尤物视频

By Lauren Drexel

In the current political climate, with women鈥檚 rights being taken away along with the rights of many other minority groups, I often wonder if we have gotten angry enough yet. Throughout my time watching 鈥淪he鈥檚 Beautiful When She鈥檚 Angry鈥� I found myself thinking that the circumstances for women in many places today is not so different from how it was then. Despite this, I rarely hear about feminist demonstrations, protests or events that I could support or participate in. The second wave feminists in that documentary credit anger as the fuel for their radical activist fire, and I can鈥檛 help but wonder why it hasn鈥檛 done so again. Comparing the testimonies of the women in the documentary to my own experiences I鈥檝e come to think that social media and the digital age, individualism, and capitalistic ideals are three major contributing factors in the struggle to unite women and organize change.

It could be argued that the internet, social media more specifically, would be an ideal tool to use for organizing large groups. Theoretically, you could use these platforms to send out information, to communicate quickly and effectively and to recruit people to your organization. Unfortunately, I believe recent news about how the owners of these platforms are limiting content on them highlights one of the biggest reasons these platforms can鈥檛 accomplish that. So long as these platforms are privately owned, activist voices can be censored and what was once an opportunity for movements to reach new individuals suddenly becomes a small room where we鈥檙e yelling at nobody. When an activist group is not in control of their communication platform, they will likely have to censor themselves, therefore watering down their message and preventing truly radical thought. The feminists in 鈥淪he鈥檚 Beautiful When She鈥檚 Angry鈥� credit women who came before them with helping them realize the reality of their situation, but if we don鈥檛 have a way to communicate to women then they may never even realize that things could be better for them. Feminist thought can be lost and forgotten easily if it鈥檚 not talked about and shared, so limiting communication is one of the biggest barriers feminism could face.

Social media has also allowed for the mass spread of misinformation and a fast news turnover that has built distrust and disinterest into most people. Rightly so, many people don鈥檛 believe what they read online. It鈥檚 easy for people to make the mistake of believing something false such that even when feminist groups can get their messages out there, people are doubtful of the truth in their claims and have less urgency to act. Second wave feminists may have been able to create global buzz when their activism made the news, but creating a strong impression on someone is a lot harder when there are so many other things also invading their feed. I think people are burning out, and no longer feel they have the capacity to engage with activism of any kind. This means that even when opportunities for activism aren鈥檛 shut down, social media allows people to feel far removed enough from the problems and solutions being suggested that they can ignore the issue entirely.

In the documentary one of the women talks about how the women鈥檚 liberation movement was painful, but necessary. This is a sentiment that I think is essential for activism but sorely missing in our society. Individualism is rampant, both in and out of feminist movements. From people who feel it isn鈥檛 their problem and therefore not their burden, to the folks who don鈥檛 care as long as it isn鈥檛 near them and even to choice feminists who would rather not challenge the status quo, the focus is on individual people and their lives and choices rather than on society as a whole and the way we all coexist and influence each other. It seems very few people are interested in enduring the pain that so often must come with change, for every one of every gender. There is self-work for all of us to do if we want to create a better future for the women who come after us. The structural change comes from people deciding to change their perspectives, but when we aren鈥檛 thinking about the lives of others, or if we aren鈥檛 even necessarily considering them to be other people in the way we consider ourselves to be people, then that structural change is far less likely to occur. 

Capitalism works to exacerbate this issue, by both functioning as a distraction and by severely limiting our time and resources. When women are struggling to fulfill basic tasks, like getting all their housework done, caring for their children and working to finance their lives, they have far less time and energy to dedicate toward fighting against their own oppression. This has often meant that the most radical movements are full of young people, but the cost of living has become so brutal that even those without the responsibilities of families or property to care for are struggling to participate. I鈥檓 not the only person I know who works two jobs and goes to school, and I struggle to find time for much outside of that. It鈥檚 understandable for people to be less able to dedicate their time and money to activist causes, but I think its important to remember that without these movements there may be no more opportunities for women to have those things that fill up our lives. It can be hard in our busy schedules to make the time for activism, but if we don鈥檛 at least prioritize that work, we put ourselves at a disadvantage in the long run.

Choice feminism acts as a servant to capitalism, individualism and social media all at once to ensure our distraction from important issues and reassuring women that their preoccupation with consumption is as feminist as it gets and by keeping our conversations surface level. If we are too busy debating whether preventative Botox is feminist or not, we might forget about all the atrocities occurring around us. If we think that every decision we make as women is inherently feminist if it makes us feel good or happy without questioning the reason why something feels good, we aren鈥檛 challenging social norms at all and just continue to uphold the patriarchal standard. If the only content we鈥檙e getting about what feminism is and its purpose are to make sure women can make choices and not be criticized for them then it鈥檚 no wonder people aren鈥檛 rushing to make banners and start protests.

The women of the second wave feminist movements were inspired by books, feminist publications, lectures and demonstrations. Print media was extremely important to their movements, but in the age of social media, print no longer gets the attention it once did, and with an oversaturation of content both online and on cable, it鈥檚 hard for any movement or issue to gain enough traction to make big waves in the cultural conversation. Feminism is on everyone鈥檚 lips; however, what feminism is and what people want to do with it is too murky for most people to organize around. People are tired, overworked, burnt out and lacking in hope or motivation. I think what鈥檚 missing isn鈥檛 necessarily anger, but rather hope and inspiration. Anger is a part of it, but the anger doesn鈥檛 help us if we don鈥檛 have any hope. If people don鈥檛 think they can make change, I don鈥檛 think the anger alone will cut it. It鈥檚 time to showcase what we can do! Let people feel the power of individuals coming together and make participating in feminism something that feels fun and empowering! The important thing is being able to transform that anger into action, and focusing just on how angry we should be doesn鈥檛 seem to be accomplishing that.