One of the most important requirements when starting and
maintaining a social movement is altering the self-perception of your targeted
audience. This means instilling confidence in the people you need to support
your cause in order to for change to be made. Social movements go about this
through different methods, for example exploiting the emotions of a group of
people feeling oppressed or rallying together people who have similar belief
systems. Boosting your targeted audience’s self esteem and self worth provides
social movements with a following of people who are not afraid to stand up for
what they believe in making it much more efficient when attempting to seek out
change. Self-confidence can make or break any social movement because in order
for a group of people with the same beliefs or acting towards the same goal
they must work together and stay together. Being afraid to stand up for what
you believe in will cause a social movement to come to an end very quickly, and
that is why self-perception is so key to the success and maintenance when
coordinating a group of people working for change.
The women’s rights movement is a good example of how
important self-perception is when starting and maintaining a social movement.
By instilling a feeling of equality in its followers, the leaders of the
movement managed to make great strides in equal rights for women in all aspects
of their lives. Organizations like the NWSA spread to women of all walks of
life the idea that they should be treated equally and should have the right to
vote like men do. Groups like these made women feel empowered, causing them to
unite and stand up to fix social norms they found to be unfair or unjust.
Without the courage to stand up a movement such as this would never have
achieved all it has in the last hundred years.
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