To the younger women of DU:

[laundry_queen]

108. Not really younger

I'm in my late 30's so I'll just post what I've observed in my oldest daughter.

She is turning out to be a hard core feminist - as in starting to join in on activism (she's already a LGBT activist so it comes naturally to her). Her and her friends, I think, had their eyes opened by the teen girls that committed suicide due to the harassment they received online after sexual assaults. They are well aware of how bad it is out there due to social media - they see the disgusting comments made, sexism on display, the 'rape culture' and so on. They are organizing, but I think it's just getting started. I think you will see more from them in the coming years.

When I was her age, feminism was the last thing I cared about. It was seen as a dirty word by my parents and I was ignorant about it. I just didn't know any better, I didn't understand the history and I didn't see the sexism around me, because it was 'normal'. Just like I didn't see how I was raised in an emotionally abusive environment, because it was my normal. When I moved out, my views changed radically. I think there was a huge lull in the world of feminism when I was growing up, and I think that lull is over now with what I see with my kids. When I was younger, the worst offenders were able to 'cover it up' and so you didn't know how bad it was, but now, it's all over the internet and you can't really deny it. Young women see it and are doing something about it. I think feminism is in a better position now than it was 20 years ago.