Women's Studies and Its Discontents

In: Dissent: a journal devoted to radical ideas and the values of socialism and democracy, Band 43, S. 67-75

Abstract

Three waves of women's studies in the US are examined. The first wave, beginning in the nineteenth century & inseparable from the movement of women to obtain access to political institutions, pushed for access to educational institutions & the domain of reason. The first wave was supplemented by the second wave in the middle of the twentieth century, which increased the push for access to eductional institutions & sought to create ideas, norms, & public spaces for women. Reduction of overt discrimination, awareness of gender issues such as sexual harassment & need for child care, & more equitable employment were some of the achievements of the second wave. The third wave of women's studies is propelled by the current generation of women & emphasizes the integration of women & gender issues in eductional curricula & the formulation of a set of values for women that are not merely based in disdain for patriarchy. D. Generoli