Feminist consciousness-raising can reveal that personal problems are not separate from societal structures.

Many socially anxious women cite sexist experiences as being central to their social anxiety.

The nature of social anxiety means that these events are taken personally, fueling social anxiety further.

Sharing expereriences alone can't change society, but it can disrupt beliefs on which social anxiety thrives.

Consciousness-raising has its origins in the second-wave feminism of the 1960s, notably with the New York Radical Women, perhaps best known for staging a protest at the 1968 Miss America pageant. Feminist consciousness-raising aimed to help women realise that a lot of their problems were not individual, but instead resulted from institutional sexism—being caged by traditional gender roles is one example. A popular slogan of the time, "the personal is political," encapsulates the same sentiment, for it puts forth that oppression within domestic spheres (the home, family, and relationships) is not separate from wider power structures in society (gender inequality).

Why do we need it for women and social anxiety—and why now?

In 2026, we’re arguably in the age of post-feminism, where conventional wisdom often holds that the work of the women’s movement has been done.

While we’ve certainly come a long way, what came to the fore when I interviewed socially anxious women as part of my research (Masters, 2024) was that we still have some way to go. That is to say, a lot of these women’s experiences not only evoked sexism, but they described such experiences as being a key part of their social anxiety.

Ellen* described regularly enduring street harassment, and how this was central to her social anxiety: "[I]t constantly happens […] it’s an everyday battle, so therefore why would you not........

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