Feminism is the belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes. Teenagers have contributed to reshaping what feminism is. Many teens are thinking about feminism in new and personal ways. For them, feminism is not just a word from the past. It is something they see online, talk about in school, and experience in their daily lives.
Feminism has existed for many years dating back to movements like the women’s suffrage movement and protests in the early 20th century. Today Gen Z teens mostly know about feminism through social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Short videos, posts and comments help shape how they understand gender equality. Some teens ensure awareness is spread on social media about the importance of women’s rights by creating videos depicting a montage of clips or videos honoring women in different fields. They highlight the pride every woman should take in being a girl despite past setbacks and current struggles.
On the other hand, some teenagers disagree, specifically boys, who flood comment sections with slightly degrading jokes or remarks. Some take the time out of their day to speak their mind and say things about women’s appearance and their inferiority to men both physically and mentally. They make jokes out of ridiculing girls and turn their struggles into mockery, enforcing past gender roles like ‘women should stay in the kitchen’ or saying things like ‘of course it had to be a woman’. They disguise these comments as simple puns but in reality, little by little they add to the decades of fighting women had to put up with just for equality and rights.
However women always find a way to stand together. Terms such as ‘girls girl’ have surfaced over the past couple of years in social media to demonstrate how girls stand with each other no matter the circumstance. Another example of this is the trend of purple profile pictures which encouraged everyone to change their profile pictures to a purple tone in order to show support to women in who have been raped, silenced, abused, murdered, or anything that falls under the category of femicide.
Aside from showing support there are some teens that don’t fall on either side. They feel unsure about the label ‘feminist’ as they say it sounds too political. Others say they believe in equality but do not like the online arguments tied to the word. Overall the ability to choose is a product of feminism, demonstrating how crucial it is.
For many it is less about one big protest or discussion but more about how they view and treat women. It’s about the daily choices and what they post online, and how they need to speak up when something feels unfair.
