Feminists by Attitude

What interests me about feminism and the feminist movement is how it is perceived now by a modern generation of women.
Women are so aware of the term and more notably the stigma of being a 'Feminist' that many refuse to label themselves such even though they live with the morals and ideals of one.

Call them granddaughters of feminism. This is the first generation of young women to have no collective memory of of the struggles their predecessors' have endured in securing the rights they now take for granted - the pill, abortion, and equality in the workplace, among others. While some double standards and glass ceilings still exist on the battleground of the sexes, Gen Y girls see very few barriers ahead. Confident and commanding respect, they are taking with them into the marketplace a vastly different view of their place in society. And their voices are loud and clear. Some 35 million strong, a group almost as large as their Boomer Fore-mothers, they are poised to alter every industry they tough. Just like their bar-burning elders, kit seems they too will forever change the practice of marketing to women.
In may ways, Gen Ys could prove more tricky to reach than the preceding generations. Four decades ago, advertising messages need only tell you how a product could make the sink sparkle. Tin the 1970s and 80s, ads like Secret's "strong enough for a man, but made for a woman," were enough to speak to that generation. By the 1990s. marketing to women evolved once again, this time reflecting women's "soccer mom" role as head juggler of career and family. But today's Gen Ys represent a more complex target for marketeers. They have to access, on average, to 62 TV channels, not to mention the internet, personal digital assistants and mobile phones- increasing the number of avenues through which advertisers can reach them. most important, they are the first generation to take women's equality for granted. "Feminism today feels like fluoride," says Amy Richards, co-author of manifest A: Young Women, Feminism and the Future, and co founder of the Third Wave Foundation, an organisation devoted to helping young women recognise and fight women's issues. "We scarcely notice that we have it - its simply in the water."
  Dr. Ellen Freidman, a professor of women's studies at the Collage of New Jersey, likes to illustrate this phononmen with  a classroom  exercise. She starts her first class of the semester by asking a roomful of freshmen students, "How many of you are feminists?" At most, one or two hands go up, says Freidman. Then she asks, "How many of you believe in equal pay for equal work" and all the hands are raised. According to an exclusive study conducted for American Demographics by New York City-based youth market research firm Element, just 34 percent of girls, aged 13 to 20, label themselves feminists. Yet, even if the word is outmoded, the ideas that define it are still alive in the attitudes of today youth. Ninety-seven percent believe a woman should receive the same pay for the same work as a man does: 92 percent agree that a woman's lifestyle choices should not be limited by her gender; and 89 percent say a woman can be successful without a man or children.
  Unlike their 70s feminist ancestors, who believed that 'acting like a girl' was asking to be treated as such, most of today's young women do not feel any disjoint between being a feminist (or identifying with feminist ideals) and being  feminine. "Just because you want to be treated equal doesn't mean you can scream when you see a spider," says Karisa Powers, 15, from Soldonta, Alaska. In fact, 56 percent of young women agree that, ' a man should always open the door for a woman.' according to the Element study. Only 8 percent disagree (35 percent are neutral.)
Just 25 percent of girls identify with the statement, 'there are still many inequalities between sexes and women need to combine to fight for their rights,' say the researchers at Element. 'These girls are not interested in hearing about organized movements or activism,' says  Marie C. Wilson, president of the Ms. Foundation for Women. 'They are feminists by attitude.'

Granddaughters of Feminism
By: Gardyn, Rebecca. 
American Demographics, April 2001, Vol. 23 Issue 4, p42




I think its definitely positive how women can now nod to the past of feminism and who live by its values without acknowledging it. In an ideal (and ironicly feministic) world the feminist movement shouldn't have to exist at all. Gender and Sex should be equal and the western world  does seem to be moving in the direction of this primarily in the attitude that active feminism is no longer needed or seen to be of great importance.

Knowledge and perspective are key.

I also find it interesting that we have been looking at this subject from a mainly western point of view. Perspectives change with knowledge and vice versa.