Empowered by the possibilities presented by the internet, a wave of passionate young feminists are making strides towards a more equal society
It’s a common misconception that contemporary feminism has lost its relevance – one minute it needs to be rebranded, and the next it’s a Paris fashion week buzzword. But that’s changing. A new generation of feminists is finding its own voice online, using the wide range of social-media tools at its disposal. It’s Facebook groups, Tumblr and Wordpress blogs and Twitter feeds that we now regularly see being used to express opinions and outrage about political and social incidents, from Pussy Riot’s protest performance to the campaign to end Page Three in The Sun.
These outlets are being appropriated by millennials who are seeking greater reason and equality when it comes to gender. Our Protein Gender Survey, which asked people aged 16 to 30 about their views on gender issues, sheds light on how feminism has become a key part of these young people’s identities, men as well as women: 78% of female respondents identify themselves as feminists, while half of males say the same.
WhenTVnetworksandnewspapersfailtopickupontheissues that matter to this group, social media and other digital tools offer an alternative place for discussion. “There has been a rise in the visibility of feminist conversations because the way we make and consume media has changed,” explains Wagatwe Wanjuki, a feminist activist and journalist based in New York. “When people feel their stories are being ignored by the mainstream media they can create their own content and make a noise that forces the mainstream to take notice.”