Feminism's third wave: Surfing to oblivion?

"Third wave" feminists, raised in the wake of an established feminist movem ent as well as a strong anti-feminist backlash, are beginning to define the ir own feminist agenda. "Third wave" feminists are exploring the contradict ions in their lived experience as feminists, and examining the intersection of feminism with their other identities. Young feminists' self-expression has been characterized (by feminists and non-feminists) as "self-obsessed" and "divorced from matters of public purpose" (Bellafante, 1998, p. 57 & 60 ). In this essay, we provide an alternative view of "third wave" expression , seeing young feminists' honesty in their struggles with various identitie s as a resurgence of grassroots activism; a return to "the personal." In th is essay, we call for an inter-generational dialogue between second and thi rd wave feminists, and encourage feminist therapists to support and validat e young feminists.