Women are still making history

04/13/2025 Featured, Opinion

Participants in a feminist march. Aimee Custis | Aimee Custis Photography

Feminism isn’t a movement of the past. It isn’t something reserved for celebrities, or protestors, or musicians. It didn’t die out in the seventies or with the #MeToo movement. During March, internationally recognized as Women’s History Month, we looked at the accomplishments of women who broke boundaries and set the foundation for the modern-day woman, but it’s just as important to look to the women of today, using the freedom their mothers fought for to continue to make change in the world.

In a world where half the entire population uses social media, it’s the easiest place to become an “icon” of any kind. Whether you consider yourself well-versed in pop culture or you simply skate the surface, here are some female pop culture titans who are breaking modern barriers and leaving their own mark on feminism.

Ilona Maher

Ilona Maher in a promotional photo for “Dancing with the Stars.” Andrew Accles | Disney

Bronze Olympic medalist and body positivity activist, Ilona Maher is a rugby union player that stole America’s heart during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the most-followed rugby player on Instagram in just a few days as the result of several TikToks of hers going viral.

She remained steadily popular since then, but her appearance in the 2024 Paris Olympics once again drew attention to her name, along with the announcement of her partnership with Secret and her appearance as a digital cover star for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.

Maher has shared personal stories of being bullied for being too “masculine”, both in her real life and online. She preaches a message of embracing our bodies the way they are, and that strength is neither masculine nor feminine and should always be embraced.

“I love that [rugby] showed me what I can do,” Maher said in her 2024 interview with Sports Illustrated. “It showed me how capable my body is and it’s not just like a tool to be looked at and objectified.”

Her hashtag #beastbeautybrains is a place for her and other women to share photos of themselves without shame, becoming a niche but thriving hashtag on Instagram.

Bridgit Mendler

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Millennials and older Gen Z may remember Bridgit Mendler for the Disney Channel show Good Luck Charlie, but the 32 year old has almost completely reinvented herself as a leading tech entrepreneur.

In February of 2021, Mendler made a post on X announcing that she had become creator and co-founder of a startup called Northwood Space that focuses on producing satellite ground stations.

This announcement spurred a deeper dive into Mendler’s life, with a majority of fans discovering that she had received a master’s degree from MIT and a Juris Doctor from Harvard.

Mendler’s presence on social media no longer revolves around her entertainment career of the past but on her “new life” as a mom and CEO, creating a healthy role model for girls in STEM and proving that you define who you are, not your past.

Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan at the Vogue Theatre, 2022. Jason Martin | Flickr

An established musician since the release of her album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” in 2023, Chappell Roan went viral after appearing on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert.

Nearly every song off her debut album, including “Hot to Go” and “Casual”, went viral on TikTok throughout 2024, along with her performances at Coachella and New York City’s Gov Ball that same year. She has been a constant activist for LGBTQ+ rights and an advocate for herself as a celebrity.

Roan won Best New Artist at the Grammys this year and used her time behind the podium to call out record labels for taking advantage of new artists and profiting heavily off their naiveté in the industry. She said that health insurance and livable wages should be a given for new artists.

“Labels, we got you,” she said to end her speech, “but do you got us?”

Nicole Lynn

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Nicole Lynn began her career as a sports agent when she joined PlayersRep as their first female sports agent. She became the first Black woman to represent an NFL player in 2019 and has represented Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts since 2020.

Lynn brokered a deal for Hurts in 2023 to make him the most paid football player in the league. The deal was also believed to be the largest ever contract negotiated by a female agent, breaking another record for women in sports, specifically football.

She is Hurts’ primary agent and part of his all-female management team, with the quarterback being the only current NFL player to have a team consisting only of women.

Her presence and success in football opens the door for women to follow in her footsteps, and although the NFL will only allow men to play on the field for the foreseeable future, Lynn has shown girls and women around the world that football is not a world closed off to them.

Alex Consani

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Alex Consani made history in December 2024 after becoming the first transgender woman to win Model of the Year. She began modeling at 12 years old and signed to IMG Models in 2019, becoming the youngest transgender model in the world at the time.

She made her runway debut in 2021 and has walked for several high-end designers, including Versace, Burberry, and Coperni, but first gained fame with the general public on TikTok.

Her presence on the social media app focused not on her life as a glamorous model, but on humorous situations and skits that her audiences found relatable. Her candid and comedic posts blew up in 2020, gaining support not just on the platform as a creator, but in the modeling world.

Consani and fellow supermodel Valentina Sampaio walked the revamped Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2024, becoming the first transgender women to walk in the show.

On the runway, social media and in interviews, Consani is an outspoken ally for LGBTQ+ rights, specifically transgender rights. In her acceptance speech for 2024 Model of the Year, she said that change is not just possible, but that it’s “needed.”

“Now, more than ever, it’s an important conversation that should be had about how to truly support and uplift one another within this industry, especially those who have been made to feel insignificant,” she said.

Demi Lovato

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Demi Lovato started her career as an actress at the age of seven on the show “Barney & Friends,” growing up in the Disney industry and evolving into a world famous singer and performer.

Her struggle with drug abuse threatened to ruin her image, especially after her overdose in 2018 put her through several strokes and a heart attack, as well as leaving her with permanent vision issues.

However, Lovato refused to let her addiction define her, and has spent the last seven years sharing her story as a recovering addict, working with several mental health organizations and fighting to protect child stars, especially those who are mainly famous online.

She released a documentary last year called “Child Star,” and alongside famous actresses Raven-Symone and Drew Barrymore, she discussed growing up in the industry and the negative effects it can have on people.

Lovato recently signed legislation to protect child influencers from financial abuse. On September 26, 2024, she joined California governor Gavin Newsom to sign AB 1880 and SB 764, two bills that establish “financial and legal protections for minors featured in monetized online content” in the state of California.

“In order to build a better future for the next generation of child stars, we need to put protections in place for minors working in the digital space,” Lovato said in an Instagram post.

Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark at the 2023 Big Ten tournament. John Mac | Flickr

Not everyone has their name synonymous with a movement, but the “Caitlin Clark effect” is used to describe the enormous viewership and attention women’s college basketball has gotten since Clark’s presence on University of Iowa’s women basketball team, the Iowa Hawkeyes.

She broke several records during the 2023 NCAA tournament, leading the Hawkeyes to finish second overall. Their championship game against the … had almost 10 million viewers, setting a new record for amount of viewers for a women’s college basketball game.

The games she played in continued to get record-breaking numbers of viewers, and by the end of her senior year season, The Wall Street Journal had nominated her as the “GOAT of TV ratings”.

She has used both her platform and her money to found the Caitlin Clark Foundation, an organization formed in 2023 that is meant to “uplift and improve the lives of youth and their communities through education, nutrition, and sport.” Clark ensures that a majority of her sponsorship and partnership deals include donations to the Caitlin Clark Foundation.

Clark’s undeniable skill crossed the barriers of women’s basketball, drawing both male and female viewers into the sport. Her presence in the sport and her impact on America proves that greatness isn’t defined by gender, as she won’t just go down as one of the greatest female players of all time, but as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Period.

 

 

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