hooks, b. (2000). Feminism is for everybody. (2nd ed.). Cambridge: South End Press.
bell hooks wrote Feminism is for Everybody to create a “handbook” for feminism. A short,
concise book that clarifies the objectives and goals of feminism. She defines feminism as “a movement
to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression”. She addresses feminist issues regarding class,
gender, sexuality, race, and the politics of feminism. Throughout the book, she reiterates the fact that
feminism is beneficial to men because feminism allows men to be more feminine and removes the
pressure to constantly be masculine. Feminism also removes the power structure associated with
gender and makes femininity and masculinity equal.
Gloria Jean Watkins (her pen name is bell hooks) is an American author, feminist, and social
activist. She has a BA in English from Stanford University, an MA in English from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, and a doctorate from UC Santa Cruz. She has taught at Yale, UC Santa Cruz,
University of Southern California, and the University of Southern California. Other works of her
include Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, and All
About Love: New Visions.
bell hooks’s Feminism is for Everybody is a primary source regarding the topic of feminism.
Hooks addresses all the topics of feminism that I will be relating to Adventure Time, including gender,
the patriarchy, and female empowerment. Although hooks discusses feminism in a conversational and
easy to understand manner her statements do not lack scholarly evidence. She doesn’t cite where she
gets her information but rather pulls from her own experience and education regarding feminism which
is reflected in her credentials.
Rampton, M. (2008, October). The three waves of feminism.PACIFIC, 412(2), Retrieved from
http://www.pacificu.edu/magazine_archives/2008/fall/echoes/feminism.cfm
The article “The Three Waves of Feminism” goes through the three periods of feminism and
explains their significance, goals, and achievements. Rampton argues how each wave had its own
agenda that was relevant to the issues within certain time periods and how once the agenda has been
met, the feminist movement evolves and changes to fit the new time period and address feminist
issues that have also changed and evolved, “There have always been feminists in the movement, not
just one ideology, and there have always been tensions, points and counter-points. The political, social
and intellectual feminist movements have always be chaotic, multivalenced, and disconcerting; and
let’s hope they continue to be so; it’s a sign that they are thriving.” She goes on to say how this sense
of disorganization is not a bad thing, but rather, a way to place all possible ideas on the table and find
a common goal.
Martha Rampton is a history professor and the director for the Center of Gender Equity at
Pacific with a focus on social history and women’s roles in history. She has an MA in medieval history
from the University of Utah as well as a doctorate in medieval history from UVA.
Although this article is not specifically about third wave feminism it will still be useful in
supporting my topic. In order to understand the objectives of third wave feminism, one has to know
where the movement came from. Also, aspects of the previous two waves of feminism are still
prevalent in third wave feminism so it’s important to understand why those ideas have lasted so long.
This source is useful and unique because Rampton addresses both the successes and the shortcomings
of each movement but then explains how the shortcomings can be used to strengthen the movement.
This provides a well rounded and unbiased perspective that is good for a research paper.
Rugnetta, M. (Performer) (2013). Is bmo from adventure time expressive of feminism [Web]. Retrieved
from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtNSdDFGBM
The video “Is BMO from Adventure Time Expressive of Feminism?” is a Youtube video posted by
the PBS Idea Channel. It explores the idea the BMO is expressive of third wave feminism through
his/her lack of a specified gender. BMO refers to him/herself as both a boy and a girl and her/his
friends to as well. BMO also conducts him/herself in a manner that doesn’t explicitly express femininity
or masculinity but rather, BMO just simply is. The video also points out the facts that in one episode
BMO falls in love with a bubble, another character that although voiced by a man does not posses a
specified gender. BMO and his/her lack of a specific gender is part of the third wave feminist idea that
the gender binary is a social construct that created gender roles and expectations about gender based
on the two biological sexes. While it is true that sex is biologically determined gender is not. The video
also points out that while BMO is expressive of third wave feminism he/she was not created with
feminism in mind but rather, this idea of rejecting the gender binary is integrated into the show as
being normal, which it is.
The PBS Idea Channel is an extension of PBS that is on Youtube and examines aspects of pop
culture in an intellectual manner. The host, Mike Rugnetta, has done other forms of lectures and
internet performances and works with multimedia including video and sound design.
(2010). In Ward, P. (Executive Producer), Adventure Time with Finn and Jake. Cartoon Network.
Adventure Time with Finn and Jake, commonly referred to as Adventure Time, is a cartoon
show about a boy named Finn and his magical dog Jake. They live in a post apocalyptic world, fantasy
world called the Land of Oo which is also inhabited by other beings such as candy people, vampires,
wizards, lumpy space people, and Rainicorns (flying unicorns that look like rainbows and speak
Korean). Finn, however, is the only known human existing in this world. He lives in a tree house with
his best friend, and dog, Jake. They fight evil, go on adventures, and help people out all over the land
of Oo.
The show was created by Pendleton Ward and was intended to be a show for children about
twelve years old and younger but also become popular with young adults and teens. Ward graduated
from CalArts Animation Program and has created worked on other shows such as Random!
Cartoons and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack which also aired on Cartoon Network.
Adventure Time is relevant to my research paper because it is the focal topic of my research. I will be
drawing examples from the show to show how it is progressive in the way that it addresses third wave
feminist issues. The issues I will discuss are very relevant to society today and it is important that these
issues are addressed. Particularly, it is important to present these issues to children in a way that is
safe but not convoluted so that they are not misinformed by other sources, which is what this show
does.
Budgeon, S. (2011). Third wave feminism and the politics of gender in late modernity. (1st ed.). New
York: Palgrave Macmillan.
This book addresses third wave issues and specifically the issues regarding gender, gender
expression, gender identity etc. It argues for the cultural and societal acceptance of viewing gender as
relative and changeable. The book addresses these issues and provides justifiable arguments that are
rooted in humanities, science, and politics. The book specifically focuses on third wave feminism
rather than general feminism which is pertinent to my research paper because the feminist issues
addressed in Adventure Time focus on gender, class, and race which are central issues of third wave
feminism. The source is useful because it focuses on gender but it may lack information regarding class
and race. However, gender is the feminist issue in Adventure Time that is most addressed and the
concept of gender is approached very liberally in Adventure Time. It is also a more reliable source
because it is a published book and not a random article or blog post on the internet. The book was also
published recently to so it is up to date on current feminist issues. The fact that it is current is also
important because Adventure Time was created within the last four years so it is also current. I plan to
use this book when talking about the character BMO and how there are episodes where the genders are
swapped. Both play with the concept of gender which is the focal topic in this book.
Shelley Budgeon works as the Senior Lecturer in the School of Government and Society at the
University of Birmingham. Other published works of hers includes Choosing a Self: Young Women and
the Individualization of Identity. She has a PhD from the University of Leeds, and MA from the
University of British Columbia, and a BA from the University of Calgary.