How Media Is Changing Feminism Today

Feminism has become a normal world in our society today. Before, the word was linked to women that were radical, but still searching for equal rights between men and women. Today, the “F” word is more normalized. While being a feminist today still means working to get women on the same level as men in all aspects of life, it is becoming “trendy” according to the article Popular Misogyny, written by Sarah Banet-Weiser. By this, Banet means that with the increase of celebrities promoting feminism, it is becoming more normalized in the media today.

With the normalization of feminism and fighting for women’s rights, Banet makes the statement that it seems like everyone is becoming a feminist and asks the questions from other writers, “What if it becomes trendy?” and “If everyone is a feminist, is anyone?” This raises questions because with everyone being a feminist, feminism is becoming more of a product with so much celebrity endorsement. Banet writes in her article about Glamour Magazine and that they claimed “feminism is the new do,” signifying that feminism is considered a fashion choice and a product to just be told on tshirts, buttons and signs.

According to Banet, one of the problems that occurs with popular feminists is that they rarely get to discussing the complexities and contradictions with global feminist thought and practices. With the media interviews today and on social media with celebrities, it is hard to get in depth with how they really feel about feminism and the complications with patriarchy. That being said, it seems as if the point she is trying to make is that popular feminism today, as we see in the media, is more about saying you are a feminist in order to sway the minds of others, but maybe not necessarily always doing something to combat the core issues of inequality.

With the pushing forward of popular feminism, Banet discuss that there is a reaction that occurs as well. The backlash against feminism isn’t something that is new to the idea, but the more it is accepted, the more push back there is from those who strongly oppose the idea of equality between men and women. 

For example, after the campaign by Feminists, stating why they needed feminism in their lives, surfaced there was a backlash from those against feminism, stating why they didn’t need it and how the ideals of feminism were wrong. So even if feminism is becoming a “trendy” or normalized thing in society, there is always going to be backlash from others in society. This could also be a good thing, because then complexities of feminism that are being overlooked can continue to be discussed, educating others on the what feminism is.

However, some of the backlash towards feminists can be very brutal and undeserving. With rape threats against women gamers and overall violence towards feminists, especially over social media, it is becoming more common for several people to see the backlash from those who are truly against feminism.

It is not uncommon today to see women who are feminists on the cover of magazines. Some are probably really great examples, like Emma Watson on the cover of Elle Magazine. With female celebrities, and even male celebrities advocating for feminism, there’s the possibility to plant a small seed in their fans and watch it develop into something bigger. By using someone who is well known in societies, such as a celebrity, to advocate for feminist ideals can have a huge impact on the media and can reach a broad band of people. It can also be inspiring for young women and men to look at a magazine cover, advertisement or tv show and see women being supported in every way. 

However, it can be argued that seeing a celebrity on a magazine cover or on television supporting feminism can also be seen in a negative light. For example, if a celebrity was represented negatively in the media or did something wrong in the past to taint their name, it can give people a bad view of them and could ultimately lead them to the conclusion that what they are supporting is bad, even if it does mean equal rights for both men and women. 

There is also the fact that with popular feminism, there’s the possibility that the ideals are being looked at as more of a product and commodity than as a protest, therefore invalidating what feminists truly stand for. For example, on the cover of magazines that feature women that are feminists, it truly does make it look like the “new thing to do.” Like it is what the style is right now, but could change in another year or so. While popular feminism can be very beneficial to society, it also overlooks a few things that would benefit feminism if they were addressed properly.

Popular feminism can be something that truly changes how people look at feminism. With the support of people who are looked at on a daily basis and are always in the media, they can use their platform to truly make a difference in the world. Popular feminism will always be something that will be debated on for being either helpful or harmful to society, just like other forms of feminism. However, with addressing popular feminism the right way, it can really change the world. Instead of shrugging off the problems and having the 'boys will be boys' attitude, feminists have the ability to stand up, use their voice and defend other women, working to create an equal society.

Stupid Girls? More Like Glass Ceiling Smashers: A Music Video and Society Commentary

I remember being in middle school when I first received boy advice from my friend. I liked this boy, but he didn’t act like I existed. She suggested that I stop answering questions in class, wear a low-cut top, and giggle when he talked. She said that guys hated when girls were smarter than them. I was very confused and incredibly conflicted. Why should I act dumb and dress differently to make someone like me? But I decided to give it a try. The next day at school, I arrived and acted exactly as my friend (I use that term loosely) said I should. Sure enough, the boy noticed me. He even seemed interested in me. However, I still felt conflicted. I mean, sure, he paid attention to me. But was it really me? I got home from school and turned on the radio. It was almost like divine intervention when I heard the first lines of the song that played. “Maybe if I act like that/that guy will call me back/Porno paparazzi girls/I don’t wanna be a stupid girl.” Yes. That Pink song from seven years ago, Stupid Girls, hit me like a bus. It was then I realized I was becoming yet another victim in a phenomenon Susan Douglas calls enlightened sexism.

