Force-Feeding Feminism: Why Girls Aren't Interested...or Are They?
For most of my generation, the f-word has become a stigma cast on those who have been perceived as outcasts. Being labled a "feminist" can make people view you in a new light. If you're a feminist, it can mean you're "too outspoken," "too sexually active," "too prudish," "too lesbian," "too different."The word feminist also connotes an older generation (our grandmas, great aunts, and moms), a slobby, unkempt aesthetic, and the age-old image of women getting hysterical over something unimportant. What high school girl wants to be associated with all that? In short, proclaiming oneself a feminist in high school is often social suicide.It's nearly impossible to make someone care about something, and notoriously impossible to make a teenager do so. Parents are constantly nagging us to care about everything from our grades to our future careers to our health, to our haircuts (especially with the current bed-head trend).
Those of us who do utter the f-word are faced with two options. We can learn to ignore and laugh off the hurtful comments--a choice that is both protective and isolating--or we can try to persuade the others. This brings me to a question many feminists have struggled with lately: how do you make a teenage girl care about feminism?
A huge part of teenage culture is not caring: seeming too cool to get excited or upset over something. Expressions such as whatever, chill out, and (the most blatant example) I don't care display just how prevalent this culture of not caring really is. Worst of all, those who do care are forced to either hide it or stick out like a teenager with a clean bedroom.In addition to wanting to seem "chill," and not be associated with old, ugly cat-ladies, many girls don't see the relevance of the movement in today's society. With so many of us girls taking rights such as birth control and athletic opportunities for granted, feminism seems like a relic of the past, when the truth is, it is still very important.
What I've realized (in my escapades through girl-world and teenagerland) is that you can't force-feed feminism--or much else, for that matter. Instead, I start conversations about issues affecting girls and women with my peers and friends. Because, while we teenagers often don't like to care, we love to complain.
I discovered this tactic the day I started a conversation with my classmates in Health class about the different ways teachers treat boys and girls. My teacher had separated our class by gender and told us we could discuss whatever we wanted. After sitting for a few minutes in silence, despite occassional prompts from our teacher (what can I say? none of us wanted to care), I brought up the topic of teachers--something everyone loves to complain about. Pretty soon, all the girls in the group were involved in a heated rant about how boys get away with worse behavior in the classroom. At the end of the class, I really wanted to get up and shout, "WOOHOO FEMINISM!" and shower everyone in purple confetti, but I contained myself.The truth is, some things are better left unsaid. Last year, when I interviewed Amy Richards, feminist author and all-around inspiring gal, I brought up my dilemma with the lack of self-proclaimed teenage feminists, and she helped me realize that it may not matter what people think of the word, if they agree with the agenda.In some ways, feminism is like vegetables. It can't be force-fed, but it can be snuck into a casserole.Fiona Lowenstein is a high school junior, Girls Leadership Institute alumna and weekly guest blogger. Learn more about her work here.