I would argue that it is not so much the battle of the sexes that occupies our minds anymore, but the battle of generations that drives topics of discussion as of late. Generation Z has been deemed as the first generation that was “raised on the internet” (Insider Intelligence), and along with this, numerous trends have been launched against Boomers and Millennials in an attempt at self-expression. These trends often circle back in ridicule due to our sense of bright rebellion that seems to spread like wildfire among the youth, and older generations reject this in regards to their pre-existing beliefs. They disapprove of this rebellious nature, but it is rooted in our newfound consciousness brought to life by the digital world which is unique to Gen-Z’s alibi. Social Media has turned Gen-Z into “social justice warriors” with our own progressive standards that we are not afraid to be made known. We are in an age where Feminism and other movements such as Black Lives Matter and LGBTQIA+ awareness have not become just socially acceptable but turned into the social standard, which is groundbreaking from where these movements were first germinated. Our era has learned to be unapologetically ourselves, which has never been more commonly widespread than now. Our predecessors have rooted values in our bones that current voices continue to water, thus creating the gracefully forceful nature of Gen-Z and the modern feminist identity.
Of course, Gen-Z did not invent feminism by any means, but we are some of the most passionate partakers in this movement thanks to our predecessors who paved the way for the growth of a movement that has and will continue to change lives. I like to think of the Feminist Movement as broken into two parts, Analytic and Synthetic as described in Carl Jung’s psychological concept of the individual. Individuation is a crucial part of understanding one’s identity in regards to discovering the inner world, and in this case, discovering the birth of the feminist appeal. Self-discovery is Jung’s forté and it applies nicely to the understanding of a movement because in a way it is like understanding one's inner self as it is the passions and outstanding beliefs of a mass of people. This analytical perspective delves into the separation and differentiation of beliefs, which can be perceived as our original Feminist figures breaking away from the black and white world they were brought into, discovered the wheels that we still have turning today. Those wheels spin faster every day with the implementation of synthetics, which unites the opposites and represents the modern-day role models of feminism who redefine societal standards and promote social justice.
The first stage in self-discovery is awareness of the ego, which in this case would be the oppression women faced back when we were seen strictly as objects. Early examples of this brave acknowledgment date back to the 19th century when Emily Dickinson felt like her words and mind did not matter because “they shut [her] up in prose” ( Dickinson, Line 1) all because she wore dresses instead of slacks, which I am sure she challenged from time to time. I like to see Dickinson as the embodiment of early feminism as she never married, rejected the life of a housewife, and always prioritized her own truths above anyone else’s, especially a man’s. Shortly after women’s acknowledgment of the patriarchy that held them down, the shadow self that opposes the ego was born with the Suffrage Movement that fought for women’s right to vote with a congressional amendment. The Nineteenth Amendment was not ratified until 1920, but this delay shows us the utter passion of the suffragettes who refused to give up on their equality and that right there defines feminism in a nut-shell. The casted shadow of once blind women who learned to embrace their unfortunate position by fighting for their rights and therefore opposing the ego, fulfilling the first major step in understanding the feminist identity. The analytics of feminism brought down the man’s world one step at a time, like First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who was “a liberal feminist, for her times” (New York Times) and a suffragette encouraging women’s engagement in politics. Without Roosevelt, I do not think we would be so in awe over sex-positive Marilyn Monroe who was known to pose nude on the cover of magazines in times of strict modesty, but she did not necessarily do this for the male gaze. Monroe was “a modern-day feminist” (LA Magazine) who thought the world should be run “by the joint endeavors of men and women as equals” and her risque nature was one of the first proofs that women can be comfortable and confident in their sexuality without being promiscuous. This concept reigns controversial even today as crop-tops are a staple in many young women’s closets, and luckily most of society has started to understand the double-standard of victim-blaming, although progression is a work in progress and females are still being regularly scrutinized for showing skin. Historical women like Emily Dickinson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Marilyn Monroe are the feminist heroes that acknowledged their minority and therefore opposed the ego and its patriarchy in order for future generations such as ourselves to live equally. All three of these women have also aided their support in queer awareness that closely follows the progression of feminism as each had alleged affairs and relationships with other women in a time where this was severely punishable. The sapphic trifecta of women who had to hide a part of themselves to be taken seriously knew what took to break down the walls they had previously accepted and venture outside of them for the future of women.
