From Disney’s Girl Meets World to unlikely LGBT icon – the sudden transformation of feminist Instagram activist Rowan Blanchard
From her squeaky-clean debut on Disney’s hit tween show, the 18-year-old actress has emerged as an unlikely feminist, human rights activist and LGBTQ+ icon
Produced by the Disney Channel, the show was a coming-of-age sitcom about Riley Matthews (played by Blanchard), a typical tween navigating New York City and middle school. Highly clichéd and politically correct, the show enjoyed popularity among young ‘uns for being entertaining and relatable, but received criticism for its lack of modernism and inclusivity.
The series largely revolved around exclusively middle school problems such as struggling to fit in with the popular crowd and deliberations about texting the cute new guy. As a child actress and former Disney star, Blanchard’s foray into activism and support for LGBTQ+ – a topic Disney has long stayed away from – was a most unlikely development.
Blanchard’s first steps into activism were taken when she spoke at the UN Women's HeForShe conference in 2015, aged just 13, where she wowed the crowd with her maturity and eloquence.
She is now a public activist (although she has stated she does not like to be termed as one) for a bevy of movements, focusing largely on feminism, LGBTQ+ and human rights. She came out as queer herself, via a post on her social media page in 2016, when she was 14.
Her social media output is testament to her dedication to her causes. While many other stars her age cultivate a vanilla image to maintain mainstream popularity, Blanchard is unafraid and unapologetic. She wears whatever she wants and does not shave her arm pits as a statement. She preaches to her 5.2 million followers on Instagram about various matters such as #BlackLivesMatter and gay pride.