Feminism is important. There is no doubt that there is still a lot of inequality between the sexes. It is apparent from the lack of healthcare for women to the pay gap to walking down the street and being catcalled. Feminism is trying to fix these problems, and that isn’t an easy task. Many people, including young women, aren’t identifying as feminists. Why? The reason may be because being a feminist is hard.
You’re the butt of too many jokes. Many people don’t take you seriously once you reveal your feminist opinions. Once you are educated about the different forms of sexism, you start to notice it everywhere. You rewatch your favorite show or movie and notice all of the problematic elements. Who knew how sexist The Breakfast Club was?
It’s hard to come to terms with how deeply ingrained inequality is in our society. When we call out sexism, we are seen as taking things too seriously or turning everything into a social statement. The thing is, everything is a social statement! There is a huge lack of women in media and when we are represented, it’s often in a degrading manner.
It’s exhausting always critiquing society and trying make change a is a scary feat. It is also difficult if someone comes from a more conservative family and is the only liberal in the room. “Coming out” as a feminist is a huge problem for some people. It’s important that you’re in a safe environment while talking about feminism so that you don’t put yourself in harm’s way because some people’s reactions can be extreme.
Being a feminist also encourages us to check ourselves. We were raised in a sexist society so we have internalized misogyny we have to deal with. This ranges from slut shaming to thinking of a man when you hear the world doctor. You have to criticize your own thoughts which is a difficult process. This doesn’t even touch on being an intersectional feminist and seeing how racism, classism, heteronormativity, ableism, and other things interact with sexism.
However, it is vital to have young feminists. As cheesy as it sounds, we are the future. We are the women who will be revolutionizing society and changing things for the better. It is a big weight to carry but we are capable of taking on our world.