Public Perception of Feminism using Sentiment and Emotion Analysis

In recent years, the perception of feminism has undergone significant changes as societal roles for women continue to evolve. This paper presents an analysis of public sentiment, emotion, and topic trends related to feminism, using data from Reddit collected from posts and comments in 2020 and 2024. By applying sentiment and emotion analysis alongside topic modeling, we capture shifts in public discourse, identifying key themes and evolving attitudes toward traditional and modern gender roles. Our findings highlight a transition from discussions in 2020 to more negative debates in 2024. The emotion of trust remains the most prominent emotion for both years. This study contributes to the understanding of online discussions surrounding feminism by integrating NLP techniques, constructing a domain-specific dataset, and providing findings that can inform policy-makers, gender-equality advocates, and researchers in designing more effective strategies for addressing public concerns and misconceptions about feminism.