The second wave of feminism of Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan has given way to the dynamic next generation, the third wave, now 15 years old. The Women's Movement Today: An Encyclopedia of Third Wave Feminism introduces the third wave's key issues, members, visions, writings, and more—with essay entries on abortion to zines, with the Riotgrrrl group Bikini Kill, cyberspace, National Girls and Women in Sports Day, queer theory, and activist/writer Rebecca Walker in between. The scope of the more than 200 encyclopedia entries is multidisciplinary and multicultural, inclusive of diverse gender orientations and sexualities, with a focus primarily on the movement in the United States. The Primary Documents volume showcases a wide variety of writings from some of the leading third wavers. This is meant to be the essential reference work on the current movement, as it charts, describes, and clarifies what has been a much debated and misunderstood phenomenon.

The second wave of feminism of Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan has given way to the dynamic next generation, the third wave, now 15 years old. The Women's Movement Today: An Encyclopedia of Third Wave Feminism introduces the third wave's key issues, members, visions, writings, and more—with essay entries on abortion to zines, with the Riotgrrrl group Bikini Kill, cyberspace, National Girls and Women in Sports Day, queer theory, and activist/writer Rebecca Walker in between. The scope of the more than 200 encyclopedia entries is multidisciplinary and multicultural, inclusive of diverse gender orientations and sexualities, with a focus primarily on the movement in the United States. This is meant to be the essential reference work on the current movement, as it charts, describes, and clarifies what has been a much debated and misunderstood phenomenon.

A major collective effort has been made by more than 70 contributors to present as much information about third wave feminism as possible in the encyclopedia, and they have conveyed the freshness and excitement that often characterize work in the third wave. Contributors such as Amy Richards, Jennifer Baumgardner, and Lisa Jervis, are leading activist voices in the movement. Others, such as Rebecca Hurdis, Sarah Gamble, Rebecca Munford, Stacy Gillis, Gillian Howie, Alison Piepmeier, Rory Dicker, Deborah Siegel, Leslie Heywood, and Jennifer Drake, have been influential in academia. A chronology and historical introduction put the movement and the encyclopedia and primary documents into perspective. Numerous photos visualize the topics. A Selected Bibliography lists classic third-wave books, Web sites, and films. The Primary Documents volume showcases 77 of the rich and wide range of voices that have contributed to the significant body of third wave feminist work. Some highlights include illustrated pieces from the art activist collective the Guerilla Girls, articles from Bitch Magazine, and Joan Morgan's essay Hip-Hop Feminist, from her 1998 book When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost.