We're Waving, Not Drowning

A handy guide to 3rd wave feminist resources for the ambitious Gen-Y student

Dar Williams is a folk musician known for her storytelling prowess. You are

currently listening to "As Cool As I Am," wherein the narrator sings about

shedding the identity that she created for her partner and trying on one

more true to herself.

Pop quiz!

A feminist is somebody who

A. Hates men, burns her bra, and has no sense of humor

B. Wears lipstick and takes cardio pole-dancing to empower herself

C. Believes in political, economic, and social equality of the sexes

Time's up! Fortunately, the correct answer is D. All of the above, but for our intents and purposes C is the definition we'll go with. Maybe you've heard about the Riot Grrls in the 90s, or wondered why Jessica Valenti's name keeps coming up. Maybe you're sick of not being called on in class despite your evident intelligence (look, we're not even one paragraph in and you already got the first question right.) Maybe you're intimidated by the sheer amount of information out there, and don't know where to start. Maybe you feel like you're split in a million little pieces, each with its own opinion. This is where Waving, Not Drowning comes in. I've collected the best resources, print and web and sidewalk-chalked, for the young and wiley feminist, or someone who just wants to see what it's all about.

Grrl power, revolution grrl style is REAL, is RAW, and is NOT going to back down or go away....! Oh, suckle to my heaving heart the sweet nectar of sister love. It smells like honeysuckles in June. It makes my toes tingle every time I think of at RG meeting where we totally supported each other through hard times, and helped each other learn how to deal with the daily subliminal, subconscious sexism we endure, and how we all grooved to the ideas of putting on our own shows, and making necklaces out of shrinky-dink plastic, and building up our self-esteem and self love...~Jasmine Kearns in Girl Power, by Hillary Carlip (Read it!)

So go ahead, open up the lyrics in another tab and sing along with Dar--

You play the artist, saying, "Is it how she moves, or how she looks?"

I say, it's lonliness suspended to our own like grappling hooks

And as long as she's got noise, she's fine

But I could teach her how I learned to dance when the music's ended

Oh and that's not petty

As cool as I am, I thought you'd know this already

I will not be afraid of women

I will not be afraid of women

All media has been selected by the site writer, and has been reviewed for content. Items marked with a (*) are recommended for 16-and-overs.