Feminism in the 1990s

By: Jennifer Baumgardner, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Jennifer Baumgardner

Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Feminism in the 1990s was a movement unique to its time but also deeply connected to earlier movements for women’s rights and gender equality. Often referred to as the “third wave”, the feminism of the '90s was a reaction to both the incomplete accomplishments of earlier waves and the contradictory - yet popular - belief that feminism was no longer necessary.

Beginning with a brief overview of the various goals and phases of feminism from the early 19th century onward, writer and feminist theorist Jennifer Baumgardner takes you on a tour of a tumultuous decade full of complex issues and contradictions through the lens of the feminist movement and the ways it shaped - and was shaped by - the closing years of the 20th century. From abortion rights to ‘zines, Feminism in the 1990s explores the ways third-wave feminism reacted to popular culture while simultaneously being co-opted by it.

As you will see, feminism in the 1990s was about more than “girl power”. It was about politics on scales both personal and global as well as a reaction to the rising power of commodification and persistent sexism in everything from film and music to sports and education. These lectures also look closely at the weaknesses that plagued feminism’s attempts at inclusivity and the many ways the movement has branched off to address these issues, including the vital concept of intersectionality and the power of anger to inspire change.

Every wave of feminism encountered derision and backlash from those devoted to preserving the status quo, and the feminism of the 1990s was no different. Despite opposition from politicians, traditionalists, and even earlier feminists, you will discover how the movement for women’s equality became stronger and louder than ever before, often led by a new generation raised with feminist ideals who wanted to build a better, more equitable world.

©2020 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

Detailed history of Feminist movements

Outstanding listen! I will start it over to catch things I may have missed when tuned in to a critical point. If doing research on the topic, I recommend this as a foundation.

entertaining and deeply informative

even more entertaining if you were an 80s or 90s teen. author really captures and unpacks all the nuance with this period of feminism which is, in my opinion, far more complex than the earlier waves.

Enlightening

I truly enjoyed an Audiobook from Audible Feminism in the 1990s by Jennifer Baumgardner, The Great Courses, narrated by Jennifer Baumgartner.
Enlightening, inspiring, factual.

good survey, exepectedly self-congratulatory

An easy listening history of recent American feminism by an infotmed feminist activist. Don't expect a deep discussion of theory. It was a bit jarring to hear abortions almost celebrated as a feminist rite of passage rather than as a medical procedure that deals with problems more happily avoided to begin with.

Feminism is not dead.

Enlightening and comprehensive. Worth a listen if you ever wondered why we have Women and Gender Studies.

Important historical take

This is an insightful look at the history of the feminist movement, especially in the 1990s. It was insightful to explain the different "waves" of feminism, how they were affected by events of the time, and what they changed - including the effects more women in congress started to have. It's ridiculously short, so it seems strange to include in The Great Courses series, but it's still though provoking. Seems like it should be a couple chapters in a much larger work though.

Informative

I enjoyed learning things I didn't know. I'd always considered myself a feminist because I believed women were equal to men. I had no idea there were so many levels to it and such a wide swatch of women who considered themselves to be so. Good listen, great narration/course.

Pretty much what I expected l, good overview of theory

I have had very little exposure to feminist thought and wanted to understand better the thinking that is influencing so much of this increasingly “woke” world. Baumgardner did a very good job of providing an overview of the 3 feminist “waves” and how they related to one another and evolved over time.

An interesting take on feminism

I was interested in digging into the history of the feminism, the movement and also just what it means now and how it slowly morphed into what we see together.

A Self-Congratulatory History of Rich White Ladies

Should probably start this after such a confrontational title by saying I am a proud and unapologetic feminist and have been for over 30 years. I'm not some right wing troll trying to review bomb; my star rating could have been much harsher considering my beef with this production. The main reason I chose to listen to this program is because my experience of 90s feminism as a teenager was largely one of cynical commodification and corporate recuperation of the female body and sexual liberation. In many ways it seemed that, especially in the latter half, 90s feminism had been tailored specifically to make it easier for men to get laid while helping women feel good about their role in that. I was wondering what an authority on the subject would have to say about that end of things. The 90s was after all where the "fighting f---toy" tv/film trope rose to prominence. I'm going to have to find my answers for all of that elsewhere. These are concepts which I felt were barely addressed in passing. This course fails on a lot of levels.

I'm not saying it's not intersectional AT ALL, I believe the lecturer is genuinely trying to be (which makes it worse in some ways), but the ableism and near total lack of class awareness are cringe worthy for sure. The lecturer seems unable or unwilling to see why neoliberalism specifically (which IIRC is not mentioned by name in spite of coming to prominence in the 80s and defining the 90s in large part) or capitalism more generally might conflict with feminism in total which leads into why she frames any opposition to Hillary Clinton as misogyny. Yes, much of the -conservative- reaction to HRC was/is based in misogyny, but there are loads of valid criticisms (particularly on the left) to be made which the lecturer casually glides by. She spends an inordinate amount of time talking about Madonna and countless Yale grads yet somehow completely misses women like Roseanne and Brett Butler who were feminist icons of the working class in the 1990s. As someone who grew up in poverty in the shadow of the nation's capitol, I felt completely invisible to the likes of this lecturer then and now. She also really drops the ball on abortion and the role of the Christian Right in opposition to feminism. She even *mentions* Phyllis Schlafly casually, but leaves that thread completely unpursued. It's a fairly easy thread to follow and a very crucial one so it was doubly frustrating to hear her keep whiffing on the motivations of those folks. You can't effectively combat something that you fundamentally misunderstand after all.

Here's the thing: it's fine as a very VEEERRY broad overview that is very VEEERRY friendly to upper and middle class white ladies but you can learn more about feminism from just about any self-identifying feminist podcast than you will in this "course". I imagine an actual scholar (which the lecturer is not nor do they claim to be in fairness) would be much harsher in their assessment. If the other Audible exclusive Great Courses are anything like this I would recommend googling podcasts on whatever subject (and confirming those podcasts list legitimate sources like The Dollop, You're Wrong About, or Behind the Bastards all do) instead, because this was pretty disappointing end to end. I understand we're not supposed to expect the same quality from this series as we do of larger courses taught by qualified professors but a competent editor could have cut this offering in half without losing a stitch of information which begs the question; why did we only half explain so much when we could have just retread less?

What rubbed me the wrong way above all else though was the recurring self-congratulatory tone. What you ask for with this course is a solid knowledge base of feminism in the 1990s but what you get is largely a personal scrapbook of what this lecturer was personally involved in or peripherally aware of in what she at least seems to understand (not that it changed anything) is a fairly limited bubble. She mentions a few POC, I believe she mentioned one disabled person, she only seems to mention the working class by accident once or twice. It's all Riot Grrrls, Madonna, Hillary Clinton, and more Yalies than you can shake a stick at. Most criticisms of the third wave are buzzed by or hand-waved away, internal controversies are largely minimized and side-stepped, and the framing of the third wave's reverberations are frequently suspect. The most critically reflective Baumgardner gets is in regards to the rift between some feminists and the larger LGBTQ+ community and even then it fell quite short. The last line of the final lecture is literally "You're welcome." Like good lord, lady. Read the moment.