Elizabeth Holmes and The Case of Feminism
An in-depth (case) study of the link between Elizabeth Holmes, her scandal, and today’s feminism.
On January 3, 2022, the founder and former CEO of the startup Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, was convicted of criminal fraud on four of twelve counts. The final verdict is expected in September 2022 and the scandal, although fascinating, reveals the complex workings of today’s feminism. And what’s particularly interesting is that with this said complexity of feminism that it offers us, it’s possible to draw a certain lesson, which can also be turned into a case study, about the impact a woman can have within a predominantly male-dominated environment.
Elizabeth Holmes based part of her myth and success on the fact that she dropped out of the prestigious Stanford University at the age of 19 to found her company Theranos. This fact is particularly personal to me because I too, at the age of 19, dropped out of a prestigious university. I was not studying chemical engineering but Law and I was studying at the most prestigious Law School in France, which is also one of the most prestigious universities in Europe — and unlike Holmes, I don’t come from a renowned lineage and my family is not wealthy, so I don’t have the privilege that she has.
I’m compelled to use the narrative delivered by this excellent Stanford Daily article on Elizabeth Holmes to back up my point: the fact that she dropped out of school at the same age as I did and subsequently founded her own startup — Theranos — gives a sudden humanizing effect to the scandal itself. What she has done is despicable — and I am at the same time surprised and disgusted by the way she continues to live her life as if nothing had happened when she has committed repugnant acts and faces at least 20 years in prison — but when you look at it from a feminist point of view — and therefore as a woman — to have founded her company at the age of 19 and to become a billionaire at only 30 is something quite impressive.
Elizabeth rose through the ranks to become one of the biggest names in Silicon Valley — a predominantly male-dominated place and industry. She was considered by many as a genius, a visionary, an exceptional woman, and was admired by hundreds of millions of young women across the United States and surely the world. This young woman who became a billionaire at only 30, founded this $9+ billion dollar company, and is on the cover of the biggest magazines in the country… honestly, the whole picture is very inspiring. And this same young woman who immediately established her — stolen — style and impressed people with her deep (fake) voice… turned out to be a fraud.
Look at it this way: for those who have dissected and studied Elizabeth Holmes, her status as a woman and a female entrepreneur + CEO, and the Theranos scandal itself over many years, it has become clear that Elizabeth’s mystery (strongly) contributes to shaping her myth and image — and, combined with the fact that she has founded her own startup and is clearly playing in the big league of Silicon Valley, this makes her a femme fatale. Elizabeth Holmes — and this is one of the things that fascinates me the most — breaks the “basic” archetype that society has made of women, i.e. she’s not a “good” woman, but a villain, a kind of dark angel, and this opens the door to the well-known women’s empowerment. Because she fits, despite the harm she has done, into this category.
As it’s perfectly written in this Business Insider article, « I guess there’s empowerment in the idea of having a female villain because that’s typically something that’s, like, very taboo » — Elizabeth is bad, but completely oozes that femme fatale energy and played not by anyone’s rules but her own. And that’s what’s powerful, that’s what people admire. As a woman in this fully male-dominated industry, she was able to perfectly impose her rules, her vision of the game and of the thing, and went far — very far — in her project entirely based on lies and fraud. As pointed out in that same Insider article, she embodied what people loved: the idea of a woman being « at the centre of it all »— of the Theranos scandal.
For some people, Elizabeth Holmes fits the bill as the ultimate “Girl Boss” of Silicon Valley — a successful, self-made woman who runs her own business and is her own boss. Of course, not forgetting her conviction for fraud and the damage she has done to many people. As said above, Elizabeth is a villain, but she is one in « a good [villain] origin story ». Just browse through Etsy or RedBubble to see this — the many items sold featuring Holmes are a testament to the impact she and her scandal have had and continue to have on the public, especially women.
