You Can’t Buy Feminism
words by Sabi Lowder
The first photo on the official Women’s March Facebook page says, “Keep your profits out of my pants.” The cute illustration—a shot of a woman in her underwear with bold font across the pelvic region—feels familiar. Feminist graphics, illustrations, and mantras like, “The Future is Female,” continue to circulate the internet, t-shirts, and instagram bios. Feminism has made it into the mainstream. It’s a cultural stance, an identity, and something you can put on a sticker for your laptop.
The election of the 45th president (45th because I choose to not use his name) gave rise to a new wave of feminism; a post-Women’s March world. Feminism has moved from theoretical academics and radical socialist groups into popular culture.
We now have things like #NationalPeriodDay to endorse the removal of taxation on period products. There are companies like Thinx period underwear taking up controversial ad space on the New York City subway system with gorgeous vaginal references. You can even have feminism in your romantic life thanks to the multi-million dollar dating app Bumble.
Feminist representation is coming to the general public from a thousand different ways thanks to the internet, public figures like Beyoncé, and all women-identifying people and allies using their voices to make a change. The “feminist” mugs, the pussy hats, and the “Riot Feminist Tee” from Urban Outfitters can almost make you believe we’re in a feminist utopia.
Unfortunately, tee or no tee, we aren’t there yet. The rise of feminism in public culture has brought along the baggage of misinterpretation, and the products don’t help. By turning feminism into a sticker or a t-shirt, we often sacrifice the nuance and healthy discomfort that is inherent in feminist ideology for the sake of consumerism.
It is easy to forget that the words have meaning when buying “feminist” products. All the “pussy power” mugs in the world can’t end the patriarchy on their own, and awareness without action is nothing. Practice what you preach, or in this case, practice what your sticker says.
If you own one of these products, if you’ve been to a women’s march, or if you identify as a feminist, I urge you to ask yourself why. Why are you a feminist? If it’s because you believe in equality for all, then how are you addressing that beyond the t-shirt, the mug, and the pussy hat? Does that equality extend to women in the developing world who are exploited for the sake of global fashion? Is the “feminist” mug you bought for a friend truly about addressing the oppression of women and minorities, or is about consumerism and having the cutest new thing?
These questions aren’t easy, and they require dealing with discomfort. It’s about shining a light on the horrific, heartbreaking, and uncomfortable injustices in our world, but it’s also about creating community, compassion, and liberation for all people. The world has been oriented around white men for hundreds of years, and re-orienting it will take time. Awareness is the first step, but when do we stop shopping for feminism and start practicing it?