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Reclaiming the F-Word (The Body: Creativity, Control, and Power)

“Militant. Radical. Man-hating.” (Bennet, 2014)

Is this what feminism means in our culture? In Brancaccio, Mehta, and Menendez’s article, “Most Millennials Believe in Gender Equity, but Avoid the ‘Feminist’ Label” the authors discuss how many young people shy away from describing themselves as feminists. My classmates and I felt that this was partly due to negative connotations surrounding the word, and presented ideas for how to overcome this stigma and how to reframe the feminist label as a positive one. One of the suggestions was that we must use the media to begin to take control of the narrative surrounding feminism. As I read further about this issue, I realized that is already happening in U.S. culture.

Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images

Beyonce is an example of how feminism is being redefined for the younger generations. She was the focus of another article that we read in this module (LaVoulle and Ellison’s “The Bad Bitch Barbie Craze and Beyonce” in Taboo, Fall 2017), but she has done more to reclaim the word “feminist.”. According to Jessica Bennet in Time (August 26, 2014), 2014 saw online language trends that associated Beyonce with the word “feminist” in the days following that year’s MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), on which she performed her song “Flawless” in front of a digital sign that screamed the word in bold, capital letters. While it was a single moment on a single awards show, Beyonce’s choice to reclaim the word and associate it with her Bad Bitch Barbie image has the potential to influence many millennials, particularly women of color.

"By promoting feminism across social media platforms through humor, informational campaigns, and positive messaging, these women, and countless others, have changed the pace and narrative of hate speech on social media." (Thompson, 2023)

Millennial and Gen-Z feminists are also using social media to help reclaim feminism for their peers. Young feminists on social media platforms are helping to change the connotations of what it means to be a feminist by sharing their experiences, raising awareness about gender inequality, and organizing protests and other activist campaigns. They are working to counter hate speech on these platforms, and are instrumental in amplifying strong, intersectional feminist voices.

While many Millennials may still resist labeling themselves as "feminists," others are working to overcome the negative connotations that have developed around the word. Change will not happen overnight, but I believe that we are on our way to reclaiming "feminist" as a word to be proud of and to rally around as a community.



References


Bennet, Jessica. "How to Reclaim the F-Word? Just call Beyonce." Time, August 26, 2014. https://time.com/3181644/beyonce-reclaim-feminism-pop-star/


Brancaccio, David, Jonaki Mehta, and Sarah Menendez. "Most Millennials Believe in Gender Equality, But Avoid the 'Feminist' Label." Marketplace, August 27, 2018. https://www.marketplace.org/2018/08/27/economy/most-millennials-believe-gender-equity-avoid-feminist-label/


Thompson, Genevive. "The Social Media Revolution is Reshaping Feminism." National Organization of Women (website), May 4, 2023. https://now.org/blog/the-social-media-revolution-is-reshaping-feminism/


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