Toril Moi’s (1987) distinctions of feminine, female and feminist:

Feminist = a political position

Female = a matter of biology

Feminine = a set of culturally defined characteristic

The first wave of feminism was around 1848 to the 1920’s, which included the Suffragette and Suffragists movements where women campaigned for basic rights such as an education.

The second wave of feminism came later, around halfway through the 20th century. Changes such as the facilitation of of birth control and divorce, the acceptance of abortion and homosexuality and the abolition of hanging and theatre censorship arose during this period (around the 60s-70s) due to cultural counter movements in society.

Third wave feminism is different from feminism in the 60s, yet still similar. It tries to embrace pluralism (having multiple identities) which is shown in the Maybelline advert, and these plural identities are know as intersectionality.

According to Barker and Jane (2016), third wave feminism, which is regarded as having begun in the mid-90’s has the following recognisable characteristics:

An emphasis on the differences among women due to race, ethnicity, class, nationality, religion, individual and do-it-yourself (DIY) tactics, fluid and multiple subject positions and identities, cyberactivism, and the reappropriation of derogatory terms such as ‘slut’ and ‘bitch’ for liberatory purposes and sex positivity.

Raunch culture is the sexualised performance of women in the media that can play into male stereotypes of women as highly sexually available, where its performers believe they are powerful owners of their own sexuality.

Fourth wave feminism is very similar to third wave, and it is a rather grey area as to where third ends and fourth begins. Overall, fourth involves the use of modern online social platforms to spread and increase the influence of these ideas.