--- title: "Fourth-Wave Feminism | Intro to Gender Studies" description: "Fourth-wave feminism is the current wave of feminist activism, centered on intersectionality, digital activism, and social justice in Gender Studies." canonical: "https://fiveable.me/introduction-gender-studies/key-terms/fourth-wave-feminism" type: "key-term" subject: "Intro to Gender Studies" unit: "Unit 5" --- # Fourth-Wave Feminism | Intro to Gender Studies ## Definition Fourth-wave feminism is the current wave of feminist activism in Intro to Gender Studies, shaped by social media, intersectionality, and campaigns against gender-based violence. ## What It Is Fourth-wave feminism is the current phase of feminist activism studied in Intro to Gender Studies, and it is defined by digital organizing, intersectionality, and a wider push for social justice. It usually gets linked to the early 2010s, when social media made it easier to spread feminist ideas, document harassment, and build public pressure fast. What makes this wave different is not just the internet. It treats gender inequality as connected to race, class, sexuality, disability, and trans identity, so it does not assume one universal women’s experience. That is why you will often see fourth-wave feminism discussed alongside movements for LGBTQ+ rights, body positivity, consent education, and anti-racist activism. A big part of fourth-wave feminism is how it turns personal experience into public activism. Hashtags like #MeToo and #TimesUp let people share patterns of abuse, workplace harassment, and silencing in a way that is visible, searchable, and collective. In class discussions, this often comes up as an example of how online spaces can change what counts as political action. This wave also responds to limits in earlier feminist movements. Some earlier waves focused more heavily on the concerns of white, middle-class women, or treated gender as separate from race and sexuality. Fourth-wave feminism pushes for a broader lens, asking who gets included, whose stories are believed, and which bodies are treated as acceptable. In Intro to Gender Studies, the term is less about one organization and more about a pattern of activism, messaging, and coalition-building. When you see fourth-wave feminism in a reading or lecture, think about how technology, identity, and social justice all come together in the same movement. ## Why It Matters Fourth-wave feminism matters in Intro to Gender Studies because it shows how gender politics changed with digital media and intersectional thinking. It gives you a real-world example of how feminist ideas move beyond books and protests into posts, hashtags, videos, and online campaigns. The term also helps you interpret current debates about gender roles and power. If a class reading discusses consent campaigns, trans rights, or online activism against harassment, fourth-wave feminism gives you the framework for why those topics are grouped together instead of treated as separate issues. It is especially useful when you are comparing historical shifts in Western gender roles. Earlier periods often centered women’s legal rights or workplace equality in a narrower way. Fourth-wave feminism expands that picture by asking how gender works differently across identities and institutions, including media, workplaces, classrooms, and social platforms. You can also use it to read conflict inside feminism itself. Questions about inclusion, representation, and whose experiences get centered often show up in essays and discussions, and fourth-wave feminism is the term that names those tensions without reducing feminism to one single viewpoint. ## Connections ### intersectionality Fourth-wave feminism leans heavily on intersectionality because it treats gender as connected to race, class, sexuality, and other identities. Instead of assuming all women face the same barriers, it asks how those barriers change depending on who you are and how institutions treat you. That makes intersectionality one of the main tools for analyzing fourth-wave texts and campaigns. ### digital activism Digital activism is one of the main features of fourth-wave feminism, since social media helps spread feminist messages quickly and publicly. Hashtags, reposts, and viral testimony can pressure institutions in ways that older protest forms could not. In Gender Studies, this connection matters when you trace how online visibility becomes social and political power. ### Me Too movement The Me Too movement is one of the clearest examples of fourth-wave feminism in action. It shows how survivors used shared language and online platforms to expose sexual harassment and violence at scale. In class, it often comes up as a case study for collective testimony, public accountability, and the power of naming abuse. ### [third-wave feminism](/introduction-gender-studies/key-terms/third-wave-feminism) Third-wave feminism is often treated as a precursor to fourth-wave feminism. Both challenge narrow ideas of womanhood, but the fourth wave puts more emphasis on social media, viral activism, and public accountability online. Comparing them helps you see how feminist strategies changed as media technology and identity politics changed. ## On the AP Exam A discussion post, essay prompt, or short-answer question may ask you to identify fourth-wave feminism in a social movement, media campaign, or reading passage. Your job is to point out the signs, especially intersectionality, online