Yes, I said it, feminism needs an update.

Feminism has done its job in the past and worked for the most part, but this new generation of young American needs something more. We’re individuals and don’t share an identity. I think it’s time for people to realize that intersectionality is what we need.

Intersectionality means that there are overlapping social identities that cause someone to face more than one form of discrimination. Everyone has some sort of privilege, some more than others. In the past, feminists chanting “All women need to stick together” down the street was good enough, but in the present, it not currently. I think it’s time we all recognize that all women come from different social classes and face different struggles in life.

I’ve always had a hard time trying to understand why I should automatically support other women just because we share similar reproductive organs. You need to know and respect me and where I come from, but instead it seems like you use me for support and do not speak on my personal oppressions.  Some women just join the cause with no questions asked.

Feminism has always had a middle to upper white female face in front of it in America which is why it needs to change. I cannot relate to this. I am not going to follow these women blindly, knowing there are other women like me in this country who don’t fit into narrow categories.

I need to be part of a movement where my voice will be heard, one where American women can have open dialogues about how we are very different from each other and the acceptance that is needed. I want to see and hear more diverse groups of women – be they disabled, poor, LGBTQ, WOC, immigrant – tell their stories and experiences and join the frontlines of feminism. How are we going to be “sisters” and fight for our rights together when we’re ignorant to other deciding factors contributing to our oppression?