Commodity feminism theorizes that the mass media appropriates feminism for commercial purposes, using it as a vehicle to sell consumer products and services. By associating brands with key concepts surrounding feminism, such as the idea that women are empowered and strong, marketers and advertisers use feminism in ways that are internally contradictory and appropriative.
The term "commodity feminism" was developed and articulated by Goldman, Heath, and Smith in a 1991 essay in Critical Studies in Mass Communication. [1] This essay noted that femininity and feminism have been in opposition, with feminism critical of the ways in which femininity is used to marginalize and oppress women. The authors argued, in part, that in the marketplace, "Femininity and feminism become presented as interchangeable alternatives" through the "logic of market segments and product differentiation," transforming "feminism into a manipulable set of semiotic markers -- confidence and attitude -- which bear the meanings of individual freedom and independence associated with feminism. Terms like 'attitude' and 'confidence' [...] represent what can be acquired through the right consumer choices" (p. 348).
Since the article's publication in 1991, commodity feminism has become a major concept that is broadly applied in feminist media studies, cited frequently by other scholars, [2] many of whom apply it in their analysis of media and popular culture. For example, it has informed critical analyses of topics including telenovelas, [3] girl power, [4] [5] children's media, [6] TV shows such as Sex and the City, [7] and pop stars such as Beyoncé. [8] It has also informed the rise of new, related terms, such as "femvertising". [9]
The term "commodity feminism" brings to mind the term "commodity fetishism" and added a new dimension to it, as Kirsten Howard has noted. [10]
The Spice Girls, [5] the Virginia Slims' "You've Come A Long Way, Baby" campaign, [11] The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, [12] the Fearless Girl statue, [13] [14] the Always #LikeAGirl campaign, [15] and women requiring deodorant “Strong Enough For A Man” put on Secret. [16] are among the many products and advertising campaigns have been cited as examples as commodity feminism.
Today, commodity feminism is particularly pervasive in representations of femininity in popular culture. Such things in advertising present the viewer with “narrow stifling stereotypes” [17] which may come across as empowering females or degrading while working against the feminist movement. “Young women of the world, two things are lacking in your life: gender equality and shiny hair. And we can help you achieve at least one of those things.”. [10] A quote from a Pantene ad also using class commodity feminism to claim to fix gender inequality with a product; shampoo.
"Much contemporary advertising, including the examples mentioned above, engages in obfuscation of the labour and product-ness of the commodity being presented. Value is instead assigned or implied by linking the commodity to a particular lifestyle, identity or social cause. Commodity feminism is one example of the addition of an ideological layer that distracts from the origins and nature of the commodity advertised." [10]
The term pays homage to Marx’s notion of “commodity fetishism” and is often framed within contemporary Marxist and feminist terms. [17] The definition of commodity feminism and commodity fetishism go hand in hand. Commodity fetishism is the relation of production and exchange of social relationships involving money and merchandise. [17] [16] The use of fetishism towards females has been occurring for decades, but within the use of ads in the consumerism increase, this commodity fetishism has created commodity feminism. Consumerism has taken over enough for feminism to be used and become a commodity that is profitable. This profit off feminism has consumers in debate about how far it can go as well as if it is morally correct to be exploiting a fight that has been fought by women for decades. These advertisement that are making feminism a commodity have done things like promote “real beauty” and to tackle body image disorders among young women. [17] Some of these campaigns can not only portray the opposite of what they claim to be feminism but can have real side effects on the credibility of feminism.
"Also valid is the comment that the “you be you” message of these ads is at odds with the very nature of marketing, which emphasizes a lack or imperfection in order to then provide a product with which to solve this “problem”." [10] As said by Kristen Howard, the nature of marketing; fixing a problem, being involved with feminism can be contradictory as the "you be you" message as companies try to convince us that buying their product will support the feminine cause. [10]
Sexual objectification is the act of treating a person solely as an object of sexual desire. Objectification more broadly means treating a person as a commodity or an object without regard to their personality or dignity. Objectification is most commonly examined at the level of a society, but can also refer to the behavior of individuals and is a type of dehumanization.
