A Passionate Defence of Young Women and Millennials

I read an article recently that stayed with me.

To sum up; it was about a 30 year old woman experiencing very real health problems that have been attributed to burn out.

That’s right… burn out. At 30.

The reason it stayed with me is because I see this every single day. I see it in colleagues and peers. I see it in friends and family. It is a serious and growing problem and an issue we should discuss more than we do.

The Impossible Woman

I see it in men, but I do believe it is more prevalent in young women. The pressure heaped on young women to be all things to everyone, is increasingly harsh.

They must be thin, they must be popular, they must be fit, they must be emotionally strong, they must be creative, they must be independent, they must be ambitious, they must be funny, they must be perfect mothers and daughters, they must be feminists, they must be social, they must be kind, they must be fashionable, they must be successful…

They must exhausted. They must be overwhelmed.

They must be sick of it. Literally.

Millennial Bashing

These young women also fall into another category that society deems worthless: Millennials.

The phenomenon that I refer to as ‘Millennial Bashing’ has become a national past time. It also seems to be almost universal accepted — encouraged even.

In the past year I’ve heard millennials referred to as entitled, lazy, impolite, undeserving, spoilt, ignorant, arrogant, dumb, apathetic, unsociable, too sociable and stupid. Stupid.

Apparently they want it all, they want it now, but they’re unwilling to put in the hard yards.

Nonsense.

Firstly, catch-all labels like ‘millennial’ are pointless in the first place. Suggesting people born within ten years of each other can all be lumped into one neatly contained box is beyond the pale. Stupid even.

Secondly, as mentioned above, these young men and women are subjected to societal expectations that are higher than ever before. They cannot possibly be all the things we demand them to be. We have set the rules in direct opposition… we have set them up to fail.

Yet despite this, I have met many people under the age of 30 who are dynamic, passionate, politically active, caring, ambitious, polite, hard working, intelligent, environmentally conscious, emotionally mature and creative.

Have we all forgotten that we were once the younger generation? That we were once subjected to the same snarky labels and criticism? That we were told to sit down, shut up and know your place? That we would never be what our parents and our grandparents were?

It’s time to give these wonderfully diverse and progressive young people a break. Who’s with me?

Have you experienced this kind of labelling? Have you been subject to criticism, simply for being who you are? Or maybe you think I’m wrong and this younger generation really are lazy? Either way, let me know. And don’t forget to click that heart below! Thanks.