- Amandla Stenberg
You may remember Amandla Stenberg for portraying the adorable and tragic character Rue from The Hunger Games movie, but she is now 18 years old and becoming a huge voice for teenagers who feel like they do not fit society’s norms. Amandla recently gave an interview to Vogue where she states that her own sexuality and gender is fluid. The actress has identified as non-binary and pansexual in other interviews. The most important thing we can learn from Amandla is how to use our audience for the greater good. No matter how big or small, we can expand ideals of acceptance and recognize the world’s injustices. Her biggest platform is by far Twitter. In 2015, Amandla was named “Feminist of the Year” by Ms. Foundation for Women for her work sharing her outspoken work on social media. Though being a feminist is a big part of who she is, Amandla also uses her voice to speak out on issues that affect the black community. Speaking out on the appropriation of black culture by other celebrities and the horrible deaths of people such as Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown are common subjects on the actress’s social media. She’s unafraid to tell the world who is she and be proud of it, and she uses her social media reach to try and make the world a better place. Amandla’s the perfect role model for any young person who is struggling with identity, who wants to fight against injustice or who just wants to become more secure in who they are.
- Yara Shahidi
Yara Shahidi is a 17 year old actress and model best known for her starring role on the ABC sitcom Black-ish. This show being one of the more socially aware on the modern TV was Yara’s launching start into the world of social justice, where she now shines. The young actress constantly speaks out on lack of representation in the media. One of Yara’s main goals is to get more black people in starring roles, instead of playing criminals or sidekicks. This is something personal to the young star, because growing up modeling and movies, she had to be the representation for herself. Yara’s a very personal activist, as she recently took to social media to criticize President Trump’s Travel Ban. Her father’s Iranian descent inspired her to speak out on this issue. Besides being socially aware and not afraid to speak her mind, Yara’s also incredibly intelligent and encouraging young girls everywhere to pursue the academic fields they love. On June 6th of 2017, Yara announced she would be attending Harvard University. On top of all that she has also starting filming her very own spin-off of her show Black-ish called Grown-ish, following her character Zoey Johnson as she attends college as a young black girl. Yara Shahidi is quickly becoming one of the most successful teenagers in the business and is an amazing person to look up to.
- Ariel Winter
Ariel Winter is a 19 year old actress mostly famous for starring in the popular show Modern Family. Recently, she has become known for her grocery store trips. Ariel Winter has fallen victim to slut shaming so many times since she has been in America’s spotlight. At 17 years old, even though she endured a lot of criticism, Winter had a breast reduction surgery. To this day she is constantly degraded for what she wears, whether it’s on the red carpet or just picking up some groceries with her boyfriend. When she is attacked by these tabloids and other news sources, Ariel just takes to social media to remind her fans that they should be able to wear whatever they want with no judgement. Not only is she talented and beautiful, she is a strong believer in being confident in who you are.
- Rowan Blanchard
You may not recognize Rowan Blanchard, because of her main acting role is on Disney Channel, but one day she will be everywhere. At the young age of 15 Rowan has already become more socially aware than most middle-aged celebrities. Working on Disney Channel’s spin-off of the famous Boy Meets World, Rowan was able to share some of her activism such as classism, bullying, and cultural appropriation through her character Riley to a much younger audience than most young activists. This, however, was just the beginning. Rowan continued to share her positive views on feminism and equality. For such a young girl working for a big company such as Disney, she was not scared to stand out, even going as far to publicly criticize her fellow castmate for making statements against feminism. She also took part in Emma Watson’s #TeamHeforShe campaign by speaking at the UN Women and US National Committee’s annual meetings. On top of all her activism she is also becoming a role model for young people trying to figure out their sexuality. In 2016, she came out as “queer” by posting on her twitter, open to liking any gender in the future, but not wanting an labels such as bisexual or pansexual. Rowan Blanchard has so many years before her and she has already accomplished so much. Anyone could learn something from this young star.
- Zendaya Coleman
Twenty-one year old Zendaya Coleman, better known as just Zendaya, is one of the most influential celebrities of our time. Starting as an Old Navy model, to starring on Disney Channel, to now playing “MJ” in the new Spiderman franchise, Zendaya is becoming more popular by the day. Because she has such a large platform, she frequently speaks out on subjects such as body image, beauty standards, and other recent political issues. She even went on to start her own fashion line that was inclusive of all sizes, straight and plus. She has made herself a source of representation for young black girls everywhere by calling out racism and encouraging them to be themselves through things such as their natural hair. Her Barbie doll became controversial, because the doll was topped with Zendaya’s famous dreads from her Oscar’s red carpet look in 2015. Zendaya will continue to be a positive force for young people everywhere as her presence in Hollywood grows, made certain by her constant warm attitude and appreciation towards her fans.
We should all be taking influence from these great women and start speaking out about the issues in the world we are passionate about. They may have larger audiences than most of us, but we all have to start somewhere. It is important as young people to make our mark on the world, bringing change for the better. Even sharing your thoughts and feelings with your friends can make some sort of difference. Amandla, Yara, Ariel, Rowan and Zendaya all encourage their fans to be whoever they choose to be, so be you and share it with the world.
Cover image via Wikifeet