by Nona Willis Aronowitz
In November 2006, mere weeks after the death of my mother, radical feminist and journalist Ellen Willis, my friend Emma Bee Bernstein and I found ourselves contemplating what feminism meant to us. We were just 22, and we felt that the legacy of feminism was slipping through our fingers and that our generation needed to define this word, this concept, this feeling for ourselves.
So we did what any sensible young women would do: We hit the road. For several months, through dozens of cities, we drove across the United States in a Chevy Cavalier, photographing young women and finding out what was important to them. We talked with women as diverse as a burlesque dancer, a future nun, an air force worker, a 16-year-old pop star hopeful and a bartender on welfare.
What we discovered is that there is no feminist “movement” anymore—and that’s not a bad thing. Whether it comes from a progressive non-profit in Uganda, a tiny grassroots group in Lake Andes, North Dakota, or a single working mother in Mexico City, today’s feminism works better less as a movement and more as a pervading cultural force. Our generation isn’t interested in labels, in binding together over a few common issues and following the lead of a few faces of feminism—the kind of thing that made women feel marginalized in the first place. It happened during the Second Wave, when most of the feminists in the spotlight were educated, middle-class white women in big cities. It happened in the Third Wave, when both real and manufactured generational divides crippled the movement. And it still happens now, when certain bloggers or issues are privileged over others by the mass media.
So do we still even need the word “feminism”? Absolutely. Feminism still has the power to ignite a gender awareness, hearkening back to that old-fashioned but very much alive concept of “consciousness-raising.” The word may no longer be necessary to label our generation’s hardworking activists. As one race activist in New Orleans told us, “Who cares? Just do the work!” But destigmatizing feminism is essential in a less tangible way. Not only does it make young women cognizant of issues relating to gender equality and justice, but it also encourages them to consistently talk about these issues. Our generation of feminists don’t have one-track minds—our ideas about race, class, sex, politics and everything else are all channeled through the prism of feminism. It’s an amorphous, intersectional prism that’s making real political change.
Whether they feel empowered, discouraged, enraged or mobilized, young women have strong opinions about what they want to see happen in the future. And no matter whether you agree with or identify with it, the concept of “feminism” starts these ideas flowing. It acts as a code word to bring to light gender issues. It keeps us on a continuum of history. If a word can do all that, then it’s sure as hell worth fighting for.
Nona Willis Aronowitz is the co-author of Girldrive: Criss-crossing America, Redefining Feminism. She is a reporter at Chicago Tribune’s Triblocal.com, and she also blogs at www.girl-drive.com.
