19 November,2023 09:00 AM IST | Mumbai | Reet Mulchandani
Gen Z is supposedly forming opinions to keep up with what sounds woke
It was the evening after the Supreme Court verdict on gay marriage. After seeing this writer's reportage on the same, a close friend and classmate, who is 21 years old, asked, "So, you think gay marriage should be legalised?" Without missing a beat, this writer, who is 20, replied, "Ha, of course..." and then after a pause, hesitantly asked, "Tujhe nahi lagta?" The answer left her flummoxed. "Nahi, mujhe lagta hai woh bimaari hai, gay hona."
"Majority of the youth are not woke, but just younger versions of their parents," says Ashoka University student Vedant Kottapalle confirming our worst fears. On his first day at the campus, someone snidely whispered in his ear, "Ye ladki hai?" They were referring to the emcee of the event, trans influencer Sanat. While the University has avenues such as a gender cell, as well as dedicated hostel floors for trans and non-binary students, most of the student body is quite regressive, according to Kottapalle. As a bisexual himself, Kottapalle says that these opinions don't surprise him anymore. His first rude awakening came when he was in 9th grade. While boys his age were discussing the possibility of sex with the opposite gender, Kottapalle sensed that he couldn't let them know that he was interested in both, boys and girls. "I was already ashamed of myself," he says. His worst nightmare came true when his best friend found a homosexual porn video on his laptop and ostracised Kotapalle.
It seems, then, that Gen Z, often seen and believed to be inclusive and liberal, is also divided. And as the world heads into a time where extreme opinions are the only opinions that exists, the differences are showing up starkly. "For me, politics is a big part of who I am," says 20-year-old Karina Choudhary "We can disagree about the kind of pasta we like but not about genocide." Choudhary refers to the social media activism by her peers on the Israel-Gaza conflict. She says that the ones posting these stories would never actually bother to discuss the topic in person. "I think they jump on the posting bandwagon to make it seem as though they are progressive, to fit in," says Choudhary. She grew up in a small town, Bilaspur, located in Chattisgarh. After getting on Twitter, she sensed a dearth of information. Around the same time, while discussing the demolition of the Babri Masjid, her friend's boyfriend - a staunch BJP supporter - said to Choudhary that she "is the kind of girl who would throw false accusations of rape." The consequence was a falling out with her best friend--who sided with the guy. Even after coming to Mumbai to study, she doesn't find that her peers provide her with a safe place to discuss her bi-romantic and asexual identity.
On the flip side, youngsters like Akshita Jain, 20, feel that a big deal shouldn't be made about "non-woke" opinions. "I think that the GenZ don't really know the gist of every topic. They just think it's cool to have certain opinions," says Jain. "For example, earlier, it wasn't mandatory to put such importance on pronouns. It was more of a choice. Today, it's a compulsion." She believes one's opinions are justified, just as long as you don't impose them upon others. Her biggest grouse is that many members of Gen Z, especially the queer community, respond very negatively to even the slightest of criticism.
Clinical psychologist Anastasia Coutinho says, "GenZ are the first fully digitally native population. This also makes them less tolerant of others' views. So, ironically, they are less liberal about a lot of things compared to millennials or other people. They would also be less open to understanding and thinking about what is happening." Kevin Lee, CEO of Yuvaa, a youth media, insights and impact organisation, wants to give credit to Gen Z and understand where they come from, "GenZ aren't a different species. They are young and growing and their opinions are as varied as those of previous generations." The difference, he says, is the increasing pressure to have an opinion on everything. However, Lee believes they bring something different to the table, which is their ability to follow up words with actions. He says, "Look at the changes made in companies - we have mental health leaves, menstrual leaves, etc, which could have been done years ago too. It has happened now only because of them. So, there is hope."
