Fractured Currents: A Critical Reading of the Wave Metaphor in A Black Feminist Statement and the Riot Grrrl Manifesto

Abstract

This thesis critically examines the feminist wave metaphor, the dominant historiographical framework used to structure the evolution of feminist thought and activism, through a comparative analysis of two foundational feminist manifestos: A Black Feminist Statement (1977, second wave) and the Riot Grrrl Manifesto (1991, third wave). While the wave metaphor has been important for organizing feminist history, it has also been widely critiqued for oversimplifying feminist discourse, reinforcing generational divides, and creating rigid distinctions between theory and activism. This study explores how these manifestos both affirm and traverse the boundaries of their assigned waves. Drawing on Iris van der Tuin’s concept of “jumping generations” (2009) and Rosi Braidotti’s text Nomadic Subjects (2011), the thesis critiques the linear, temporally fixed structure of the wave metaphor and its prescriptive influence on feminist knowledge production. Further, it employs feminist epistemological frameworks, including, feminist empiricism, standpoint theory and social constructionism, to analyse how these manifestos function not only as calls to action, but also as tools of situated knowledge production. By investigating how A Black Feminist Statement and the Riot Grrrl Manifesto complicate the assumptions of the wave metaphor, this thesis aims to contribute to a more dynamic, relational understanding of feminist history, one that emphasizes continuity and coalition, and strengthens feminism’s ability for activistic political engagement. In doing so, it challenges the limitations of the wave model and advocates for an alternative framework that allows feminist theory and activism to evolve without being constrained by fixed spatiotemporally positions or exclusionary narratives. Ultimately, this research aims to contribute to ongoing efforts to rethink feminist historiography in ways that are more inclusive, intersectional, and in line with the complexities of feminist practice.