Different Wavelengths: Studies of the Contemporary Women's Movement (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Different Wavelengths: Studies of the Contemporary Women's Movement Marcia Hernandez (bio) Reger, Jo , ed. Different Wavelengths: Studies of the Contemporary Women's Movement. New York: Routledge, 2005. 320 pp. In academic circles the debate over whether or not a new wave of feminism exists has largely been replaced with how women, and increasingly men, are actively engaged in the third wave. Feminism is now also part of the mainstream dialogue regarding women's rights, although the range and diversity of ideologies represented under this umbrella term are often reduced to simple stereotypes in popular culture. Outside of gender studies and women's studies departments there is limited understanding that feminism as a social movement, an academic field of study, or a political identity, represents a multilayered and complex way to understand and respond to social inequality. Since it is through popular culture that most contemporary students learn about feminism, it is not a surprise that many resist identifying with the label as a personal political ideology and lack a clear understanding of how the changes brought by the second wave affect them. Jo Reger's Different Wavelengths: Studies of the Contemporary Women's Movement provides an engaging read for students who have come of age enjoying the benefits of feminism yet are unsure how to interpret what feminism means for their own lives. Different Wavelengths offers a refreshing blend of chapters featuring personal observation, textual analysis, and theoretical arguments. As Leila Rupp and Verta Taylor state in the introduction, "we need to understand where we've been and where we're going." Taken as a whole, the chapters in Reger's text provide a response to this challenge. The book is easily organized for readers into separate sections as replies to often-cited criticisms of the second wave, ranging from exclusivity to out-of-date activist techniques to its distance from contemporary culture. In the first section, "Who Is Third Wave? Issues of Diversity," the authors explore various forms of diversity within the contemporary feminist movement, challenging the notion that only white, middle class, middle-aged women are engaged. Florence Maatita's chapter on Chicana feminism explores the ways in which young Latinas negotiate their race and ethnic [End Page 241] identity as well as their gender identity while finding a racial and feminist voice in college. Her respondents remind readers that personal and political identities are complicated, fluid, and often based within a specific context of family, culture and peer groups. Karen Schilt's "The Punk White Privilege Scene" argues that despite the rhetoric of inclusion within the third wave, white, middle-class women remain fully ensconced within a privileged position due to resources at their command and racial privilege. Together Schilt's and Maatita's chapters offer a wonderful contrast for students to analyze the accomplishments of second-wave feminism and the challenges that remain for feminists in the third wave. The second section, "Mothers and Daughters? Relations between the Second and Third Waves," deals with the ways in which feminists connect with each other in efforts at social justice yet also disconnect due to differences in social location, practice, and ideology. Stephanie Beechley's article, "When Feminism is Your Job: Age and Power in Women's Policy Organizations," offers an empirical analysis of what for some young feminists may be an all-too-familiar description of life in an established women's organization. Astrid Henry's chapter titled "Solitary Sisterhood" may also touch a personal chord with students who struggle to engage with feminism, unsure of where or how they fit into it. The stance of many third-wave pioneers to declare feminism an individualistic, "on-your-own-terms" personal identity created a multitude of opportunities for young women to engage in activism. Students may enjoy debating Henry's various points regarding how diversity and individuality are framed according to third wavers. Section three, "What Brings Change: Tactics of the Third Wave," offers an interesting selection for students to understand contemporary strategies for social change. Most students will be familiar, at least in passing, with the themes in Reger and Story's chapter on campus productions of the Vagina Monologues. Although the Monologues offer...