If you’ve spent any time on TikTok or Twitter—now X—in the last decade, you’ve seen it. Maybe it was a hashtag like #MeToo or #BlackLivesMatter, or perhaps a viral video of a "Girlboss" being "de-influenced." This isn't just random internet noise. It is the backbone of fourth wave feminism.
Feminism isn't a monolith. It’s more like a series of seismic shifts. The first wave was about the vote. The second was about the workplace and reproductive rights. The third? That was the 90s—think riot grrrls, lipstick, and reclaiming "girly" things. But around 2012, something changed. The internet stopped being a hobby and became our reality. That is when the fourth wave arrived.
What is Fourth Wave Feminism exactly?
Basically, fourth wave feminism is a movement defined by technology, intersectionality, and a refusal to stay quiet about "private" harassment. It's loud. It’s digital. It’s often very, very angry.
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Unlike previous iterations, this wave doesn't rely on getting a physical newsletter or meeting in a basement. It happens in real-time. Someone posts a story about a bad date that was actually an assault, and within hours, ten thousand people have shared similar stories. That speed is the hallmark. It’s also deeply focused on intersectionality, a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw back in 1989 but brought into the mainstream by this specific wave. It means you can't talk about women’s rights without talking about race, class, disability, and gender identity.
The Digital Street Corner
Before the fourth wave, if you were harassed on the street, you told your friend. Maybe you felt shitty about it all day. Now? You tweet about it. You call out the harasser. You find a community of people who say, "Yeah, that happened to me too at that same intersection."
The movement leverages the "call-out culture" (for better or worse) to hold powerful people accountable. Think about the Harvey Weinstein reporting by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. That didn't just happen in a vacuum. It was fueled by a digital environment where women were finally being believed because the sheer volume of their collective voices was too loud to ignore.
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The Core Pillars: Intersectionality and Body Positivity
If the third wave started the conversation about "having it all," the fourth wave realized that "all" looks different if you're a Black woman, a trans woman, or a woman living with a chronic illness.
- Intersectionality is non-negotiable. If your feminism only helps white, middle-class, cisgender women, the fourth wave says you’re doing it wrong. It’s about dismantling systems of power, not just getting a seat at the table.
- Body Autonomy. This goes beyond just "choice." It’s about the "body positive" and "body neutral" movements. It’s about the rejection of the male gaze and the fight against "fatphobia" in medical settings.
- The End of "Locker Room Talk." What used to be dismissed as "boys being boys" is now identified as "rape culture."
Honestly, it’s a lot to keep track of. Critics say the fourth wave is too fragmented or too focused on "cancel culture." But supporters argue that this is the only way to actually break down structures that have existed for centuries. It's not about being polite anymore.
Real-World Impact: More Than Just Hashtags
Is it all just clicking "like"? No.
Take the Women’s March of 2017. That was one of the largest single-day protests in U.S. history. It was organized largely through Facebook. Or look at the legislative changes regarding non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in the wake of the #MeToo movement. States like California passed laws specifically to stop companies from using NDAs to hide sexual harassment.
We also see it in the workplace. The gender pay gap is being attacked not just through general "awareness," but through demands for radical transparency. Apps and websites where employees share their actual salaries have stripped away the mystery that allowed companies to underpay women for decades.
Why People Get It Wrong
A huge misconception is that fourth wave feminism hates men. It doesn’t. In fact, writers like bell hooks (who influenced this wave heavily even if she preceded it) argued that patriarchy hurts men too by forcing them into rigid, often violent roles.
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Another mistake? Thinking it’s "over" because a hashtag stopped trending.
Social media trends are just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath is a massive shift in how we educate our children about consent, how we view domestic labor, and how we define "professionalism." The fourth wave is less about a single law being passed and more about a total cultural reset. It’s messy. It’s decentralized. There is no one "leader" of the fourth wave, and that’s exactly why it’s so hard to stop.
Navigating the Future
We are currently seeing a "backlash" phase, which happens with every wave. From the rise of "tradwife" content on social media to the rolling back of reproductive rights in various parts of the world, the fourth wave is currently in a defensive crouch in some areas while pushing forward in others.
The "online" nature of the movement is its greatest strength and its biggest weakness. It allows for rapid mobilization, but it also leads to burnout and echo chambers. The challenge for the next few years is moving that digital energy into sustained, local political action that survives the 24-hour news cycle.
Practical Steps for Engaging with the Movement
If you want to actually understand or participate in what's happening right now, don't just follow a hashtag.
- Diversify your feed. If everyone you follow for "feminist" content looks like you, you’re missing the "intersectional" part of the fourth wave. Look for creators like Blair Imani or Ericka Hart who provide deep context on how different identities overlap.
- Support local legislation. The big viral moments are great, but the fourth wave’s real work happens in school board meetings and state legislatures where policies on everything from Period Poverty to workplace discrimination are decided.
- Audit your own environment. Look at your workplace or your social circle. Who is being spoken over? Whose work is being credited to others? The fourth wave is about the "micro" as much as the "macro."
- Listen more than you post. The internet makes us want to have an immediate "take." Sometimes the most "fourth wave" thing you can do is hold space for someone else’s lived experience without centering yourself.
The fourth wave is still being written. It’s a living, breathing, and often glitching movement that reflects the digital age we live in. It’s not just about what happens on a screen; it’s about how that screen changes what happens in our homes, our offices, and our streets.
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