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If you asked Rosalie Fisher, an instructor at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, if she thought feminism was moving in the right direction prior to the 2025 presidential inauguration, she would have said yes. Now, she's not so sure.
According to Fisher, the progress of the feminist movement is largely dependent on the political landscape of the country — the office of the presidency, and the party the president aligns themself with, has a lot of influence on the perception of social justice and human rights issues, such as feminism.
Fisher believes that feminism is a part of the political pendulum, and that President Donald Trump’s election swung the pendulum’s momentum to a far right extreme. "It's a rough period we're in right now," Fisher said.
Avery Hampton, a second-year law student, said feminism has made progress since the dawn of the movement but echoed Fisher's sentiments about Trump’s administration.
"The feminist movement has made amazing strides within the past 50 years. ... With the recent transition of power, I know some things could change. I hope that feminism continues to grow, and I hope that women continue to be supported," Hampton said.
From being labeled as 'man-haters' to being blamed for promoting inequality, feminists have continuously faced backlash amid their pursuit of their ultimate goal: equal treatment for all genders.
Today, feminism has an uncertain future, but at ASU, student groups and professors are working to keep the true essence of the movement alive through community initiatives and educational outreach.
Misconceptions about feminism
Hampton, the president of the Women Law Students Association at ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, said feminism is often misunderstood due to harmful stereotyping.
"A perception that some people might see when they think of feminism is that women are trying to be better than men, or they think men are less than," she said.
Julianne Culey, assistant director of the Reynolds Center at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, who has expertise in gender equality, believes that feminism is misconstrued as not wanting women to care for children or become stay at home parents.
"People assume that anything I do — and I call myself a feminist — means I want everyone else to do the exact same thing," Culey said.
Culey argues that feminism is about choice; not about one singular path for all women. She explained that being a stay-at-home mom is just as 'feminist' as having a career, as the meaning of the movement is to allow women to exercise the right to choice and autonomy.
"It's not a monolith whatsoever," she said.
Jillian Coronato, a member of the Women's League at Barrett and a senior studying English, said feminism is misunderstood as only being a movement for women. She argues that the same forces of oppression that affect women and non-binary people can harm men as well. Coronato said feminism is a liberating force and that liberation benefits all genders.
"In reality, feminism is (called) feminism because it is the uplifting of women for the benefit of everyone," she said.
The waves of the movement
Despite common misconceptions, Fisher defines feminism as "a movement that advocates for equal rights."
Fisher said the start of the first wave of feminism in the United States is nebulous, but it can be estimated to have been between 1900 and the early 1920s. The fight for women's suffrage was the genesis of what is considered to be the first wave. She said the equal opportunity of access to education was a large contributor to the ratification of the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote.
"One of the arguments women were using was, 'If men are the ones running things and making the decisions of becoming the lawmakers and the politicians, (and) they are being raised by women ... wouldn’t it behoove men to be raised by educated women?'" Fisher said.
Defined as between the 1960s and the 1980s, second wave activists focused on women's roles in society and the workforce.
"This was really kind of turning into women in the workplace — the wage disparity, issues (of) discrimination, issues (of) mobility and power," Fisher said.
The second wave of America's feminist movement was also marked by growing civil rights concerns, but feminism, according to Fisher, had become an intersectional movement more so in its third wave, which began in the 1980s and ended in the early 2010s. The "intersection of oppressions," as she called it, has informed the continuation of feminism into the 21st century.
The end of the third wave and the beginning of the fourth wave was marked by the inception of the #MeToo movement on social media platforms. The hashtag was used to spread awareness of the widespread nature of sexual assault, violence and harrassment in U.S. culture, eventually becoming an international online movement.
The overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022 marked a turning point in the modern feminist movement, as the decision signified that a conservative influence in the Supreme Court could prove to be powerful. According to a blog by the Coalition of Feminists for Social Change, the overturn of Roe v. Wade will "erode women’s autonomy over their bodies and reproductive rights. This is also setting the stage to erode the rights of other marginalized groups in the United States, especially LGBTQ+ rights." Roe v. Wade was a decision made in the 1970s.
Fisher believes an introductory gender studies class should be a general education requirement for first-year students at ASU. She said this process would be complicated, but it would ensure all students attending the University would have a basic, standardized understanding of gender roles and how they affect communication.
"I do think incorporating more classes on ... gender or differences in general within the core program of students — sort of introducing a basic sociology class into core curriculum (with) this basic concept of understanding people and dynamics — could go a long way," Culey said.
ASU students and feminism
Emma Wymore's feminist work on campus is through Devils in the Bedroom, a student organization that provides sexual health and wellness education to the ASU community. The sophomore studying economics and political science feels empowered to disseminate sexual education, which she feels is inherently intertwined with feminism.
"Feminism is all about ensuring equality between the sexes and between all genders and making sure that people don’t feel like their gender is something that holds them back from doing anything," Wymore said.
Devils in the Bedroom conducts tabling outreach at all kinds of on-campus events across ASU's four campuses. Wymore highlighted their peer-to-peer distribution system.
"We give out free pregnancy tests, free condoms, free Plan B, free tampons, pads and all that because we just want everybody at ASU to be able to explore their sexuality freely and not let any of the costs or ... barriers be able to prevent someone from doing that," Wymore said. Wymore's experience as a member of Devils in the Bedroom demonstrates how intersectional the American feminist movement has become. Feminism intersects with race, class and sexuality, in Wymore's opinion.
Hampton said her experience in WLSA has allowed for her to feel supported in her personal and professional growth. WLSA provides many resources for female law students, including a mentorship program in which a first-year law student is paired with an older student for guidance.
"Our whole goal and our mission is to raise women up in society, especially (in) the legal community," Hampton said.
Similar to WLSA, the Women’s League at Barrett allows women and non-binary students to find community and network beyond their gender identities. Coronato believes community connection is the key to feminist success in modern America.
"We want to make sure that people feel welcome, that they have a safe space to come and that they can meet other women as well, whether those women be students, alumni or faculty," she said.
Coronato said the League collaborates with The LGBTQ+ Club at Barrett and the Black Student Association at Barrett to provide networking and community events.
"We're trying to put on events that highlight the intersectionality of women's experiences," she said. "A lot of our members have come to us and stated maybe they don't feel safe or maybe they are stressed about the things that are happening in the world, and we want to make sure that not only do they have access to a supportive environment, but also that they have access to resources, help and guidance."
Edited by Savannah Dagupion, Leah Mesquita and Audrey Eagerton.
This story is part of The Contrast Issue, which was released on March 26, 2025. See the entire publication here.
Reach the reporter at amazzill@asu.edu and follow @BellaMazzilli on X.
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