Sixteen and Feminist

I’d love to think that my generation is an open-minded one, full of free spirits who make their own decisions about religion and politics. I’d love to be a part of a generation like that. Being a teenager, I often feel flattered when people refer to those of my age group as liberal and independent. That’s what young people are supposed to be, right? They’re supposed to explore new ideas in order to form their own opinions. So yes, I would love to pretend that my generation fills that place in society, but unfortunately, some of my peers and fellow teenagers are just plain ignorant when it comes to topics such as feminism.

I’m not saying that teenagers these days are incapable of forming their own opinions or that they are stupid; I’m saying that they are often vulnerable to the anti-feminist misinformation infiltrating the youth culture.

Before I get started, note that this is not an accusation of teenagers, but rather an acknowledgement of anti-feminist sentiment that exists in some (not all, mind you) teenagers’ minds. Also please realize that I am not denying that other age groups/demographics struggle with anti-feminist misinformation. I know that everybody has to take crap for their opinions, and I’m simply providing insight from my perspective, which is that of a teenager.

I think teenagers are often weary of assuming labels such as “feminist” because they feel that they aren’t old enough, that they aren’t worthy to form such bold opinions. It can be scary to call yourself a feminist because of all the, yes I know the term is eye-roll-worthy, peer pressure and social stigma.

What got me thinking about this topic in the first place was a game that I played a while back in a peer development class at my high school. In the activity, we took turns discussing stereotypes. Most of the stereotypical labels were the usual–jock, nerd, stoner–but one of them was “feminist.” At first, I was excited about being able to discuss feminism with my peers, but as we began our conversation, I realized most of my classmates’ comments were either negative or just plain false.

One girl claimed that a feminist was someone who was vain, someone who spent a lot of time and effort on her hair and makeup, a “girly girl” if you will.

One of the older students corrected her, but only in time for a notoriously conservative boy sitting next to her to say that a feminist  was a woman who would kill her husband. He honestly thought  feminism was an attack on all men.

Yet another student put forth that feminists don’t wash their hair and don’t have good hygiene.

These students were all at least fifteen years old. They all were intelligent. And they all attended my high school, which is known for being liberal. And yet, almost all of them were utterly clueless when it came to feminism.

Before this, I had never admitted to being a feminist even though I knew I was. But suddenly, the words formed in my mouth.

“Well…. um…. I’m a feminist.” I tried to be bold, but I feared their judgement.

They looked at me, sizing me up. Obviously, I,  a petite, cardigan-clad, clean-cut goody-two-shoes, did not resemble their idea of a feminist.

“Nah, you’re not a feminist. You don’t do crazy things and you don’t go to protests, and you like boys and stuff.”

I have to say that I lost a little faith in my generation after this incident. I tried to explain to them as well as I could that feminism was about equality and empowerment, that feminists come in all shapes and sizes, from all faiths and backgrounds. But my little talk about feminism was not valued. It was disregarded as the ramblings of a neurotic, overly assertive bitch.

Since that day, I’ve gained a reputation as a feminist, a reputation that has sometimes created conflict with other students and even with teachers. But since then, since I admitted to myself that yes, I am a feminist, I have gained body confidence. I have felt empowered enough to get involved in activism and volunteering. And most importantly, I have built up enough courage amid the judgmental and socially intense world of high school to explain my beliefs. I’m determined to battle the misinformation  that exists in my  and my peers’ impressionable minds.

So in conclusion, I just want to let all those teenage feminists out there not to be afraid. You are allowed to have your own opinions. And if owning up to your feminist beliefs is social suicide in your high school, we can commit it together.