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As a Gen Z woman, I can’t help but wonder, do we, as a society, really support women? We talk a lot about empowerment, self-love, and lifting each other up, but when it comes to the real test, do we actually practice what we preach?
The Gen Z Experience With Scrunity
Millie Bobby Brown’s recent post about public scrutiny felt all too familiar. It’s a cycle we’ve all seen. Women are held to impossible standards, then criticised the moment they change. “It’s so refreshing to see Millie being genuine and vulnerable on social media. She’s setting such a powerful example for young women everywhere, helping them feel more confident and secure in their own skin,” Tisha Shah, a friend, said, and I couldn’t agree more.
It’s as if we’re expected to be like a perfectly-preserved flower, delicate, untouched, never wilting, never growing. But that’s not how life works. We’re meant to change, to evolve, to find new versions of ourselves. And yet, when we do, why does it feel like we’re doing something wrong?
I’ve been lucky with my female friendships. My girls are my safe space, my biggest cheerleaders, and the ones who remind me of my worth when I forget it myself. But I know that’s not the reality for every woman. The ones who put themselves out there, who grow, evolve, and take up space, don’t always feel that same support. Instead, they’re met with scrutiny, with endless opinions about how they should look, dress, or simply exist.
The Fear Of Change
There’s this unspoken rule that we’re allowed to change, but only in a way that fits other people’s expectations. The second we step outside those lines, whether it’s in how we look, how we act, or what we stand for, it suddenly becomes a problem. We see this with women in the spotlight, but the truth is, it happens everywhere.
I think back to conversations with my friends, the ones where we’d talk about the changes we wanted in ourselves in the most lighthearted way. But the moment the girlies started listing what they would fix to feel "perfect," one of my friends said something that stuck with me—"For a girl to be perfect, there are way too many expectations." And he was right. There’s always another standard to meet, another box to tick, another reason to feel like who we are isn’t enough. I am not trying to complain, think of it as a rant with reality checks!
Even when I tell my girls they’re beautiful and mean it with my whole heart, I catch myself picking apart my own reflection. I know I shouldn’t compare myself to strangers on the internet, but that thought creeps in anyway. It’s exhausting to constantly remind yourself that you are enough when everything around you makes you feel like a work in progress.
A Shared Responsibility
We live in a time where we’re more connected than ever. We share, we comment, we scroll. It’s easy to forget that every post, every opinion, every throwaway remark contributes to the way we see ourselves and each other. "To the media—you’ve got an audience, use your voice to make a difference, not just to catch attention,” Tisha said. We say we believe in supporting women, but do we actually follow through? Are we as kind as we think we are, not just to others but to ourselves too?
“In literature we learn that words have meaning. That if you were to change a single letter, you could change the meaning of the whole word. Words in every sense of the word, have power. And yet, we forget that. We get so caught up in the fast-paced nature of our lives that we forget that our words have weight. That the random message you send on a boring Tuesday or the cruel comment you make on a dull Thursday, have power,” my friend, Sarah Khatib, adds.
It’s so much easier to criticise than it is to uplift. To nitpick instead of celebrate. But if we want things to change, we have to start showing up for each other in the way we always say we do.
This Women’s Day, Let’s Do Better
We talk a lot about women’s empowerment, but do we truly practise it? Do we stand by each other when it matters, or just when it’s easy? Real support isn’t just about posting the right words, it’s about action. It’s about celebrating growth, not tearing it down. It’s about giving women the space to exist, evolve, and take up room without shame, without judgement.
As Millie Bobby Brown put it, “I refuse to apologise for growing up. I refuse to make myself smaller to fit the unrealistic expectations of people who can’t handle seeing a girl become a woman.”
We ask, do we actually support women? Or do we just like the idea of it?
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