organizing, and attention to sexual harassment, trans rights, or body positivity. If you are given an article, tweet thread, documentary clip, or case study, connect the activism to digital platforms and collective voice. A strong answer explains not just that feminism is present, but how the movement uses visibility, shared testimony, and social media pressure to challenge gender inequality. In a compare-and-contrast question, you might distinguish it from earlier waves by showing its broader inclusion and online style of action. ## Key Takeaways - Fourth-wave feminism is the current phase of feminist activism and is strongly shaped by social media and online organizing. - Its biggest idea is intersectionality, which means gender has to be analyzed with race, class, sexuality, and other identities in mind. - Hashtags like #MeToo and #TimesUp show how this wave turns personal testimony into public action. - The fourth wave expands feminism beyond only women’s rights to include trans rights, LGBTQ+ issues, body positivity, and anti-harassment work. - In Intro to Gender Studies, this term helps you see how activism changes when technology and social justice goals come together. ## FAQs ### What is fourth-wave feminism in Intro to Gender Studies? Fourth-wave feminism is the modern wave of feminist activism shaped by digital media, intersectionality, and social justice goals. In Gender Studies, it usually refers to online organizing, anti-harassment campaigns, and broader inclusion of LGBTQ+ people and people of color. ### How is fourth-wave feminism different from third-wave feminism? Both waves challenge narrow ideas about gender, but fourth-wave feminism is more tied to social media and viral activism. It also places more emphasis on public accountability, trans rights, and intersectional analysis. Third-wave feminism is often discussed as an important precursor rather than the same thing. ### What are examples of fourth-wave feminism? Common examples include #MeToo, #TimesUp, online body positivity campaigns, and digital activism against sexual harassment or trans exclusion. In class, these examples usually show how people use platforms like Twitter or Instagram to build pressure and share lived experience. ### How do I use fourth-wave feminism in an essay? Use it when a reading, film, or real-world case shows feminism happening through online networks, intersectional politics, or collective testimony. A good essay move is to explain what changed, who is included, and how digital platforms shape the movement’s message and reach. ## Related Study Guides - [5.1 Evolution of gender roles in Western societies](/introduction-gender-studies/unit-5/evolution-gender-roles-western-societies/study-guide/FkQ5vTD0EumvVOc6) ## About This Document Canonical Fiveable pages are available as Markdown at the same path plus `.md`. - [llms.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms.txt): index of Fiveable's sections and URL patterns - [llms-full.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms-full.txt): complete subject and unit listing - [MCP server](https://fiveable.me/mcp): call Fiveable as tools instead of fetching pages (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp`) - [MCP server for AP teachers](https://fiveable.me/mcp/teachers): a teacher's classes, assignments and AP-rubric grading (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp/teacher`) ## Structured Data ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-gender-studies/key-terms/fourth-wave-feminism#resource","name":"Fourth-Wave Feminism | Intro to Gender Studies","url":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-gender-studies/key-terms/fourth-wave-feminism","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-gender-studies/key-terms/fourth-wave-feminism#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-07-03T02:22:43.931Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"Intro to Gender Studies Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-gender-studies/key-terms"},"author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://fiveable.me/editorial#content-team","name":"Fiveable Content Team","url":"https://fiveable.me/editorial","parentOrganization":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/#organization"},"member":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amanda DoAmaral","sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/adoamaral"]},{"@type":"Person","name":"Becky Bahr","sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-bahr-b52743132"]}]},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-gender-studies/key-terms/fourth-wave-feminism#term","name":"fourth-wave feminism","description":"Fourth-wave feminism is the current wave of feminist activism in Intro to Gender Studies, shaped by social media, intersectionality, and campaigns against gender-based violence.","url":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-gender-studies/key-terms/fourth-wave-feminism","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"Intro to Gender Studies Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-gender-studies/key-terms"}},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is fourth-wave feminism in Intro to Gender Studies?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Fourth-wave feminism is the modern wave of feminist activism shaped by digital media, intersectionality, and social justice goals. 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