Girl power is a slogan that encourages and celebrates women's empowerment, independence, confidence and strength. The slogan's invention is credited to the US punk band Bikini Kill, who published a zine called Bikini Kill #2: Girl Power in 1991. It was then popularized in the mainstream by the British girl group Spice Girls in the mid-1990s. According to Rolling Stone magazine, the Spice Girls' usage of "girl power" was one of the defining cultural touchstones that shaped the Millennial generation.
Bitch was an independent, quarterly alternative magazine published in Portland, Oregon. Its tagline described it as a "feminist response to pop culture", and it was described in 2008 by Columbia Journalism Review as "a respected journal of cultural discourse". As a feminist publication, it took an intersectional approach.
Jean Kilbourne is an American public speaker, writer, filmmaker and activist, who is known for her work on the image of women in advertising and her critical studies of alcohol and tobacco advertising. She is also credited with introducing the idea of educating about media literacy as a way to prevent problems she viewed as originating from mass media advertising campaigns. She also lectures about the topic, and her documentaries based on these lectures are viewed around the world.
The term postfeminism is used to describe reactions against contradictions and absences in feminism, especially second-wave feminism and third-wave feminism. The term postfeminism is sometimes confused with subsequent feminisms such as fourth-wave feminism and xenofeminism.
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Feminism is a broad term given to works of those scholars who have sought to bring gender concerns into the academic study of international politics and who have used feminist theory and sometimes queer theory to better understand global politics and international relations as a whole.
Angela McRobbie is a British cultural theorist, feminist, and commentator whose work combines the study of popular culture, contemporary media practices and feminism through conceptions of a third-person reflexive gaze. She is a professor of communications at Goldsmiths College, University of London.
In cultural studies, media culture refers to the current Western capitalist society that emerged and developed from the 20th century, under the influence of mass media. The term alludes to the overall impact and intellectual guidance exerted by the media, not only on public opinion but also on tastes and values.
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Feminist technoscience is a transdisciplinary branch of science studies which emerged from decades of feminist critique on the way gender and other identity markers are entangled in the combined fields of science and technology. The term technoscience, especially in regard to the field of feminist technoscience studies, seeks to remove the distinction between scientific research and development with applied applications of technology while assuming science is entwined with the common interests of society. As a result, science is suggested to be held to the same level of political and ethical accountability as the technologies which develop from it. Feminist technoscience studies continue to develop new theories on how politics of gender and other identity markers are interconnected to resulting processes of technical change, and power relations of the globalized, material world.
Rosalind Clair Gill is a British sociologist and feminist cultural theorist. She is currently Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at City, University of London. Gill is author or editor of ten books, and numerous articles and chapters, and her work has been translated into Chinese, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish.
Gender plays a role in mass media and is represented within media platforms. These platforms are not limited to film, radio, television, advertisement, social media, and video games. Initiatives and resources exist to promote gender equality and reinforce women's empowerment in the media industry and representations. For example, UNESCO, in cooperation with the International Federation of Journalists, elaborated the Gender-sensitive Indicators for Media contributing to gender equality and women's empowerment in all forms of media.
The socio-political movements and ideologies of feminism have found expression in various media. These media include newspaper, literature, radio, television, social media, film, and video games. They have been essential to the success of many feminist movements.
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Karen Elizabeth Boyle, is Professor of Feminist Media Studies at the University of Strathclyde, previously she was professor of Feminist Studies at the University of Stirling, and before that was a lecturer in film and television studies at the University of Glasgow. She has published a number of articles on feminism, violence and pornography.
Fourth-wave feminism is a feminist movement that began around 2012 and is characterized by a focus on the empowerment of women, the use of internet tools, and intersectionality. The fourth wave seeks greater gender equality by focusing on gendered norms and the marginalization of women in society.
Radhika Parmeswaran holds an endowed Herman B. Wells chair at Indiana University, Bloomington. A professor and former chair of journalism there, Parameswaran has published in leading journals, contributing to analysis of the ways in which colonialism, nationalism and globalization shape the social construction of modernity and gender.
Purplewashing is a compound word modeled on the term whitewash. The prefix "purple" is associated with feminism while the verb "wash" refers to the co-opting strategies that use minority rights to maintain or enhance structural forms of discrimination.
Rebecca Hains is a communication and media studies scholar and author. She is a frequently quoted expert on the subject of children's media culture and marketing, which she studies from a feminist media studies and critical/cultural studies perspective. Hains is a professor in the Media and Communication Department at Salem State University.