For example, an Etsy shop, mockingly named WeAreElizabethHolmes, sells mugs, caps, T-shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts and bags bearing the effigy of the former Silicon Valley “prodigy”, flocked with her famous and iconic phrase uttered during an interview for CNBC in 2015: « [This is what happens when you work to change things] — first they think you’re crazy, then they fight you, and then all the sudden you changed the world ». Or, on RedBubble, phone cases, posters, T-shirts and caps bearing the famous Silicon Valley mantra — « Fake It ‘Till You Make It » — are sold.
Elizabeth Holmes, a former Silicon Valley genius who has fallen from grace, has become a joke. And some people have decided to capitalize on it. It’s important to understand that all of this, even if it leads one to believe otherwise, is done for fun, nothing more. The same goes for her fanbase — known as the Holmies — as illustrated by this Instagram account created, according to its owner, Annuncia Roberts, « as a joke for [her] own entertainment after following Holmes for a while », or the many TikToks made under the hashtag #ElizabethHolmes.
I think it’s important to note that people don’t admire Elizabeth for the person she is, but for the way she has managed to get so far with lies. The audience is both in awe and completely amused by this — and I’m one of them. One of the managers of the WeAreElizabethHolmes Etsy shop, in an interview with the Stanford Daily, estimated that about « 70% of their sales have been to women. » She continued: « As for her fanbase, we think that it’s mostly young women who feel that they can identify with a female figure in the ‘brotopia’ of tech — and the best part is, for most of the time, she won! Until she didn’t. » This is a testament to the profound impact Elizabeth Holmes has had and continues to have on women.
So yes, I think it’s fair to say that Elizabeth Holmes is, in a way, a girlboss whose, according to Stanford Daily, « paradigm feigns progressivism while leaving all of the power structures that underlie Silicon Valley very much. » Holmes was the perfect answer to feminism in technology. She promised equality through profit. She was « the ultimate Stanford success story — until, suddenly, she wasn’t. »
And I would like to take the time to analyze the now iconic fashion style of Elizabeth Holmes, whom I admire, in spite of myself, particularly. A black turtleneck, black trousers and black shoes — blonde hair tied back in a bun and intense blue eyes. This is what the public has come to call Elizabeth Holmes’ signature look. A look that is mythical, intriguing, fascinating and yet admired by many. Including me. It reminds me of those Holmies who dressed in this way during her trial.
The style Elizabeth adopted when she was at the head of Theranos and at her peak was a style that was simple in appearance, but had a hidden message: as everyone knew, Elizabeth Holmes was Silicon Valley’s CEO femme fatale — and she needed a signature look, one in which she would be easily recognisable, one that would help people immediately know who the woman with the deep ocean blue eyes and perfectly tied blonde hair was who was mesmerising the crowd.
A stolen, copied, inspired look, according to various people, by Steve Jobs. Holmes wanted to give herself this image of an accomplished CEO — which she was, or so it was thought — a respected businesswoman and inventor. But where she went wrong was that, unlike her, Steve helped change the world, because he actually changed the world (forever). And despite everything, I too was hit by the “Holmes fever” and wanted to adopt her signature look. A serious, femme fatale, accomplished woman look — but without the penchant for fraud and lies.
And I think it’s also worth noting the complete turnaround she did, during her trial. She adopted a completely different style — a more maternal, feminine style, calling for public sympathy. But, honestly, tell me, who would want to sympathize with the woman responsible for the biggest scam in Silicon Valley history?
Elizabeth Holmes created her image, her myth, by using the rhetoric of “I’m a self-made, independent woman” to “My ex-partner made me do all this — I’m a victim”. Using the card of the physically and sexually abused woman to gain sympathy from the public, the court jurors in order to, perhaps, find a way to reduce her prison sentence is, on one hand, a huge spit in the face of the real women who are victims of these horrors and, on the other hand, very stupid since the text messages that Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani were sending each other completely destroy these allegations.
Elizabeth Holmes is a born manipulator and sociopath. She deserves no sympathy from the general public and deserves to spend her life in prison. Still, the cultural impact, as the Stanford Daily so aptly points out, that Elizabeth Holmes has had on young women today is significant and I think it will remain so for some time to come. After all, don’t you think there are some lessons to be learned from one of the most famous Stanford dropouts in the US and — arguably — the world?
