While the feminist movement continues to progress, there is harm that accompanies it, particularly social media feminists who seemingly only focus on the very small and trendy parts of feminism. Basically taking what they hear and running with it which can do more harm than good.
why is it a problem ?
We’re not perfect, but people jump into thinking they know everything and leave no room for corrections or simply become closed off to anything that doesn’t align with their take on feminism. In the process, they shame women for doing things like shaving your legs or those who choose to be stay-at-home moms, basically focusing on things that don’t pertain to any real pressing issues.
It leads to the passing around of misinformation because they haven’t tried to understand the movement or anything that comes along with it, and only follow the trendy aspects of feminism such as “burning your bra to tackle the patriarchy” while on the flipside, they won’t address the issue of breasts being so sexualized that not wearing a bra must mean you “want” sexual attention.
They tend to strip feminism down to women doing whatever they want. While I can see why they think that, it’s not the sole focus of the movement. It can do more harm than good when the original meaning is lost. I’ve seen many people say, “this is why I don’t support feminism anymore” because people on social media create a false reality to what it really is and others just go along with it.
How is it harmful?
One outcome I noticed is people using terms incorrectly. A video I saw that prompted me to write this article was women calling out others for misusing terms such as “male gaze” and “male validation” in a current TikTok trend, which implied that dressing a certain way is for men and another is not. Many corrected that there is no way to escape the male gaze with how you dress because it will be appealing to men regardless. But, that does not always mean wanting validation from them. These comments were met with backlash claiming it was tearing women down, which proves the point that they only have basic knowledge of this topic. They were quick to jump the gun instead of reading or hearing what the person was trying to clarify.
Another thing I’ve noticed is women claiming it’s “not very feminist” to criticize harmful actions of other women. They create a narrative that is about supporting all women no matter what, and that if you don’t you’re just as bad. This goes back to the idea that that’s what feminism is about.
I am in no way an expert myself, but I’ve noticed keeping an open mind to new information makes all the difference. I really encourage all of us to take this into our own hands and not lean on others for knowledge. From purchasing books, researching, or even taking a class on women’s studies. Time and time again it has proven that we are often given misinformation. Of course, no one likes being corrected, but how can we move forward if we’re unwilling to listen and learn, or even re-learn, what we’ve previously thought?