6.4
Fourth Wave Feminism
Overall it is evident that when con-
sidering millennials push for female
bodies to be portrayed correctly with-
in marketing materials, the astounding
praise Missguided have been given for
their “keep on being you” campaign,
the push for tiny tot feminism and the
current day zeitgeist, there will and
furthermore perhaps is, already in
motion a drive for fourth-wave fem-
inism. A focus group was conducted
for this study, it found that 3 out of
the 4 participants involved, who are
all millennials said they see a future to
feminism. Anna Lindley states, “fem-
inism needs to battle problems like
the Harvey Weinstein and Westminster
sexual assaults as long as these prob-
lems exist so should feminism” (Lind-
ley, 2017). See appendix 8 for full focus
group transcript. Thus, this primary
research demonstrates female millen-
nials supporting feminism in order to
battle social issues.
This movement will be particularly
apparent within millennials and trickle
down to generation Z. Online activism
will be a key driver in pushing fourth
wave feminism as it is a vital part of
communication for women. Martha
Rampton explains how fourth wave
feminism can arise “Part of the reason
a fourth wave can emerge is because
these millennials’ articulation of
themselves as “feminists” is their own”
(Rampton, 2015). This shows that
millennials take on feminism is not
influenced from the grandmothers of
feminism, such as Emily Pankhurst or
Jane Austen. It is in fact a new innova-
tive take on old school feminism.
The characteristics of fourth wave
feminism are extremely complicated
as many of these wave riders find the
word “feminism” hard to articulate,
because of the history attached to
the word such as the radical feminist
movement. However, at this moment
in time general characteristics of the
fourth wave riders “speak in terms of
intersectionality—feminism is part of
a larger consciousness of oppression
along with racism, ageism, classism,
abelism, and sexual orientation”
(Rampton, 2015). The fourth wave of
feminism shaped by millennials, can
be interpreted as a new consumer
tribe, FEMillennials. For marketing to
become successful in marketing to
females it needs to identify FEMillenni-
als demands. In conclusion, the fourth
wave addresses modern day social
issues not just based on female issues.
The fourth wavers will continue to
fight under the name feminism be-
cause of its shock factor, however the
movement is far more than this now.