How to Triumph Like a Girl

The majority of Ada Limón’s work has been published in the midst of third wave feminism, a period from the start of the 90s to the mid-teens. The third wave focused on issues not emphasized in the feminist movement’s second wave of the 70s and 80s such as workplace harassment, rape culture, and the lack of women in positions of power. It organized around an increasingly fragmented array of elements, approaches, and ideologies. Intersectionality became a major focus as the understanding grew that “women’s issues” existed within a vast, worldwide tapestry of national, ethnic, socio-economic, and gender difference considerations. The growth of the internet, and the increasing number of people who had come to maturity with it, was a key to the spreading knowledge across and between these communities as well as a major tool of political organization.

“How to Triumph Like a Girl” was published in 2013 at the start of Barack Obama’s second presidential term; the US had not yet elevated a woman to the highest office, although 2007 saw Nancy Pelosi become the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives. Women continued to battle for greater equality and recognition in a variety of fields. In 2013 women made up only 18% of Congress, 10% of state governors and 4.