Trigger Warning: Mention of sexual violence.
Feminism is having a moment. Again.
It shows up in Instagram captions, on tote bags, and in corporate campaigns every March. We are told that empowerment looks like confidence, independence, and knowing your worth. And while those messages are not inherently wrong, they are often incomplete. Because for many women, empowerment is not just about self-love. It is about survival.
Mainstream feminism has done important work in advancing women’s rights. But it has also created a narrow image of what empowerment is supposed to look like. Too often, that image centers women who are already closer to power: white, financially stable, able-bodied, and cisgender. When feminism focuses only on those experiences, it stops being a movement for all women and starts becoming a movement for some.
The problem is not feminism itself. The problem is the version of feminism that is most visible.
When people talk about empowerment, they often frame it as a personal journey. Speak up more. Take up space. Be confident. But what happens when speaking up is not safe? What happens when taking up space comes with real consequences? For women navigating racism, poverty, immigration status, disability, or trauma, empowerment is not just about mindset. It is shaped by systems that either support them or hold them back.This is where intersectionality comes in. Intersectionality recognizes that women experience oppression in overlapping ways. Gender does not exist in a vacuum. It intersects with race, class, sexuality, and more. Ignoring those intersections does not simplify feminism. It weakens it.On college campuses, this gap between rhetoric and reality is especially visible. Universities love to promote empowerment initiatives, leadership programs, and wellness resources. But access to those resources is not equal. Students from marginalized backgrounds often face additional barriers, whether that is financial stress, lack of institutional support, or feeling excluded from spaces that claim to be empowering.Even conversations around issues like sexual violence can reflect this disconnect. Survivors are often told to be strong, to speak out, to reclaim their power. But not every survivor has the same ability to do that safely or publicly. Legal systems, social stigma, and personal circumstances all shape what “empowerment” can realistically look like. When feminism fails to acknowledge that, it risks placing pressure on women instead of supporting them.
Empowerment should not be performative. It should not be reduced to aesthetics or slogans. And it should not require women to fit into a specific mold to be seen as empowered.
Real empowerment is more complicated. It is policy and protection as much as it is confidence. It is access to education, healthcare, and legal resources. It is creating environments where all women can succeed, not just the ones who already have advantages. It is listening to voices that have historically been pushed to the margins and taking them seriously.
It also requires accountability. It is not enough to say that feminism is for everyone. We have to ask who is being left out and why. We have to be willing to confront uncomfortable truths about privilege, even within movements that are supposed to be progressive.
Feminism is at its strongest when it is inclusive, not when it is easy to market.
Empowerment does not look the same for every woman, and it should not have to. For some, it is leadership. For others, it is healing. For others, it is simply making it through the day in a system that was not built for them.
If feminism is going to mean anything, it has to make room for all of those realities.
Because empowerment is not one-size-fits-all, and it never should have been.