In the aftermath of the election, my girlfriend and I were ecstatic to hear the good news in regards to several races across the nation: Dem win for governor here in the Evergreen State, marriage equality wins by popular vote, the election of a record number of out LGBT public officials, the election of the most women in Congress ever, and the security of knowing that women's issues would be protected and fought for the next four years.
We're both 18 and this was our first election that we were able to participate in. Over the last 18 months, we've blossomed as far as political awareness goes, much to the aid of places like Planned Parenthood, DailyKos, Tumblr, and Twitter. Truly, the generation that has become aware of the world nearly entirely via the Internet is coming of age -- and a lot of them are liberal.
Moreover, a lot of my peers are becoming feminists without knowing it! Jasmine signed up for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest's Teen Council program after another member had talked about it in class and offered to refer her to next year's session. The program became an excellent resource not only for basic sex education, but also for LGBT and women's issues. Planned Parenthood provided information that distanced itself from being partisan, leaving only facts for its members to take in and analyze themselves. Since Republicans are afraid of facts, as they should be, it allowed all those involved to understand the importance of fighting for women and LGBT rights.
This activism and spirit wasn't kept there - the facilitators and organizers of the Teen Council would arrange for their members to teach in schools and to share what they learned. And, boy, did they! Every week I'd learn something new, and frequently Jasmine would love to share and often would advocate for women's issues and LGBT struggles. It had an impact on some others I noted, but it also had a large impact on me.
It isn't just organizations like Planned Parenthood, it's Internet sites like DailyKos, activists on Tumblr and social media, channels that Millennials and younger are entangled in that have done a fantastic job at informing and changing public opinion.
I'd consider myself a feminist. When having a discussion about male rape, I asked Jasmine: "Why does it have to be 'male rape'? Why can't it just be rape?", not a question I'd imagine myself even giving a second thought just a couple years ago. Though her and I have taught much to our peers, what strikes me is that the majority of the people we've spoke with about these issues don't consider it feminism. In fact, I rarely ever hear that term from anyone in my age group. What's fantastic is that the young voters that I know consider "feminist issues" to be merely common sense. Not partial to any movement or any kind of person, they're issues for everyone and are largely no longer lumped in a faction of the Left.
Why can't women have the right to choose? Why can't they have free access to contraceptives? Why can't women be paid the same as men for the same job? Why is it so necessary to push gender roles? Women don't have to be married to be successful, nor should they be confined at home. Why can't everyone marry the person they love? Why the scare tactics against the LGBT community?
Though many believe in these issues to varying degrees in the 16-24 demographic, most consider it to be a no-brainer -- and they're voting in larger numbers. Social conservatives should be scared, and realize that they're going to lose an entire generation.