Shelby Knox and Feminists Now

Dawn Aldrich with Shelby Knox

Shelby Knox, one of the keynote speakers at this year’s National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL), inspired a room of more than 500 women last Friday morning when she spoke about her experiences with sex education and activism.

After a hilarious performance by feminist comedian Lucé Tomlin-Brenner, AAUW’s Executive Director Linda Hallman introduced Knox and set the tone for the morning with an important piece of advice. “Never box yourself in to anything,” she told us.

Upon taking the stage, Knox joked about being such an “angry, humorless feminist” that a comedian needed to open for her. But by the end of her address, it became quite clear that she is definitely not angry or humorless.

As Knox told us her story about how she’s gotten where she is today at age 24, we laughed with her. We empathized. We recalled our own privileges, our own biases, our own stories. She discussed the problems that many women have with identifying as a feminist. There is such a history of privilege and discrimination that many choose to reject such a loaded label.

Then Knox shared her definition of feminism: hearing your pain, struggle, and experience in another woman’s voice and realizing that there’s nothing wrong with you or with her.

Despite the throngs of young women who do self-identify as feminists, we are frequently accused of being apathetic and asked why we aren’t taking to the streets like activists did during the women’s liberation movement. Speaking to a crowd of mostly young women, Knox reminded us that everyone’s individual idea of a young feminist agenda is different but still valid. She described the immense power of social media and online activism in accomplishing real-world results.

The activism of our generation may look different than the activism of our parents and grandparents, but it is our way of sharing our thoughts and advocating for what we believe. We are activists; we are not apathetic. We’re not willing to box ourselves in.

Before receiving a standing ovation, Knox ended with a powerfully motivating statement for anyone, regardless of age or gender, who believes in equality: “We are not the future of the feminist movement. We are the now.”

Are you up for the challenge?