Contradiction as Agency: Self-Determination, Transcendence, and Counter-Imagination in Third Wave Feminism

Abstract

This essay examines the contradictions often found in third wave feminist texts that function as strategic choices that may shape, foster, and enhance an individual's sense of agency. Many third wave feminists utilize contradiction as a way to understand emergent identities, to develop new ways of thinking, and to imagine new forms of social action. Agency, then, stems from the use of contradiction as a means of selfdetermination and identity, of transcendence of seemingly forced or dichotomous choices, and counter-imaginations of a better future.The summer 1997 issue of Hypatia explored numerous aspects, ideas, and positions of third wave feminism. In this special issue, authors explored the difficulties in defining exactly what third wave feminism is, noting that it emphasizes multiplicity, ambiguity, and difference (Alfonso and issues relating to identity politics (Ferguson 1997). Many of these scholars examined third wave feminist books such as Rebecca Walker's edited collection, To Be Real (1995), and Barbara Findlen's anthology, Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation (1995). Several of these early third wave feminist writers, including the books' editors, discussed how young women (and men) felt alienated by second wave feminism, lacked a sense of belonging to or understanding of feminist ideals and theories, and did not feel included in

Diagnosing Dr. House: Codependency, Agency, and Third Wave Contradiction

“…Focusing more on individual narrative as the driving force of the movement, third wave literature rarely attends specifically to the question of codependency or addiction, save in particular women's stories. Renegar and Sowards (2009) argued that women exemplify third wave characteristics within these narratives, particularly in how they grapple with contradictions. Third wave feminists often embrace behaviors and images that their second wave mothers rejected, but also cling to the essential tenets of feminism such as the need for equality, eminent value, and self-determination (Baumgardner & Richards, 2000;Dicker & Piepmeier, 2003).…”

“…To identify and address these themes, the author conducted a critical feminist analysis of popular culture using Renegar and Sowards's (2009) theoretical approach as a guide (see Dow, 1990;Marwick, 2010, for related methodological approaches). This process included the examination of each episode of the first six seasons of the series, notation of messages communicating relational codependency as herein defined, and juxtaposition of those behaviors with ''traditional'' roles for men and women in relationships.…”

“…The texts representing these ideals may appeal to (typically younger) people who may or may not identify as feminists but who nonetheless have experienced forms of feminism. Yet these variations compose the ''third wave,'' which espouses a new feminism, or rather, feminism that encourage and accept inconsistency and contradiction as part of the larger goal of accepting a person for their humanity (Renegar & Sowards, 2009). Continued injustice and violence across the globe reminds each generation that while the ideals of feminism may receive acceptance, the enactment thereof does not necessarily follow.…”

“…In discussing the third wave's perspective, attention is paid to the idea of contradiction as agency (Renegar & Sowards, 2009), which then informs the analysis of three of the television series' supporting characters, Dr. Allison Cameron, Dr. Lisa Cuddy, and Dr. James Wilson. Finally, implications of the objectification of the characters suggest the perhaps contradictory relationship between popular culture and third wave feminism.…”

The Rhetoric of Choice and 21st-Century Feminism: Online Conversations About Work, Family, and Sarah Palin

“…And we are allowed to shirk the uncomfortable responsibility of questioning the choices made by other women, including our family and friends. Recent work discusses the intersection between agency, politics, contradiction, and self-expression in third-wave feminism (see Snyder-Hall, 2010;Renegar & Sowards, 2009). However, it is worthwhile to problematize how politicizing the personal may paralyze discourses surrounding gender equality and women's rights as it ''relieve[s] us of the burden of being consistently feminist ourselves'' (Ferguson, 2010, p. 250).…”