The newest wave of feminism is getting closer to Catholic social teaching

Leaving choice feminism behind, JPII, and welcoming "outsiders" into the Church

Suffragettes marching for women’s right to vote, late 1910s.

“The fight for a more caring society requires a break with a feminism that idolizes men’s position as the goal of liberation.” -Emma Holten, author

I noticed how Kamala Harris was always seen publicly in a pantsuit during the 2020 and 2024 campaigns while Jill Biden was usually donned in dresses. We’ve watched millennials girlboss like crazy to then feel betrayed by work environments that don’t work for women.

I’m incredibly sensitive to the porn industry’s terrible ramifications for how women are seen and treated in our culture. It’s cool to feel tired of watching celebrities be regarded as :for the girls” when they make decisions that harm themselves, others, and women as a whole.

I was surprised, but encouraged, to see how many people showed public disdain for Sabrina Carpenter’s new album cover and Sydney Sweeney’s bathwater soap. Modest clothing is rising in search engine popularity.

I’m not alone in feeling this way about these cultural shifts.

Enter: the emerging fifth wave of feminism, in which popular secular thought embraces the ideas of 1) making this world accommodating for women as women, 2) denouncing choice feminism, the idea that women’s liberation means being free to do whatever we want, and 3) understanding publicly-displayed sexuality as benefitting the male gaze and harming women as a whole.

I’m in awe of how close to Catholic social teaching this is, and I’m so excited for this movement I see secular western culture taking. At the same time, not all of the fifth wave’s signifiers are in women’s best interests. I’m warily concerned that Christians, in our fallen nature and human desire to have a common “enemy,” will react poorly to secular ideas about feminism looking more like the Church’s. I’m also terrified that ultra-right and ultra-left wingers will take it too far into places that regard women as more object than human.

Let’s unpack the why behind all of this.