Man, I feel you. I think another problem is the commodification of this type of liberal feminism. I remember one time seeing a perfume called "Damn Rebel Witches", and it was selling itself as this totally ethical, feminist perfume. And a part of me immediately wanted it, even though I don't wear perfume, but just for the hashtag aesthetics. You often see it with makeup too: forget trying to work out your feelings about the social conditioning towards makeup, just slap a "Strong Sufragette Eyeshadow!!" sticker on it and call it a day.
Idk if you've ever read the manifesto Feminism for the 99% - it touches on a lot of the same points you have. It didn't really teach me anything new but it was neat to see the same dissatisfaction with liberal feminism laid out so neatly.
Exactly! It is seductive to a certain extent. It feels like an easy-fix even sometimes to just commodify and sell itand make it aesthetic and cool or appealing. It reminds me of the #WineMom thing were women are feeling truly stressed and overwhelmed with raising children and commiserate over it but instead of looking to solve the burnout issue or talk seriously about substance abuse being a slippery slope they like- put quotes on oversized wine glasses. You can't be mad at them really but it just misses the mark. It's easier in the same way to just wear makeup and not think about it- just call it self-expression and move on.
I haven't! I will google it and add it to the reading list though- I've been dying for a new mainstream alternative to Lib Feminism.
Agreed once again. Tbh I wish leftists tried harder to reach out to liberal feminists. I think a lot of young women become more politically active/aware via feminism, and it really sucks that liberal feminism is often considered to be the only strand out there. I certainly didn't know Marxist feminism was a thing when I was younger. Even when I felt dissatisfied with "mainstream" feminism I just stuck to it because to me it seemed the two main sides were yaygirlboss vs the redpill scum.
Btw re reading - Feminism for the 99% is published by Verso, a leftwing publishing house. They have a lot of other books on gender and feminism, all explicitly from a leftwing pov. I haven't checked out too many yet, but it's cool to browse through their section.
We need to build the Ex-Tumblr girl to Left pipeline because not only are young liberal feminists super prime for radicalization- the values are mostly the same- they are just mildly brainwashed by consumerism and sometimes a little too discourse-y. I was def a liberal feminist like even a year and a half ago- and I would have been left I just had not been exposed to it yet! Yeah- the alternate to not being a lib feminist felt like being a weird pro-life type or a pick-me girl.
I also think liberal feminists shifted in the culture in a important way honestly for all the blame they get for stuff lol. They really made online social activism both popular and acceptable. Even like the resurgence of the word "problematic" was because of a lib-fem tumblr blog.
Verso's gender and feminism books- I will keep that in mind!! I'm hoping to read a lot in whatever stage of New Years lockdown we are in lol.
Man, I feel you. I think another problem is the commodification of this type of liberal feminism. I remember one time seeing a perfume called "Damn Rebel Witches", and it was selling itself as this totally ethical, feminist perfume. And a part of me immediately wanted it, even though I don't wear perfume, but just for the hashtag aesthetics. You often see it with makeup too: forget trying to work out your feelings about the social conditioning towards makeup, just slap a "Strong Sufragette Eyeshadow!!" sticker on it and call it a day.
Idk if you've ever read the manifesto Feminism for the 99% - it touches on a lot of the same points you have. It didn't really teach me anything new but it was neat to see the same dissatisfaction with liberal feminism laid out so neatly.
Exactly! It is seductive to a certain extent. It feels like an easy-fix even sometimes to just commodify and sell itand make it aesthetic and cool or appealing. It reminds me of the #WineMom thing were women are feeling truly stressed and overwhelmed with raising children and commiserate over it but instead of looking to solve the burnout issue or talk seriously about substance abuse being a slippery slope they like- put quotes on oversized wine glasses. You can't be mad at them really but it just misses the mark. It's easier in the same way to just wear makeup and not think about it- just call it self-expression and move on.
I haven't! I will google it and add it to the reading list though- I've been dying for a new mainstream alternative to Lib Feminism.
Agreed once again. Tbh I wish leftists tried harder to reach out to liberal feminists. I think a lot of young women become more politically active/aware via feminism, and it really sucks that liberal feminism is often considered to be the only strand out there. I certainly didn't know Marxist feminism was a thing when I was younger. Even when I felt dissatisfied with "mainstream" feminism I just stuck to it because to me it seemed the two main sides were yaygirlboss vs the redpill scum.
Btw re reading - Feminism for the 99% is published by Verso, a leftwing publishing house. They have a lot of other books on gender and feminism, all explicitly from a leftwing pov. I haven't checked out too many yet, but it's cool to browse through their section.
We need to build the Ex-Tumblr girl to Left pipeline because not only are young liberal feminists super prime for radicalization- the values are mostly the same- they are just mildly brainwashed by consumerism and sometimes a little too discourse-y. I was def a liberal feminist like even a year and a half ago- and I would have been left I just had not been exposed to it yet! Yeah- the alternate to not being a lib feminist felt like being a weird pro-life type or a pick-me girl. I also think liberal feminists shifted in the culture in a important way honestly for all the blame they get for stuff lol. They really made online social activism both popular and acceptable. Even like the resurgence of the word "problematic" was because of a lib-fem tumblr blog.
Verso's gender and feminism books- I will keep that in mind!! I'm hoping to read a lot in whatever stage of New Years lockdown we are in lol.