Understanding the Complexities of Contemporary Feminist Activism: How the Lives of Older Women Activists Contest the Waves Narrative

This paper troubles dominant understandings of North American feminist history as a series of successive, ideologically opposed, generational “waves.” While several scholars have critiqued this metaphor, few have grounded their critiques in the lives, perspectives, and organizing strategies of women involved in feminist activism. This paper draws on research with older Canadian women activists involved in the Grandmothers Advocacy Network (GRAN) to call into question three existing critiques of the waves metaphor: its implicit ageism, its simplistic categorizations, and its assumed generational discord. In so doing, it illustrates how women’s lives and mobilizations are far too intricate for this framework. This paper thus contributes to understanding the complexities of contemporary feminist activism, particularly as these complexities relate to the contributions of older activists.