Yesterday I attended a women’s leadership event that was attended primarily by women in their 40′s and 50′s. The particular group hosting the event is struggling to engage new members in the 20- and 30-something age set. And yet at last night’s event, there were maybe 3 out of 100 women there in the target age group. I ended up leaving the event early because I didn’t feel like I could approach any of the women to network and meet new people. It’s unfortunate. I am always looking for new feminist friends. This could have been an ideal opportunity.

Once of the challenges facing the feminist movement is that there seems to be a generational divide amongst the older, more established members of our community, and the younger, emerging leaders of the movement. I think this was evidenced over the summer at the national NOW conference and the election of the new NOW president. It’s been talked about on several blogs all year. And I’ve overheard many seasoned feminists say that they feel like we younger women don’t show enough gratitude for all they’ve done for us. First of all, I’m grateful for all the women who have come before me. That isn’t the issue at stake. The issue is that the aging generation of feminists needs us to carry the torch, they know it, and yet they are unable to meet us at a happy middle point. [Read more...]