As the 21st century has persisted to deem Feminism a standard, it is common to find a Feminist in the media, but the less numerous women who embody the Feminist Movement and escalate its power are those who have shaped Gen-Z into the insurgents that we are. These synthetic social media influencers and celebrity activists who have learned from our analytic anarchists we so dearly admire aid in the development of Jung’s final stage of the self-development process: the self. I believe that we are upon a mass awakening of the self that is spreading like wildfire due to the generational passion that has been building up and finally being released with the digital age. This modern approach to Feminism was first introduced by the arts, one of the most powerful forms being music that is largely driven by misunderstood “Miss Americana[s]” (Swift) like Taylor Swift. Not very many young women decline big-time record labels at 13, win sexual assault cases and counter-sue for $1, put merchandise on a 25% less sale because former President Trump said he likes her music 25% less, publicly voices her political opinion without caring if she loses publicity, and remains at the top of the charts for 15 years. Her feminism has been especially evident within the last few years with songs such as “Only the Young” and “The Man” that essentially say “fuck the patriarchy” because “they aren’t gonna change this, we gotta do it ourselves” all while questioning how much easier things would be “if [she] were a man.” These songs come from the age-old passion for equal rights and are written in a state of flow that allows one to see directly into their self, Taylor Swift understands the importance of her actions that are constantly criticized by the limelight because she knows the younger generation is watching too. She has been releasing music since I was 2 years old, so in a way, her actions have been incorporated into my ideals and she helped to raise an entire generation of now teenagers who know how to stand up for what is right. By the time of the next presidential election, most of us will be able to vote and through the internet, we have had access to every political view in order to shape our own opinions, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of those politicians I have come across who incorporates feminism very clearly into her campaigns. In 2019, the year of the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote, she wore “suffragette white to President Trump's State of the Union address”(The Hill) “because there's so much more that we have to fight for” (Ocasio-Cortez). Having a Puerto Rican woman like Ocasio-Cortez who stands up for minorities’ rights in mainstream politics is an incredible influence for young people as opposed to most of the wealthy white men who could not care less about issues that do not directly affect them. Gen-Z has always loved the rebellion as we indulged in books like The Hunger Games and Divergent and kids and now have stepped into novels like The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Atwood published this daringly revolutionary work in 1985 and it is still on certain banned booked lists for vulgarity, but I think it is something everyone should read at least once. Atwood created an absurd world where women have no rights and are used strictly to produce offspring which are then handed to the rich seconds after birth to grow up in a hyper-censored world and live a modest life. The scariest part of this book is how closely it parallels our own society and makes you wonder how long until we are stripped completely from our rights and placed in a fenced-in community. This book appalled me, frightened me, shocked me, and most importantly it inspired me. The scariest part is that Atwood did “not include anything that human beings had not already done in some other place or time” (LitHub) and the most inspiring is that we can learn from the contents of this book in order to prevent this future harsh reality from manifesting. Artwork such as writing and music influences the media so much and without role models such as Taylor Swift, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Margaret Atwood I do not think that the Feminist Movement would be as prevalent as it is today, which is something I am eternally grateful for and plan put in much effort to keep it alive and growing forever. These individuals who are the shining front faces of the feminist identity have discarded much effort into how Gen-Z thinks and acts mostly without even realizing it and that is what it means to be so unapologetically intuned with yourself that you inspire everyone around you.
When the efforts of the analytics who were the first to tear down the walls and the synthetics who built up their own walls on their own terms are combined, the result is our era. The Feminist Movement has done a great deal in the shaping of Gen-Z’s persistence to do what we please regardless of rules or opinions because life is too short to spend it suffering when it could be spent conquering. Thank you to those who risked their lives for ours to be better than their own, we see you, hear you, and we will become you to better the human race and stand up for what must be done.