Right now , our culture is going through a feminist backlash. Which is scary considering that feminism is that radical notion that women are people. I�m sure most children growing up in the 80`s growing up in the 80`s and 90`s might think that feminism is a bad word. Many people attach an angry, man hating, deviant connotation to the word. That is not feminism, feminism is simply the movement to gender equality. This is probable due the radical feminist group THE FEMINIST that started in New York at the dawn of Women�s lib. The group has been defunct since 1973. The group rebelled against woman exploiting pornography like that in playboy and Hustler. The march for reproductive rights and were considered the most radical of all the earlier feminist groups. The only allowed a third of their members to have husbands or live with men, they were called hostages. It seems a bit absurd that this group has become the stereotype of a feminist; if the same were true about civil rights activist the stereotype of them would be a new black panther. the case.

"In the most basic sense, feminism is exactly what the dictionary says it is: the movement for social, political, and economic equality of men and women. Public opinion polls confirm that when people are given this definition, 67 percent say they agree with feminism. We prefer to add to that seemingly uncontroversial statement the following: feminism means that women have the right to enough information to make informed choices about their lives. And because "women" is an all encompassing term that includes middle-class white women, rich black lesbians, and working-class straight Asian women, an organic intertwining with movements for racial and economic equality, as well as gay rights, is inherent to the feminist mandate. Some sort of allegiance between women and men is also an important component of equality. After all, equality is a balance between the male and female with the intention of liberating the individual."( www.Feminist.com) It�s not just activism. There are feminist biologists, writers, and sociologists the feminist perspective is spread in a lot of varied fields. When the feminism is applied to these many fields it is called Women�s studies.

I can recall vividly attending a college class in my second semester at Bergen when my extremely liberal professor, a woman, began to rally against the feminist. I can recall her saying things to the effect of "they (the feminist) ruined it for women" she continued that " In her day to get by a woman could sneak a doctorate through the backdoor." Me being the woman I quickly stood and shouted, "I have every right to the darn (cleaned up for class use) front door, and I�ll be darned if anyone will make me sneak through the backdoor like a dog." I got a few hoots and "You go girl"s but after wondered if I helped to debunk or further the stereotype of this angry feminist. Then I realized, yes feminist ARE angry, the same way African Americans are angry, the same way the native Americans are angry, and gays are angry. The way any group that has been shoved into the minority box, the mischievous "other" is angry. We are all groups of people that are pushed to the side in this culture and we are sick of it. Not only did I figure this out but also that we had a right to this anger. Feminist like other "minorities" simply ask to be able to go through the front door. No only to go through but to go through it without having our sex, race, or anything else determine how far we will get once we step through.

This is a manifesto, nay a womanifesto for the next generation. Now more than ever when our reproductive rights are constantly in jeopardy, the clocks seem to be turning back on the suffrage movement. We the third wave of feminist will step up and be heard. We will get degrees, hold office, raise their children (daughters and sons) to ignore gender roles. We will challenge others to reject any culture that treats them as decoration or like a child. And when we the third wave feminist see something wrong, We will be unafraid to get your voice across to the masses. We will not be afraid to look someone in the eye, anyone, anywhere, and speak our minds. We will get educated, become lawyers, doctors, teachers and mothers. We will remember that being independent does not stop when you fall in love, nor is it defined by how many guys you can �dis� or how much money you make. We will respect the hardships of our predecessors as we go through our own. We will not exploit the movement for personal gain. We will respect our genetic responsiblities and make sure that other respect it as well. We will make sure that we are treated with respect from medical providers , employers and places of worship. We will not be society's scap goats. We will fight to end violence agianst our siters around the world and at home. We will not stand idle in the face of violence.We will make a future of equality and hope for the generations to follow us.