Dear NARAL and Newsweek: I’m A Young Feminist and I Care

NARAL says the younger feminists aren't as involved in the movement; that we've got a "lack of passion." To that I say - we are here, they just need to pay attention.

NARAL leaders should be ashamed of themselves. I think the article in Newsweek, “Remember Roe! How can the next generation defend abortion rights when they don’t think abortion needs defending?” is going to do more harm than good for their organization. Many young feminists pride themselves on being inspired from older feminists who’ve fought hard to make sure our voices are heard in this country. Many young feminists have a strong passion for women’s rights and reproductive freedom and to be “called out” about the “lack of involvement and passion” is highly upsetting and disappointing.

I don’t think our generation has a lack of passion or involvement in this movement, I think we express ourselves in different ways. We blog, we phone-bank, and some feminists are on the frontlines fighting at the clinics or in the Senate to make sure we are able to get the rights we deserve. If that’s not passion, what is? What constitutes Feminism in our generation? Just because we are not donating thousands of dollars to the organizations and attending every rally that is organized in each city, this does not mean we do not care. Where are the millennials they interviewed? I didn’t see any findings from any of their actual supporters.

For once, I think older feminists who criticize our generation and make it seem like we don’t care should take a good look at the activists that they see on television, blogs, and running the rallies. They are twenty-somethings who believe in this movement and the change that can happen when we band together for women’s rights; we are here, they just need to pay attention.