The names above represent the four women that I spoke to about generational differences in feminists. When I read Adrienne Rich’s poem called “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” I notice a bit of disdain as the narrator, presumably a young female, describes her Aunt Jennifer. The poem goes:
Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
Aunt Jennifer's finger fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
Aunt Jennifer is resisting her oppression through her art, but her niece sees the way she is suffering and it may not feel like enough to her. I decided this poem highlighted a key generational difference in feminists: the forms of resistance available to each generation. As more accomplishes were made by feminists, the more action could be taken to fight the oppression women face. I could think of so many more differences, but I wanted to talk to feminists about this before I decided what they were. I interviewed four women of different ages and backgrounds, all involved with my university’s Women’s Studies department. I needed to know if these differences existed outside of just my own understanding. I asked them about their feminism and their perceptions of other feminists, now and throughout history, and received all brilliant and insightful responses. Thank you so much, Abby, Taylor, Allison, and Ava.
I am Karis Blaker, a second year student at the University if Michigan, majoring in English Language and Literature and Women's Studies, with a minor in Writing. I am currently the U of M HeForShe Chapter's Coordination Chair. I am preparing to attend graduate school to receive my Ph.D in Women's History and then pursue a career in higher education and activism.