Third wave
As with other aspects of feminist theory, over the course of the second half of twentieth century feminist literary criticism has expanded to include a significantly broader spectrum of identities under the umbrella term of 'feminism'. Third wave feminist theory and beyond has striven to include more identities and aspects of intersectionality, and feminist literary criticism has followed suit. Third wave feminism and feminist literary criticism is concerned more with the intersection of race and other feminist concerns. As a result, the variety and nature of texts examined has grown to include more texts from transnational perspective, while still maintaining its roots in analyzing how male dominated society effects the interpretation and creation of literature. At the same time, new feminist literary critics examine the universal images used by women writers to uncover the unconscious symbolism women have used to describe themselves, their world, female society across time and nationalities to uncover the specifically feminine language in literature. New Feminist literature and criticism minimize the focus on male influences and disruptions in a woman's text by socio-political hegemony to better uncover the universal unconscious of the female mind in its own context.