Gen Z take to the streets
Rebekah Morton on worldwide challenges
This year, the young people of Generation Z have taken to the streets across the globe, protesting against their governments, linked by their common struggle. However, in the West, the same generation is facing growing fractures along the lines of gender, politics and morality and a worrying lurch to the right.
What does the future look like for this volatile, passionate generation and for the world they want to change? From Nepal to Madagascar, the Philippines to Peru, and most recently making landfall in Bulgaria, Gen Z movements are making change happen in real time. Deftly utilising social media, protesters in Nepal toppled their government and in Peru impeached their President. Young people have taken inspiration from each other, using their online connectivity to overcome borders and distance to support each other under the banner of a fluttering skull and crossbones flag.
In Nepal, anger at the increasing divide between rich and poor was set on fire by the tag #NepoBaby, showing the luxurious lives of the political elite’s children. While 25 social media apps were banned in response, Discord remained, leading to it becoming the backbone for the uprising in Nepal and subsequently around the world.
In Madagascar, unrest escalated, fuelled by anger at regular water and electricity cuts. In Peru, it was the prevalence of crime and corruption. In Morocco, there are demands for improved healthcare and education. In all these different situations, young people are dissatisfied and disillusioned with the perceived state of their future and are demanding social and economic reform.
A symbol that spans across many of these uprisings and protests as a symbol of liberation is the One Piece manga Flag. The flag, in fiction, carried by pirates who fight back against oppressive and corrupt regimes and rulers, has been flown behind motorbikes, hung out of windows and carried on marches. Eugero Vincent Liberato, a recent graduate based in the Philippines, explained that, “Even though we have different languages and cultures, we speak the same language of oppression. We see the flag as a symbol of liberation against oppression.”
In the West, Generation Z have been called everything from snowflakes to anarchists. Conflicting studies and polls have them pulling politically right and left, being accused of bolstering Trump and, on the flip side, being the key to powering Mamdani to mayoral victory in New York City.
One ideological divide in this generation runs along gender lines. Young men have formed a new group of voters dubbed ‘radical young men’, making up one of Reform’s largest voting blocks, while young women often take a more liberal view on issues such as racial justice and immigration. Similarly, in the US, Trump’s campaign focused intensely on young men and their dissatisfaction with the state of the world through right-wing speakers and influencers. This campaign pushed forward the rise in the belief of hegemonic masculinity and warned young male voters that their ‘manhood’ was somehow under threat from left-wing politics. A key player in this push was Charlie Kirk, who, on his tour across US and UK universities, focused on traditional values for men and women, citing the ‘issue’ of single women as one of the “…biggest issues facing a civilisation”.
A study by Channel 4 found that 52% of British Gen Z thought ‘the UK would be a better place if a strong leader were in charge who does not have to bother with parliament and elections’. This presents a stark contrast to the freedom-fighting movements taking place in the Global South.
Generation Z is far more complex than generalisations suggest. What seems clear and spans across the divisions of place, gender, and ideology is a deep dissatisfaction with the present and a keenly felt fear for the future.
We are the generation born into a financial crisis, knowledgeable about the climate crisis, but not yet in positions of power to effect lasting change. The generation of Covid interrupted education, spiralling inequality and the globally chosen guinea pigs for the rise of social media and AI.
In the West, our generation is fractured and disillusioned. We feel far from the ravages of dictatorship and authoritarianism because we’ve enjoyed democracy for our entire lives. It is essential that we learn important lessons from those fighting for the freedoms we take for granted.
We all have a common goal – the safety and freedom of our future – the difference lies in how we think that can be accomplished. But true freedom requires the freedom of all, not the right-wing politics of division and hate. Don’t listen to the voices that cater to your fears; listen to your whole global generation. We can either fruitlessly stoke division or effectively work together.