How do you counter charges of essentialism, of grouping everyone into one overgeneralized category?
Because of pieces I’ve written, I have been accused of essentialism, but I agree there is no essence of women. “Woman” is a historical construction. What do you see as the differences between the Second and Third Waves? When did the Third Wave start? It gets defined as people who were born between, like, 1970 and 1975…. Oh, born then. Well, I think the Third Wave is much more women who have grown up without some of the more overt forms of discrimination, without the employment pages being divided into men and women. In some ways, discrimination is more subtle. I also think there has been space for Third Wave feminists to develop different goals–it’s no longer the basic stuff. The second generation of feminists faced really fundamental things. For example, after I got married, in 1965, I applied three times for a credit card, and each time they “lost” my application. I finally talked to someone who said they didn’t issue credit to married women, but they would give my husband a card
