The Third Wave Book Summary
Walda Caesar
Since the dawn of the internet, the waves come ever faster, but are just as disruptive each time they hit. Steve Case takes a look at the advent of the connected world and explains what the third wave of the Internet Age will bring, and how you can benefit from it.
This last wave will be shaped by the Internet of Things, in which connection is unlimited: cars, homes, cities, nature. Your couch will be able to talk to your bookshelf, your fridge to your grocery store, your car to the one driving next to you and the crop field to the harvester.
It is common to speak of three phases of modern feminism; however, there is little consensus as to how to characterize these three waves or what to do with women's movements before the late nineteenth century. Making the landscape even harder to navigate, a new silhouette is emerging on the horizon and taking the shape of a fourth wave of feminism.
The first wave of feminism took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, emerging out of an environment of urban industrialism and liberal, socialist politics. The goal of this wave was to open up opportunities for women, with a focus on suffrage. The wave formally began at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 when three hundred men and women rallied to the cause of equality for women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (d.1902) drafted the Seneca Falls Declaration outlining the new movement's ideology and political strategies.
The second wave began in the 1960s and continued into the 90s. This wave 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. The New Left was on the rise, and the voice of the second wave was increasingly radical. In this phase, sexuality and reproductive rights were dominant issues, and much of the movement's energy was focused on passing the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing social equality regardless of sex.
Whereas the first wave of feminism was generally propelled by middle class, Western, cisgender, white women, the second phase drew in women of color and developing nations, seeking sisterhood and solidarity, claiming "Women's struggle is class struggle." Feminists spoke of women as a social class and coined phrases such as "the personal is political" and "identity politics" in an effort to demonstrate that race, class, and gender oppression are all related. They initiated a concentrated effort to rid society top-to-bottom of sexism, from children's cartoons to the highest levels of government.
One of the strains of this complex and diverse "wave" was the development of women-only spaces and the notion that women working together create a special dynamic that is not possible in mixed-groups, which would ultimately work for the betterment of the entire planet. Women, due whether to their long "subjugation" or to their biology, were thought by some to be more humane, collaborative, inclusive, peaceful, nurturing, democratic, and holistic in their approach to problem solving than men. The term eco-feminism was coined to capture the sense that because of their biological connection to earth and lunar cycles, women were natural advocates of environmentalism.
The third wave of feminism began in the mid-90's and was informed by post-colonial and post-modern thinking. In this phase many constructs were destabilized, including the notions of "universal womanhood," body, gender, sexuality and heteronormativity. An aspect of third wave feminism that mystified the mothers of the earlier feminist movement was the readoption by young feminists of the very lip-stick, high-heels, and cleavage proudly exposed by low cut necklines that the first two phases of the movement identified with male oppression. Pinkfloor expressed this new position when she said that it's possible to have a push-up bra and a brain at the same time.
This is in keeping with the third wave's celebration of ambiguity and refusal to think in terms of "us-them." Most third-wavers refuse to identify as "feminists" and reject the word that they find limiting and exclusionary. Grrl-feminism tends to be global, multi-cultural, and it shuns simple answers or artificial categories of identity, gender, and sexuality. Its transversal politics means that differences such as those of ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, etc. are celebrated and recognized as dynamic, situational, and provisional. Reality is conceived not so much in terms of fixed structures and power relations, but in terms of performance within contingencies. Third wave feminism breaks boundaries.
On top of the internet infrastructure created by the first-wavers, the second-wavers developed a system with capabilities previously unforeseen and hardly conceivable. AOL may have been Google, Facebook, and Amazon combined, but it also was all of them in embryonal phase.
This microbook explains what these skills are and helps you understand what you need to do to be a pioneer in this third Internet era. If you want to succeed in an entirely connected world, come read that microbook with 12min!
In 1963, Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, which argued that women were chafing against the confines of their roles as wives and mothers. The book was a massive success, selling 3 million copies in three years and launching what became known as the second wave of feminism. Inspired by the civil rights movement and protests against the Vietnam War, second-wave feminists called for a reevaluation of traditional gender roles in society and an end to sexist discrimination.
In addition to holding powerful men accountable for their actions, fourth-wave feminists are turning their attention to the systems that allow such misconduct to occur. Like their predecessors in the feminist cause, they also continue to grapple with the concept of intersectionality, and how the movement can be inclusive and representative regardless of sexuality, race, class and gender.
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The first wave in the late 19th-century was not the first appearance of feminist ideals, but it was the first real political movement for the Western world. In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft published the revolutionary Vindication of the Rights of Woman. In 1848, about 200 women met in a church. They came up with 12 resolutions asking for specific rights, such as the right to vote. Reproductive rights also became an important issue for early feminists. After years of feminist activism, Congress finally passed the 19th amendment in 1920 and gave women the vote. This was almost 30 years after New Zealand became the first country where women could vote.
"About". Accessed August 5, 2020.; "Rebecca". Writing in Paradise. Accessed August 5, 2020.; "Black White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self". Amazon. Last modified 2020. Accessed August 5, 2020.; Brunell, Laura, and Elinor Burkett. "Feminism." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Last modified March 5, 2020.; "Handout 1, Rebecca Walker, 'I Am the Third Wave.'" Teach Rock. Accessed August 5, 2020.; Heywood, Leslie. The Women's Movement Today: An Encyclopedia of Third-wave Feminism: A - Z. Westport: Greenwood, 2006. Accessed August 5, 2020.; Kveller Staff, and Molly Tolsky. "Five Minutes with Rebecca Walker." Kveller. Accessed August 5, 2020.; Penguin Random House. "Rebecca Walker." Penguin Random House. Last modified 2020. Accessed August 5, 2020.; Temple, Colleen. "Q&A with Bestselling Author Rebecca Walker on Motherhood, Identity + Courage." Motherly. Accessed August 5, 2020.; Third Wave Fund. Accessed August 5, 2020.
This first wave was almost entirely focused on connecting to the internet and a new online world. It was all about the technology and having access. Case explains that in a funny way, the third wave is going to almost mirror the first, but instead of focusing on connecting to the internet, the third wave will focus on connecting the internet to absolutely everything and every part of our lives.
Case believes that there are many companies and industries who were not dramatically affected by the internet revolution. He believes that they will be sitting back feeling pretty confident. However, even these companies who seemed to be immune to the first to waves are due a bit of an upset in the third wave.
Case explains that a well-established company is more likely to struggle with the impending third wave than a new startup. Reason-being, people working in a startup are constantly thinking about the future, they are constantly making adaptions and amendments in order to reach their goals. Whereas, a well-established company is more likely to sit back and be content with the products and services they already offer. Case points out that this is dangerous and they are putting themselves at risk if they underestimate the approaching future and the potential hurdles.
Case explains that the way these well-established companies need to work in order to get through the wave is to focus on hiring new innovators, give them the freedom to tell them where the future is going and how they can adapt to survive.
Case believes that impact investing is going to be a byproduct of the impending third wave. Impact investments describes the act of accumulating profit while providing to society. Case explains that a successful startup will acknowledge the benefits of giving back to society and establish that as a critical element of their business. This is going to have great appeal with the customers, everyone is looking to improve the world in one way or another, and knowing that their purchase or investment is helping others will be a big motivator.
Case leaves us with a few final suggestions; he wants everyone to set their expectations and ambitions higher than ever before. Case encourages us to take action and to be fearless, to persevere and create something you can be proud of. Finally, Case wants us to remember that the third wave brings the internet of everything, the fact that every little area of our lives is due for an uprising, so tap into that and use it to your advantage.