Naomi Wolf's "Fire with Fire: The New Female Power and How It Will Change the 21st Century" is arguably the first major publication in Third Wave feminism. The women of the third wave, unlike their mothers, knew about and experienced the feminist movement from early childhood. We are 20- and 30-somethings now, and are gathering force as the backlash of the Reagan decade fades.
But because the times are different now than in the 1960's, the old strategies of the second wave will not be as effective for us. Indeed, many women from this generation have already rejected the legacy of second-wave feminism, saying, "I'm not a feminist, but-- [insert pro-woman opinion]." Feminism needs a makeover, brought about by fresh young thinkers such as Wolf. "Fire with Fire" analyzes and explains why so many women feel out of touch with feminism, then offers up a snazzy new version that fits the 90's: power feminism. Readers learn why old-fashioned "victim feminism" no longer serves their needs, and how modern power feminism can jumpstart the women's movement and carry us forward through another wave of advances. This book rates a solid +.
The book opens with Wolf's main theme: the "genderquake" of 1991 whose epicenter was Anita Hill's testimony in the Senate hearings prior to Clarence Thomas' appointment to the Supreme Court. As she spoke out against Thomas' alleged sexual harrassment, it became clear that this incident marked a turning point in America's gender relations: women's protests about sexual harrassment mattered. Suddenly Judge Thomas' treatment of women was under serious scrutiny. Questions were being asked that were laughable or even unthinkable only a few years prior. Women everywhere-- across political, social, and religious lines-- perceived that their concerns could become national news.
Wolf harnesses that perception and shapes it into a vision of a world where women use their power-- not abuse it, simply use it as we deserve to. To set the stage, Wolf summarizes the current state of women's self-image and views of male "superiority." Drawing heavily on examples from popular magazines, national polls, and TV shows, she shows that women no longer see men as "natural" wielders of power (a concept that persisted even through second wave feminism); instead, we are turning toward images of female power, prestige, and wealth.
Such a female psychology is out of step with second-wave feminism's reflexive recoil from capitalism, shunning of power, and denial of pleasure, Wolf argues. The second section of the book chronicles the opening of the gap between feminism and so many American women. While the majority of women support the goals of feminism, a majority of those will not call themselves "feminists." What went wrong? Wolf describes how feminism has come to represent a rigid agenda, and that many women feel that taking on the feminist label somehow requires them to sign a dotted line below a frightfully long list of "correct" opinions. These opinions cover highly divisive issues such as abortion, affirmative action, homosexuality, and pornography-- no wonder so many balk at the feminist name!
The problem is that although feminism has never been monolithic, it has trickled through the filter of the 1980's backlash as such. In the early days of the second wave, many strands of feminism coexisted in happy abundance, but through the leaner Reagan years almost all died out except what Wolf calls "victim feminism." A creation of the academics cloistered in their Women's Studies Departments, this form of feminism does not speak to the average American woman.
Wolf supports a return to the days of heterogeneity when all women didn't have to agree in order to be called "feminist." We hurt our own movement when we quibble about who is "really" a feminist and refuse to acknowledge pro-woman efforts that don't happen to square with our exact political ideas. A vibrant, vital women's movement must necessarily contain some division and conflict. We are past the conservative 1980's when we all had to stand together in order to repel the forces against us; we have the luxury of diversifying without becoming fragmented. She says, "We should never [glorify consensus] at the expense of challenging and testing our reality through dissent and debate.... If criticism of a movement amounts to disloyalty, that movement has set up the conditions of its own fossilization." (pp. 109-110).
Wolf devotes the third section to contrasting victim feminism with the more down-to-earth, practical power feminism. While victim feminism focuses on women's subjugation at the hands of men and glorifies martyrdom, power feminism affirms women's equality with men (not inferiority or superiority), celebrates our achievements, and encourages women to assume the power and responsibility they deserve as men's equals in the world. Wolf shows how overemphasis of victimization leads women to stagnation at exactly the moment when they should confidently use the power that they have. She says in effect, "Instead of complaining, let's solve the problems! Instead of feeling guilty for earning a decent income, let's use the money to help other women."
Particularly revealing is her long description of the conditions in a rape crisis center where she worked for a while. The walls were drab, the chairs uncomfortable, the lighting stark. A lack of money? No, simply a pervading attitude of victimization, as if it would be "inappropriate" to have a cheerful, comfortable shelter. Wolf rails against this philosophy: who more deserves a little comfort than a woman who has been raped? Surely if anyone would appreciate a vase of flowers and a cup of gourmet coffee, it would be these women. Even the staff were lifeless; they held tedious meetings in which everyone tried not to say anything vaguely negative, lest they upset the "sisterhood." Wolf would have preferred a little honesty, efficiency, and forward drive instead of all this false agreement and wheel-spinning. Eventually the rape crisis center smothered in its own self-pity and had to close.
Rejecting the victim feminism notion that power, money, and aggression are undeniably "male" traits that women should not sully themselves with, Wolf acknowledges women's "dark side"-- given the same opportunities as men, we would behave in much the same way (and, she argues, this isn't necessarily a bad thing). She favors the development of a "vision of femininity in which it is appropriate and sexy for women to use power." (p. xvii). Indeed, it is crucial that we do so in order to take advantage of the new opportunities afforded by the genderquake. This is not the moment to hesitate, but to step boldly forth.
