How to Play a Feminist

Abstract

Feminism is all work and no play. And after all, why should "play" matter to a series of serious social movements? While First Wave Feminism focused on suffrage, and Second Wave Feminism focused on getting women ahead in the workplace, many of the more recent fractured feminist movements have continued to ignore the importance of play and leisure in everyday lives. This all-work-and-no-play focus has ricocheted to future feminisms: none have successfully reclaimed leisure and play. But play has countless implications that exceed the boundaries of frivolity: in order for a women's movement to ultimately be successful, playful dispositions need to be integrated into politics, technology, workplaces, sports, and families. Ultimately in this essay (through a combination of academic research and personal manifesto), I will show that not only is the personal political, but the playful can be political, too.