To start, many theorists want to say that feminism started with Sappho in 570 BCE, Christine de Pisan in 1434, Mary Wollstonecraft in 1797, and Jane Austen in 1817. All of these women advocated for dignity, intelligence, and the basic human potential of the female sex. Those women in their own right are feminists, but first-wave feminism took place in the late nineteenth century. This is when the efforts of women have formed an identifiable and self-conscious movement. To give an exact date would be in 1848 when the first women's rights convention was held. First-wave feminists were influenced by the collective activism of women in various other reform movements. The goal of this wave was to open up opportunities for women, with a focus on suffrage. First-wave feminism was also interlaced with abolitionist movements. Victorian America saw women acting in very "un-ladylike" ways (public speaking, demonstrating, stints in jail), which challenged the "cult of domesticity." Once women gained the right to vote in 1920 this wave ended.
The second-wave of feminism began in the 1960s and for many is hard to tell when it ended. Some even believe that we are still in second-wave feminism today. But second-wave feminism probably ended in the 90s. Second-wave feminism unfolded in the context of the anti-war and civil rights movements and the growing self-consciousness of a variety of minority groups around the world. At this time, the new left was on the rise, and so second-wave feminism grew increasingly radical. The dominant issues of this wave were sexuality and reproductive rights, and much of the movement's energy was focused on passing the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing social equality regardless of sex. This phase began with protests at the Miss America pageant in 1968 and 1969. Feminists said this was a "cattle parade" that reduced women to objects of beauty, dominated by a patriarchy that sought to keep them in the home or dull, low-paying jobs. In retaliation, radicals in New York held their beauty pageant and crowned a sheep as the winner. The power of second-wave feminism was diminished because of the other social movements happening at the time. Feminists reacted by creating women-only organizations. Second-wave feminism is extremely theoretical, based on a fusion of neo-Marxism and psychoanalytical theory.
The difference between the first wave and the second wave is that the first wave was for middle-class, Western, cisgender, white women. The second wave drew in women of color and developing nations, seeking sisterhood and solidarity. They initiated a concentrated effort to rid society top-to-bottom of sexism, from children's cartoons to the highest levels of government.
Third-Wave feminism started in the mid 90s. It was informed by post-colonial and post-modern thinking. In this wave, many constructs were destabilized, including this notion of "universal womanhood". An aspect of this wave that baffles the other waves is the re-adoption by young feminists of lipstick, high heels, and cleavage, which became proudly displayed by low-cut necklines. These are things the second wave of feminism identified as male oppressors. The girls are defining feminine beauty for themselves as subjects, not as objects of a sexist patriarchy. They developed a rhetoric of mimicry, which appropriated derogatory terms like "slut" and "bitch" to subvert sexist culture and deprive it of verbal weapons. The women have also used the internet to create only women's spaces on the internet for the "cybergirls" and "netgirls". This permits everyone to cross gender boundaries, which disrupts the notion of gender and allows experimentation and creative thought. Most of the third wave even refuses to think of themselves as feminists. Third-wave feminism breaks the boundaries of feminism.
Fourth-wave feminism is on the horizon and is not yet defined. Many people think that the second and third wave feminism just fizzled out, but it didn't. They achieved their goals of more women in positions of leadership in higher education, business and politics; abortion rights; access to the pill that increased women’s control over their bodies; more expression and acceptance of female sexuality; general public awareness of the concept of and need for the “rights of women” (though never fully achieved); a solid academic field in feminism, gender and sexuality studies; greater access to education; organizations and legislation for the protection of battered women; women’s support groups and organizations; an industry in the publication of books by and about women/feminism; public forums for the discussion of women’s rights; and a societal discourse at the popular level about women’s suppression, efforts for reform, and a critique of patriarchy. This perceived silence was a response to the successful backlash campaign by the conservative press and media, especially against the word feminism and its purported association with male-bashing and extremism. Instead of being in the public eye second wave transferred to the world of academia. Now they are moving back into the public eye. Fourth wave is focusing on problems like sexual abuse, rape, violence against women, unequal pay, slut-shaming, the pressure on women to conform to a single and unrealistic body-type and the realization that gains in female representation in politics and business. The emerging fourth wave is not just a reincarnation of their second-wave grandmothers; they bring to the discussion important perspectives taught by third-wave feminism.