The CJ Spanish province recently held a youth consultation to commemorate International Women’s Day and discuss issues related to gender equality. Please see the full report for more information.
Conclusions:
1 Aesthetic first
Despite living in an advanced society like Spain, the construction of youth identity is still strongly anchored in the tyranny of the physical. Teenagers point out that labels about “how a body should be” or “how a man should act” (denying his vulnerability) are not issues of the past, but real pressures that directly affect their mental health and daily self-esteem.
2 Social media as a disconnection zone
There is a gap between the relevance of social issues and the content that they consume. Young people use platforms like TikTok or Instagram to “turn off their brain” and take a break from academic and personal burdens. Therefore, content with social or educational depth has difficulty reaching them; not due to a lack of interest in the topic, but because the algorithm and the way the network is used are designed for light entertainment.
3 Consciousness and critical maturity
It has been shown that, when given the necessary space and trust, young people possess an astonishing situational awareness. They are fully aware of structural problems (wage gap, data privacy, co-responsibility) and show remarkable maturity in debating complex solutions, moving away from superficial views.
4 The boys, how to really get them involved?
A fundamental learning from this day is that, when the children are made participants and are listened to, they get involved with enthusiasm and empathy.
The key to success has been to focus Women’s Day not as a confrontation between genders (‘boys against girls’), but as a common alliance of ‘everyone against inequality’.
Auteur: Laura Muñiz, Youth Representative CJ España
