Do teenagers think feminism is ''uncool"?

[Tylee]

Just that, really. Someone told me their daughter thinks feminism is uncool, and I'm wondering if most teenagers think that. And if so, why?

The ones I know don't.

Well, that's something.

I think that either they think feminism is uncool, or they think liberal feminism (i.e. approving of most political changes actual feminists fought for while at the same time submitting to patriarchy and parroting patriarchal agenda) is cool, wheareas radical feminism is not just uncool but evil and the worstest enemy, worse than violent males.

There are very few young feminists, is my perception. Though I admit to only having talked to young adults, not teens.

Why? Internalized misogyny. I cannot remember a time when feminism was popular. It doesn't seem to have been popular even when it actually achieved changes in law.

My daughter doesn't, but she's in the minority in her sixth form.

Many of them consider feminism uncool, old fashioned, ignorant of what it is to be a teen in the 21st century and therefore irrelevant. And they have a point to a certain extent.

My 14 year old and her friends don't, but I don't know how representative they are. They're possibly more libfem than radfem, but only in some areas.

I'm interested in your answer, Dione. Why do you think teens that feel that way about feminism have a point?

My peer group (circu 30) would not be pleased at being called feminists. Majority are breadwinners, some have stay at home husbands, most in stem field, they use their bodies as they please, none in traditional female roles, none subscribe to fashion (apart from me), all support charities which benefit women. But when we were at school it was something we "ought" to be, as well as going to university and having children later.

Younger people I know through college are far more comfortable with the language, excluding the men. Although their attitude to their bodies I find really stressful. And we disagree on the kardashians and Katie price.

I hear a lot that feminism isn't needed anymore that you just need to work for it and similar. The problem in my eyes that largely in front of the eyes of the law, there isn't much need for it anymore. In particular, I hear many young boys say this, "they are equal in front of the law, they just want unfair advantages now".

However, what many people don't realize or want to, girls too, is that that doesn't matter. E.g. rape, yes, in the eyes of the law it's illegal, and yet somehow conviction rates are atrocious. The application of law is still behind.

And there is a general lack of awareness, lack of empathy. Even young girls/women, they outperform boys in school and university and earn more than men until they start having kids (sounds crude but it is what the date shows). Much like men are mostly incapable of even realizing much less understanding, how can these girls understand the perspective of all those that did suffer discrimination, or even violence?

Meant to add to the part about law, there is always a difference between of how something looks on paper and how it actually plays out. And if sexual harassment at the work place is illegal and those comments are "just banter", then there's nothing wrong, right? (/sarcasm).

Many adults forget what it is to be a teenager, therefore they come across as unlistening, unwilling to try to understand and preachy. To them, most feminist thought and literature is 20th century. A very different time from now.

The teen years are very intense and some of the challenges they face today are new to us. They don't want to hear about patriarchy and where it all went wrong, followed by a list of what they should/must do according to adults whose mistakes are blatantly obvious to them.

Many teenagers don't see the need for feminism.

I predict that a certain amount of reinventing the wheel will take place when gender identity politics are exposed as the misogynist claptrap that they are.

Unfortunately I think that this will only take place when the current generation of teenagers and young women start having babies. At which point the fact that biology matters - and favours males - will become clear.

Neither of my children do - my dd won the year 7 debating competition this year with a speach / debate advocating feminism.

my DDs in their 20s now, but would have called themselves feminists as teens - but they weren't over bothered about 'cool'

My DD is another not bothered by cool,

she thinks feminism is important but that gender identity etc is more of a "now" issue.

Their generation face many different challenges to ours, alongside the always present discrimination.

I'm 19 and about 90% of people my age that I know personally see it as uncool, or confuse it with man hating because of the name

My school has an active feminist group and is far from alone. I even know a boys' school nearby (which my brothers attend) which has a joint Feminist Society with their sister school, and a mixed school which has one attended by girls and boys. All my particular friends, girls and boys, are feminists/feminist allies.

The teen years are very intense and some of the challenges they face today are new to us. They don't want to hear about patriarchy

On the contrary, this is something we regularly discuss and hugely relevant to being a teenager now. Online misogyny, revenge porn, girls being pressured into sexual acts, the way some boys talk of girls (and women), sexually aggressive behaviour at parties, objectification, street harassment (which every girl I know has experienced, my first instance being at 14 in school uniform), violence against women and girls in general, victim blaming culture, the reasons we need feminism are endless.

I get the impression that there are 'Tumblr feminists' who are annoying, over-the-top, whining about men all the time which puts teens off the feminist tag.

Of course many teenage girls who try to stand up for feminism are attacked and bullied by their peers - such as this excellent girl: mashable.com/2017/04/23/teenager-gender-equality/#OuiI5p5CEkqq

But that discrimination is becoming more and more subtle and thus harder and harder to get society as a whole to recognize and address it.

I think it's easy for younger people to see it as irrelevant- this generation seem to be very open minded and liberal which is lovely...but that means they don't necessarily see how gender inequality, discrimination etc plays out. When you get older, your biology seems to come more into view and you also become wise to it all. I did sociology at A level and degree and covered feminism a lot but was under the false impression that the society I graduated into was equal etc. I soon realised when I started work that we were a long, long way off...and with each day it is clear that we are regressing.

That's really interesting, thanks. Not an easy question to give a straightforward answer to, I see.

Depends if they read teen vogue and think women are non men.

My DD identified as a feminist early on in her new sixth form when asked by the sociology teacher if anyone in the class considered themselves a feminist - she was quick to raise her hand but was the only one.The consensus was that there was no need for feminism because we are all equal now! The sociology teacher told me at parents evening aboyt it and said how sad it made her.

After that a small clique of girls would come right up to my DD's face in the corridor and shout lesbian at her. These same girls were presented to an anti homophobic bullying celeb who visited as good ambassadors as their best friend was a gay guy - go figure!

I dont think so

The label of feminist is uncool and unnecessarily inflammatory - is what the yoof don't like!
Be pro everything feminist, but don't have to label yourself- it's a generation of YouTube platforms- something to say, said publicly and for all to comment on!