According to Susan Douglas, enlightened sexism is

A response, deliberate or not, to the perceived threat of a new gender regime. It insists that women have made plenty of progress because of feminism, indeed, full equality, has allegedly been achieved. So now it’s okay, even amusing, to resurrect sexist stereotypes of girls and women (Douglas, 2010).

Long gone are the days of fighting for equal pay and reproductive care rights. Now, we’re fighting over the best labels on our clothing and the hot guy in our math class. Much like Douglas, Pink decided she had enough of the enlightened sexism surrounding her when she wrote the song “Stupid Girls.” Picking celebrities such as Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan as her inspiration, Pink took a look at today’s modern woman and challenged the ideals of sexiness and designer clothing being more important than intelligence and independence.

The video shows Pink struggling for male approval by acting like the other females around her. By pretending to be obsessed with her looks, she’s providing a social commentary and discussion point of the exact thing Douglas wants to end. In one scene of the video, Pink’s date starts to pay excessive amounts of attention to another female wearing a low-cut top and a mini skirt bouncing up and down. To make her date pay attention to her again, Pink pulls her “In Case of Emergency” cord to inflate her breasts excessively. The trick works and the date continues.

Later, Pink asks “What happened to the dream of the next girl president?” She answered her own question with “She’s dancing in the video next to 50 Cent.”  Here, she is giving examples of how girl power has changed with the times. Where we once burned out bras to fight the societal oppression, women have now turned on each other and are more concerned with male affection and how attractive you are. Douglas also gave sources of this problem in her book, including the Pussycat Dolls, The Bachelor, and the television show Are You Hot?

Pink and Douglas alike urge girls to ignore the media influence and to have ambitions and goals. They are trying to convince women that there is so much more to them than just how a man feels about them. After reading excerpts from Douglas’s book and listening to Pink’s song, I agree.

I’m not sure where we went wrong, but we as females must have goals and ambitions to excel in the patriarchal society we live in. We have to band together to change the way we are treated today. Women comprise 46% of the American work force, yet they make only 77.5 cents for every dollar a man of equal occupation makes. The statistics are even worse for women of color. Worldwide, four out of every ten businesses have no women in senior management. 4 out of 5 victims of human trafficking are female (MAKERS Team, 2015).

So what’s a girl to do? Women must fight societal pressure to focus on our looks and the male gaze and use our minds to continue the fight for equal rights. Instead of designer labels, let us adorn ourselves with knowledge and courage to crush the glass ceiling. We must band together and smash the patriarchy because the approval of a man means nothing if you aren’t in the same playing field. We cannot forget our foremothers before us and what they were fighting for. If we do, all of their hard work was for naught. We as females can’t let that happen.

Oh, and if you’re curious, I left that boy alone the next day. If he couldn’t appreciate me for all I had to offer, he didn’t deserve my good looks.

Works Cited

Douglas, S. (2010). The Rise of Enlightened Sexism: How Pop Culture Took Us From Girl Power to Girls Gone Wild. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.

MAKERS Team. (2015, March 07). http://www.makers.com/blog/21-facts-you-never-knew-about-international-gender-inequality. Retrieved from URL.

Pink. [PinkVEVO]. (2009, October 24). Stupid Girls. [https://youtu.be/BR4yQFZK9YM]. Retrieved from URL.

Women Vs. Women: The Art of Postfeminist Media Culture

      After years and years fighting for equal rights for women, do they really have them? It seems easy to point to the popular commercials like this one from dove and say that this type of message would never have been included in an advertisement campaign and how far we have come as a society. How that positive body and self love messages have helped media pay attention to the inequalities of women. Unfortunately, these messages are hindered, overlooked, and outnumbered when stacked up to the numerous of propaganda spread with little disregard to their sexist message.
     Throughout history we have seen waves of feminism each aiming to spread their message of women's strength to the masses. In a postfeminism age  we see some of the effects of advertisements and other media on young women. Which much of the messages being told to women being negative, author Rosalind Gill set out to analyze the post feminist media culture. In her article about postfeminism, one of her main discussion points was on the sexualization of a woman's body. She wrote:

"Different forms of sexualization are also evident in popular magazines. In the 'lad mags' sex is discussed through a vocabulary of youthful, unselfconscious pleasure-seeking, whilst in magazines targeted at teenage girls and young women it is constructed as something requiring constant attention, discipline, self surveillance and emotional labour. Girls and women are interpellated as the monitors of all sexual and emotional relationships, responsible for producing themselves as desirable heterosexual subjects, as well as for pleasing men sexually, protecting against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, defending their own sexual reputations, and taking care of men's self-esteem. Men, by contrast, are hailed by the lad mags as hedonists just wanting a shag'."

Women are being sexually objectified at increasingly younger ages which is a direct result of these magazine advertisement stigma's. With the magazines targeted towards women bearing concerns over how to please your man and all of the things you need to worry about surrounding sex we have seen an increase of two things: Women being comfortable with their bodies and men sexualizing them. This has been the topic of debate for womens rights because there is no line between helping women be confident with their own body and giving into the sexualization. This is where I think that as much as feminism has pushed women to wear whatever they want it has created a bad cycle where the outfits that the young women are exposed to are the ones that are thrown in front of men to get them drooling. So as much as they might be wearing that article of clothing for their own interest it is ultimately being decided by the same advertisments that are picturing provocative women.
    Rosalind Gill also points out about postfeminist media culture is that it is obsessed with the body. She says. "It appears that femininity is defined as a bodily property rather than a social structural or a psychological one. Growing up I have noticed this trend too because of the body shaming that occurs on popular television shows like What Not To Wear. In her article, Gill uses a quote from Angela McRobbie after she noted what she heard when she listened to an episode of WNTW.

‘'What a dreary voice', 'look at how she walks', 'she shouldn't put that ketchup on her chips', 'she looks like a mousy librarian', 'her trousers are far too long', 'that jumper looks like something her granny crocheted, it would be better on the table', 'she hasn't washed her clothes', 'your hair looks like an overgrown poodle', 'your teeth are yellow, have you been eating grass?' And 'Oh my God she looks like a German lesbian'. (McRobbie 2004: 118)

This is disgusting. As a male viewer I cant stand these types of shows specifically because of these comments. I don't know where in history it became a norm for women to be so harsh to each other but all it does is oppress them more. We see this catfighting in a lot of modern media but unfortunately we see it so often that we don't even bat an eye. This is what I believe is causing the disconnect in society with the word feminism. Women don't want to be associated with the crazy feminists so they join in the shame of them. In turn the same thing happens with advertisements and in many other forms of a women's life. Constantly women are comparing themselves to another woman, and they notice the flaws of themselves way too easily. This breeds a lack of self confidence and a necessity for society to tell you you're beautiful. Unfortunately this is the opposite of what they are being told. It is all part of the scheme to create a necessity of fitting in and shaming those who don't. All of a sudden if the advertisement shows something that is associated with beauty or fitting in the viewer is more apt to purchase that good or service. Even to this day we see sexual ads that are very degrading towards women.

This ad was ran in 2015:



        It shows that there is still a long way to go with feminism and making strides in the advertisement industry. This ad depicts a beautiful and intimidating woman with the "perfect body" with the words :Are you beach body ready?" next to her. I chose this ad to highlight because I felt it really shows the challenging that goes on between women and the competition that women endure with beauty. This ad calls out its audience and even in a slight way body shames other women who are not in the same shape as their model. Gill would tear apart this advertisement because it is doing the exact thing that will take away from the feminist movement. In a sense this is a parallel between the comments that were on the show What Not To Wear.
      There is also a good possibility that this model was photoshopped in order to accentuate or furthermore exaggerate her beauty features, This fad has dumbfounded many young women as to why they are not as beautiful as the women they see in the media but what they don't realize is that most of the advertisements they are seeing have been changed in order to provoke her sexual attraction. This is exactly what Rosalind Gill was talking about when she noted that women were becoming sexual objects within postfeminist media culture. She would be upset to see this ad run because it is not only sexualizing the model but shaming the audience who might not posses those beauty features.
      Women will never be truly equal unless they stop competing with one another and band together to refuse to model in ads that sexualize themselves. It dehumanizes them and it creates a bad set of standards for young girls growing up and having these women be their idols. Hopefully, with a strong set of role models that are body confident without being sexually promiscuous girls will grow up in order to be comfortable in their own bodies.