding other trans advocacy groups. Additionally, the organization is led by trans people, which helps make the group more approachable and relatable to its target group. Since it is a funding organization, they do not have specific events that they host; however, they help fund the events, as can be seen in the image above. I wanted to include an organization that is focused on funding fellow advocacy groups, because these organizations are behind the scenes, like the sound crew of a theater production, and really help these groups be able to host the events that they do. Without this organization, trans advocacy groups would not be able to lobby or make as many changes as they currently can. The Trans Justice Funding Project helps implement the Third Wave Movement by giving other groups the money they need in order to be successful and this is what makes this organization extremely important.
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Advocates
Ben fransisco MaulbeckBen Fransisco Maulbeck is a gay Puerto-Rican man, who is currently the president of Funders for LGBTQ Issues, and was perviouly working for Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP), serving as the Vice President. He has also worked to fund “education non-for-profits” in his home country of Puerto Rico. He attended Swarthmore College and Harvard Kennedy School, earning a degree in public policy. He joined the Third Wave Movement primarily because he believes that feminism is an issue that encomapsses many different topics such as gender and sexuality; he knows that people working together to make a change is a successful way of making our world better; and he highly respects the movement’s director, Rye Young. His own personal experience as a Puerto-Rican gay man has a lot to do with his association with the Third Wave Movement. He was bullied as a kid for being gay, as well as, having to deal with religious tension, since he grew up Catholic. He intends to help feminism be successful, and thus helping to prevent the discrimination that he grew up with.
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aimee thorne-thomsenAimee Thorne-Thomsen is a Latina ciswoman who was born in New York and she attended both Yale University and Baruch College to earn her Bachelor of Arts and Masters in Public Administration. She has been a part of many different organizations such as “the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice,” “the Pro-Choice Public Education Project (PEP)”, and “the Women’s Media Center’s She Source” to name a few. Her work in this wide array of movements enticed her to join the Third Wave Movement, due to its cross-inclusivity. Additionally, she received a lot of criticism growing up for wanting to do things that were only for boys, and because of this rejection, she realized from an early age that society genders non-gendered things and forces people to follow those norms. She wants to fight against these norms and make it socially acceptable for girls to do ‘boy’ things and boys to do ‘girl’ things.
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kiyomi fujikawaKiyomi Fujikawa is a mixed queer trans-femme who is from Seattle and advocates to end gender related violence, which she has been doing since 2001. Being a queer, mixed, Asian woman definitely affects how she grew up, due to the large amount of discrimination there are with children. She has been apart of other organizations as well: “Grantmakers United for Trans Communities (GUTC)” “Trans Generations at Borealis Philanthropy, and the Queer Network Program Coordinator at API Chaya.” Through these organizations, she has been able to help represent women of color as well as trans women and queer women in order to bring equality to our society. She currently works as a Co-Director of the Third Wave Fund, which makes the Third Wave Fund not only be led by a queer man, but also have key members who are also queer. Her work to end gender-related violence is very important and can definitely help impact the Third Wave Movement in a positive way.
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Thinking Anthropologically about gender
Gender, in the Third Wave of Feminism Movement, is a prominent factor and inspires its members to fight for equality of all types: defining gender as not only a social construct but also that it intersects with other relations of power. For example, gender is a social construct as was seen in the main advocates’ childhoods. They grew up having to be told that they could not be themselves due to the gender norms which forced men to be masculine and women to be feminine. Their experiences with this discrimination defines gender as a social construct and this movement is trying to end this discrimination. Additionally, society is very transphobic due to its norms and the Third Wave Movement helps represent them and advocate to end the violence and discrimination. As for women of color, the Third Wave Movement also includes fighting racism and advocating for their rights. Overall, the Third Wave Movement aims to end discrimination of different facets and by doing so changing today’s societal constructs. As for gender intersecting with other relations of power, the Third Wave Movement’s fundamental structure is based upon the fact that feminism is not one straight line; it is interconnected with other types of discrimination: pro-life, racism, and transphobia. This intersectionality, as we talked about in class, is what makes gender justice so complicated and the Third Wave Movement encompassing all of these factors under the umbrella of feminism and gender justice is a very important message that society needs to follow. Gender Justice is not only about advocating for cis-women’s rights, but also the rights of other women as well, and I believe that the Third Wave Movement’s progressiveness and fervor to fight for justice will make it successful in today’s society. It is like we discussed in class, the more united we are, the more of a change we will be able to make.
Works cited
“About.” Black Lives Matter, blacklivesmatter.com/about/.
“About NAF.” National Abortion Federation, 8 Feb. 2020, prochoice.org/about-naf/.
“Aimee Thorne-Thomsen.” HuffPost, HuffPost, www.huffpost.com/author/aimee-thornethomsen.
“BEN FRANCISCO MAULBECK.” Funders for LGBT Issues, Funders for LGBT Issues, lgbtfunders.org/staffer/ben-francisco-maulbeck/.
“Ben Francisco Maulbeck - Third Wave Fund Activist Donor.” Third Wave Fund, thirdwavefund.org/ben-francisco-maulbeck.html.
“Home.” Third Wave Fund, thirdwavefund.org/index.html.
“Kiyomi Fujikawa.” Kiyomi Fujikawa | Funders Concerned About AIDS, FCAA, www.fcaaids.org/people/723/.
“Kiyomi Fujikawa • Groundswell Fund.” Groundswell Fund, groundswellfund.org/kiyomi-fujikawa/.
“Meet Our New Co-Directors!” Third Wave Fund, 3 May 2018, thirdwavefund.org/transition.html.
“Trans Justice Funding Project.” Trans Justice Funding Project, 16 Oct. 2019, www.transjusticefundingproject.org/.
“About NAF.” National Abortion Federation, 8 Feb. 2020, prochoice.org/about-naf/.
“Aimee Thorne-Thomsen.” HuffPost, HuffPost, www.huffpost.com/author/aimee-thornethomsen.
“BEN FRANCISCO MAULBECK.” Funders for LGBT Issues, Funders for LGBT Issues, lgbtfunders.org/staffer/ben-francisco-maulbeck/.
“Ben Francisco Maulbeck - Third Wave Fund Activist Donor.” Third Wave Fund, thirdwavefund.org/ben-francisco-maulbeck.html.
“Home.” Third Wave Fund, thirdwavefund.org/index.html.
“Kiyomi Fujikawa.” Kiyomi Fujikawa | Funders Concerned About AIDS, FCAA, www.fcaaids.org/people/723/.
“Kiyomi Fujikawa • Groundswell Fund.” Groundswell Fund, groundswellfund.org/kiyomi-fujikawa/.
“Meet Our New Co-Directors!” Third Wave Fund, 3 May 2018, thirdwavefund.org/transition.html.
“Trans Justice Funding Project.” Trans Justice Funding Project, 16 Oct. 2019, www.transjusticefundingproject.org/.