Does Feminism Need a “Seductive Marketing Campaign?”
In an article in the Guardian recently about certain actress-ambassadors to feminism, Bad Feminist author, Roxane Gay, writes, “Feminism should not be something that needs a seductive marketing campaign. The idea of women moving through the world as freely as men should sell itself.”
She’s writing, in part, about actress Emma Watson’s now famous speech at the UN about feminism (below). Emma Watson was the focus of many excited Facebook posts and Tweets when, as UN Women’s Global Goodwill Ambassador, she delivered a passionate speech about the importance not just of feminism itself but of men being “invited” into the movement via a “He-for-She” campaign to support equal rights for women, across the globe.
Not everyone was thrilled.
When I first heard about the speech, my reaction was “F*** yeah!” I mean, it’s not often that a world famous actress “comes out” as a strong feminist. And this wasn’t just any actress. This was a star of some of the most successful films in history, right? Harry-Potter-actress-as-feminist-activist? Yes! Honestly, I’m the first one to actually tear up when I hear a heart-filled speech about why the rights of women and girls must be prioritized.
If Emma Watson speaks out, proudly, as a feminist then her female fans might as well, right?
When I actually listened to the speech, my excitement was tempered by, well, boredom. She simply wasn’t saying anything new. Watson sounded intelligent, assertive and passionate but not much more than that. The resounding response from the media framed the speech as if it were finally the voice-of-a-feminist-savior bestowed upon the women’s rights masses to make everything right and good.
Vanity Fair called her speech “game-changing” and wrote:
“Watson’s speech, which was met with a thunderous standing ovation, not only called for action from male allies, but clarified a persistent misconception about feminism in general. She said:
I decided I was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me. But my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word. Apparently I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive.
The article also went on to gush about her introduction of the He-for-She campaign: “By involving both genders in the HeForShe campaign, Watson hopes to abolish the “us vs. them” mentality.”
Everywhere I looked I read articles about how positively amazing her speech was; how utterly unique and exciting it was to hear someone inviting men into the discussion and how, well, awesome it was to hear a young woman who could not be more a part of the mainstream culture if she tried, assert her allegiance not just to women’s and girls’ equality but to the feminist movement itself. She’s giving feminism a good name by associating herself with it, right?
Sure. Yes. It’s true. She put an easy-to-watch face on feminism with her speech. I also agree that young women who speak proudly about being feminists are great role models for a new generation. But was her speech game-changing?
I realize this is not quantifiable. I’m not setting out to prove a theorem. Still, I think it’s important that if we are going to discuss one feminist speech, we understand what it leaves out as much as what it includes. My feminist movement is one, unacceptably, that has a history of painfully ignoring the struggles of women of color, in favor of the broader white woman’s experience — and that is what this speech, along with the resounding responses as “game-changing” did as well. It’s a movement that must acknowledge it’s own racism, spearheaded and controlled for far too long by white women. Yet, this speech and the coverage held tight to that power structure.
One month earlier, Beyoncé literally brought the word “Feminist” (and it’s definition) to the masses in the US (read: 12 million Americans) at her performance for MTV’s VMAs. As Jessica Bennett wrote in her article, “How to Reclaim the F Word? Just Call Beyoncé,” in TIME, “Beyoncé would become the subject of two-thirds of all tweets about feminism in the 24 hours after her appearance, according to a data analysis by Twitter, making Sunday the sixth-highest day for volume of conversation about feminism since Twitter began tracking this year…”
When you talk about game-changing, this is what you should be referring to.
Roxane Gay agreed:
“What Bey just did for feminism, on national television, look, for better or worse, that reach is WAY more than anything we’ve seen,” the writer Roxane Gay, author of the new book, Bad Feminist, declared (on Twitter, naturally).”
Beyoncé did not specifically invite men into the conversation. But is that really necessary? Do I, as a white person, need to be “formally invited” to fight racism? Do I, as an American citizen born in this country, need to be “formally invited” to advocate on behalf of immigration reform? In Emma Watson’s “formal invitation” to men she said:
How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation? Men — I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue, too.
As Mia McKenzie wrote at Black Girl Dangerous in her blog post, “Why I’m Not Really Here for Emma Watson’s Feminism Speech at the U.N.”, Watson’s assertion that men have not felt invited or welcomed to participate in gender equality is “an absurd thing to suggest. Women have been trying to get men to care about oppression of women since…always. Men have never been overwhelmingly interested in fighting that fight, because it requires them giving up power and all evidence suggests that’s not their super-fave thing. Share a link about gender equality? Sure! Count me in! Give up real power in real ways? Nope, not really.”
I would add to this that, in fact, there certainly are men who have voluntarily (i.e., they did not need an engraved invitation) involved themselves in fighting for the rights of women and girls, globally. They march in the streets, they speak up, and they see gender equity as their responsibility. The move towards gender equality is not exactly hurtling along at high-speed though; and I guess we’ll find out if it’s because men don’t feel invited to help.
Yet. I am not as certain as Roxane Gay that feminism does not need a slick marketing campaign. That we do not benefit from an impassioned movie star laying claim to her own strength as a feminist. Watching Emma Watson discover her power as a young woman with not just the right but the responsibility to speak out about the status of women and girls around the globe, is helpful. It empowers young women to learn more about the movement, if they haven’t already. It empowers those of us who have been doing this work for many years and feel energized by the voices and perspectives of a new generation of advocates.
I would actually love to see a badass feminist marketing campaign that speaks to the white, able-bodied, heteronormative privilege that’s existed in the movement thus far and highlights the power of those voices that have been sidelined and marginalized for far too long. I agree with Gay that the idea of women being treated as equal to men should sell itself. But it doesn’t. And it won’t. Not yet. Until then, we could use more of Beyoncé in front of a FEMINIST sign, whenever she’s up for it.
