“Squad” is a buzzword that has been circulating social media networks throughout 2015. It is often used to refer to a close-knit group of individuals who exceed the common definition of friendship. They ride or die for one another, and they can be sure to always have each other’s backs through thick and thin. The term is meant to be positive and connote friendship, support, and solidarity. However, such groups can also be interpreted as divisive rather than unifying. Girl cliques, in particular, can be detrimental to the inclusivity of the feminist movement, as Rowan Blanchard mentioned in a recent interview with Just Jared Jr.
The 14-year-old actress, who stars as Riley Matthews in Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World, voiced her opposition to squads and advocated in favor of sisterhood. Sisterhood, she claims, is “so valid and important when you are growing up that... the essence of it should be taught in schools.” It signifies a bond between women based on common interests and support for one another, while “the ‘squads’ we see in the media are very polarizing.”
“It makes feminism look very one dimensional,” she says. “Feminism is so multilayered and complex that it can be frustrating when the media and the celebrities involved in it make feminism and “squads” feel like this very happy, exclusive, perfect thing. There’s so much more than that. ‘Squad goals’ can polarize anyone who is not white, thin, tall and always happy.”
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The reason the phrase “squad goals” is polarizing is that it can cause non-members to internalize an “us versus them” mentality—that they as outsiders can only aspire to be part of the squad. It can also cause individuals to think of themselves as inadequate, as they are fed the idea that the squad is supposedly better than their own group of friends. Feminism, at its core, is a movement of empowerment and equality and in order to achieve both, feminists must be inclusive of all people. The exclusiveness of squads, although in the name of friendship and solidarity, ultimately defeats the purpose of the movement rather than facilitate it.
