Thoughts on the Feminist Generational Divide
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.
I’m not trying to say that this is true of all seasoned feminists. Gloria Feldt, for instance, has been using social networking tools to connect with younger feminists, and she recently spoke at Arizona State University with a group of young women on the very topic of bridging the generational divide. Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country have been effectively employing social networking mediums, such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogging, to reach out to a younger audience. But I don’t feel like the same thing can be said about feminist organizations across the board.
To get back to the networking event that I attended – I left because I don’t have the kind of job that most of those women would find interesting. By day I’m just a secretary. By night, I’m a blogger who writes about how much I love vaginas. I’m as committed a feminist as you’ll find. But how do you talk to the CEO of some corporation about the ins and outs of feminist blogging?
This could all be my own assumptions. But remember – the particular group that was hosting the event last night has said that it wants to attract younger members. This is all good in theory. But you’ve got to reach out and host events that don’t cost $40 a pop, and you’ve got to make the events interesting to younger women.
The VFW has been facing a similar problem. NPR recently had a story about how younger vets don’t feel welcomed by the older veterans’ organization when they come home from Iraq and Afghanistan. In order to attract younger members, the VFW has had to rethink its events and how it markets itself. I think that the feminist movement could take a page from their book and start to critically examine the types of events we host, when and where we host regular membership meetings, and the type of services that we offer to connect with younger feminists.
This is all just my opinion. What do you think? Do you feel like there is a generational gap between second wavers and the current feminist generation? What do you think is the cause? And what are some potential solutions?
Photo credit: Getty Images
1PhilosopherP
wrote on 18 November 2009 at 8:57
I agree about the generational divide.
I think the problem goes well beyond young feminists. The real concern I have is that the image of feminism among my students is that feminists are a group of angry man-haters.
Explaining that feminism isn’t all about hating men often falls on deaf ears — in fact, my “Rate My Students” page has the following comment “This professor does not believe radical feminists exist” — which is exactly NOT the point of the one day discussion of feminism… but, they have an image of feminism in their heads and they are not willing to let it go.
Additionally, the current instances of gender discrimination are not readily acknowledged, so young women don’t see feminist concerns as their own concerns.
On both fronts, I tend to fault the older generation — frankly, for not getting out of the way. Of course, I’m a typical gen-Xer, in that I think the Boomers ought to get out of our way in many areas… Maybe young feminists ought to do our own organizing and simply move beyond the boomers?
2aj
wrote on 18 November 2009 at 14:47
I’m definitely not an expert on where we go from here, however; I completely agree with your sentiments on the generational gap. I’ve encountered several events/conferences/gatherings in which ‘veteran’ feminists made it almost impossible for me to engage them in a meaningful way. Rather then conversing over our differences and commonalities, I found myself expected to conform to the conversation already happening. I think this is pretty prevalent, and I’d venture to guess that many young feminists are feeling the same divide.
I think one of the problems is bridging the gap between competing ideologies. We have to face the facts: very few of us will ever come to the same exact terms about divergent issue relevant to feminist pedagogy. The socio-political context in which our lives are implicated has an enormous impact on our feminist perspective. When you take into account a significant age difference, it makes sense that our varied social locations will produce alternative ways of looking at feminism. The problem is an overall fear of these differences and an attempt to root them out.
I’ve had some intense intellectual debates with professors at long beach about my feelings about porn/sex work/etc. – and I often find myself looked down upon as a naive feminist. I guess that is true to a certain extent. I most certainly have a plethora of things to still learn about feminism. We all do.
I guess my point is that yes, I do feel the divide. I think it is very real and I think it is an issue of utmost importance. Coalition building within feminism is vital to resistance, production of marginalized knowledge, and the development of effective alternatives to the status quo.
thanks for sharing your experience at the conference and using it as a springboard for a larger discussion.
3Steph
wrote on 18 November 2009 at 19:43
Thanks for getting the ball rolling on this one, Serena. There was a recent article that broached this topic on feministing.com that I found particularly powerful, especially the quote, ” “I am getting tired of having the work of young women rendered invisible in one fell swoop by a few older feminists who clearly don’t take the time to talk or to listen to them.” (the article is here: http://www.feministing.com/archives/018755.html)
I’ve experienced the generational divide so many times and it’s infuriating. I’m on a listserv that caters to independent abortion providers, and the women who email on it sometime make snide remarks about the “young ladies” on staff who are always on twitter/facebook, how we don’t “get” the issues, how we’re ungrateful, ignorant, etc. Sometimes I feel like philosopherp and just want them to get out of the way. Other times I find myself yearning to understand. If I were ungrateful, why would I be in the movement? If I’m ignorant, teach me to understand! For heaven’s sakes, if you want young women in the movement, you have to reach out to us, not insult us.
There is a lot of work to be done.
4Andrea
wrote on 19 November 2009 at 12:56
I agree there is a generational divide. Although I was loved by the older women in the League of Women Voters when I joined at 14, my mom and I were both considered the younger generation in the group.
I went to a book event about 2 years ago that featured a panel trying to address this issue. (The book is Sisterhood Interrupted by Deborah Siegel and unfortunately, I still haven’t read it.) However, even at this event I felt the divide. It seemed that most of the “younger generation” on the panel were in their late-30s, early 40s. Although these women are younger than second wave feminists I still felt a level of competition with even younger feminists.
I’m not sure what should be done to help build generational bridges. I think it is will take a combination of things. Older feminists actually being willing to pass the torch and acknowledge the accomplishments and visions of younger feminists. While younger feminists need to do a better job of showing appreciation for history and an eagerness to learn from those who have gone before.
5freewomyn
wrote on 19 November 2009 at 19:12
@ PhilosopherP – WOW! Way to be so bold. I love your moxie. I agree that younger women (and men) have a negative image of feminism. Nothing pisses me off more than when someone says “I’m not a feminist, but I believe in equality.” Yo – if you believe in equality, you’re a feminist.
6freewomyn
wrote on 19 November 2009 at 19:15
@ AJ – You make some good points. I agree with you about the attitudes towards porn, sex work, etc. But I think the generational differences can also be felt when you’re talking about the term “queer.” Older feminists, especially lesbians, are really resistant to embracing that label because they feel it erases lesbian identities.
7freewomyn
wrote on 19 November 2009 at 19:17
@ Steph – great point about Facebook/Twitter. I think a lot of people in the generation before us don’t realize the ways that we younger activists are using social networking to organize. You could never have had something like a flashmob back in the 60′s. Getting hundreds, let alone thousands, of people to show up for a mark took months to plan and promote. Nowadays, you can get hundreds of folks to show up and rally if you put a post out on Twitter. You gotta get with the times.
8freewomyn
wrote on 19 November 2009 at 19:18
@ Andrea – I think we’re willing to appreciate and learn from history. How many feminists do you know who aren’t fascinated by women’s history?