Rethinking feminist waves

This chapter critically explores the boundaries of the feminist wave metaphor. Given the emergence and expansion of a virtual marketplace, modem-day activism has become increasingly premised on connective rather than collective action. The authors identify two themes in which this binary is evidenced; namely, in new forms of activism and the expansion of feminist subjectivities. Drawing from literature on organizational theory and brand publics, the authors introduce an alternative way to conceptualize contemporary feminism through four identification modes. These may be appropriated and discarded by subjects depending on the specific context or situation. Conceptualizing contemporary feminism in this way furthers understandings of the multifaceted ways individuals relate and connect their self-narratives to multiple brands of feminism. This chapter concludes by suggesting avenues for future research that encourage scholars to think beyond the restrictive wave metaphor to identify new political strategies that could facilitate social change on a more macro level.