Feminism and the generational divide: an exploration of some of the debates

In recent times, a generational divide has emerged within feminism with discussion often centred on the differences between Baby Boomer feminists and younger women, regularly referred to as Generation X. This paper seeks to understand the intergenerational tensions by exploring the debates as they are played out in a number of popular texts. Karl Mannheim’s theory of generation is mobilised in order to deepen our understanding of generations. His work has the potential to broaden the feminist generational debates beyond the well-worn stereotypes and offer new ways of thinking about generational discourse.