Unfortunately, not enough women have realized just how powerful we are. The book is full of statistics indicating that, due to the advances of the second wave, women's position in society truly has been revolutionized to the point where we have the tools we need to succeed. An important part of Wolf's message is to wake up women and energize them to use this newfound power. These paragraphs summarize her view:
Recently, women became comfortable with telling their opponents to "get it" about their victimization, but American women are slower to get it about their might. The lesson of the genderquake is this: Women of all races are not a minority... We can cast seven million more votes than men... Women don't need to beg anyone for a ride. We can't even hope to stay safely in the copilot seat. Whether we are ready to face it or not, in electoral terms, women are flying this plane. Our opponents have understood that fact better than we have ourselves, and their control of events depends only on how long they can keep us from grasping this.
...When I argue that women have enormous unclaimed power, I am not pretending that women are not harmed and held back in evey way, or that "everything's all right now" so we can relax and stop fighting. I am saying rather, that if we understand the events of the recent past and act on that understanding, and if we undergo a sea change in our own self-image, matters will become increasingly "all right."... My hope is that if we interpret the genderquake rightly, we won't stop fighting. We will fight more intelligently and elegantly... When I say that the genderquake has potentially changed forever what it means to be female, I mean this: It is no longer necessary for women to ask anyone's permission for social equality. (pp. 51-52). [emphasis in original]
The final section, "What Do We Do Now? Power Feminism in Action," provides practical guidelines for implementing power feminism in the 1990's and beyond. Wolf's goal is to create a new feminist movement that women can once again feel part of, to replace the outdated, exclusionary victim feminism. She envisions a heterogenous movement, characterized not by unity of political beliefs or some idealistic concept of "sisterhood," but by unity of action: women acting as agents of change in their own self-determined lives, with all the inevitable victories, pleasures, and-- yes-- conflicts that will ensue.
I noticed one way in which power feminism is already at work. Wolf talks about creating women's "power groups," loose organizations of women which serve simultaneously as fora for affirming achievements and as an "old girls' network" for connecting women. At power group meetings, women are encouraged to share triumphs, not bemoan defeats. They can talk freely about money, and what can and should be done with it. They can meet women in careers they might like to pursue and help younger women make their mark in the world. As I read the characterization of power groups, I realized that this is exactly what email "womanspaces" are, albeit virtually. Womanspaces are private email lists of 5 to 100 women in which members post messages for the group to read and respond to. They serve as founts of information, sources of solutions for all manner of problems, and a place to celebrate victories. Several of my friends have found jobs through one of these lists. It seems Wolf was ahead of her time with this suggestion.
"Fire with Fire" is a breath of fresh air in feminist literature, which is all too often heavy and impractical. Wolf pulls examples from "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" and "Vanity Fair" instead of obscure sociology papers. She liberates women from the idea that feminism is something you have to study and learn about to really understand, showing instead how women support the women's movement by their everyday actions. She invites us to remake feminism as "fun, easy, and lucrative" instead of angry and bitter.
Wolf neatly anticipates and addresses one major objection to her thesis, namely, that power feminism might "make women into men." Critics have charged her with adopting the attitude "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," thus tactily supporting the evils of male hierarchy, political games, and economic underhandedness. Why send the message-- through our acquisition of practical, real-world power-- that such behavior is acceptable? Feminism should be challenging those values.
Wolf responds by inviting readers to look beyond the surface. Instead of seeing the power structures in society as "male" and immutable, she claims we see them as male because they are primarily used by men. As more women realize that they have economic and political clout and act on it, the structures of power will change to incorporate a female face (and it is up to us to determine the nature of that face through our uses of power). We can transform the world not through battles against the male "system," but through infiltration and slow conversion to an agenda that serves both men and women. We don't have to beat 'em because we can join 'em (or, perhaps we have already beat 'em!).
However, I can see a remaining objection to Wolf's ideas: They still don't reach enough "real women." Power feminism spoke to me, but, like Wolf, I am white and educated. The jobs and lifestyles available to me can be convincingly interpreted through the lens she supplies in "Fire with Fire," but I wonder how women leading very different lives would react. She indeed makes an effort to broaden feminism from its second-wave academic rut, and partly succeeds, but I think few lower-class or rural women would identify with her vision. Even middle-class women of color might feel that her priorities were skewed. The fact that a serious attempt to popularize feminism still suffers some narrowness serves to emphasize all the more strongly how secluded academic feminism has become.
And so books like "Fire with Fire" are increasingly important. The more challenges we see to the old-style feminism, the better we can reshape the movement to fit this era and continue to carry us forward. Wolf has taken a large step with this book, daring to speak out against the second wave, setting a precedent for other critics to follow. Obviously many women have a problem with feminism since they no longer feel comfortable with the word "feminist." It's high time we invigorated the movement instead of letting it wither away. Wolf has taken her own advice and come up with some real-world solutions to the "feminism problem." It is our job to read her words, then form our own opinions and act on them. Only then can we start the crucial, give-and-take, active process of developing the third wave of feminism.
Copyright © Kim Allen 2000
