Feminism is the New Black 

Feminism has come a long way from it’s beginnings in 1880’s. But it’s real uprising came during the 1920’s when countries everywhere were starting to give women the right to vote.  there are a new set of issues to be solved with the constant changing of society. For the past generation, the most talked about conflict is the sexualization of women in the media. The women who are publicizing feminism are the same ones who are provocative and use their sexuality as a resource to gain power. They promote this oversimplified version of feminism which only shows part of the movement not the whole things. There is more to feminism than just stating that a person is saying that they are one. This causes a misinterpretation of feminism being spread around which can cause a lot of misunderstanding.

Feminism is defined as the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men. The feminist movement has been divided into three “waves”. The first wave was between the 18th and 20th centuries, mainly concerning women’s right to vote. the second wave focused more on legal and social equality of genders. The third wave, which were are still in today, focuses on fixing the issues still left over from the first two waves. Being a feminist For the past few years, the mainstreaming of sexuality has been becoming a bigger issue.

Katrina Fox wrote an article titled Time to Challenge What’s Considered Sexy which asks the question, what is considered sexy? Every year the entertainment and fashion industries raises the bar by redefining what it is to be considered beautiful. With that, what it is to be sexy becomes more overexposed than it was the day before. Expressing one’s sexuality is something that has always been a debate between feminists. On one side, there are the feminist who are all for women showing their bodies and being “liberated.” On the other side, there are those feminists who believe that a women isn’t defined by her looks.

Sexuality is everywhere; it’s on TV, in the songs we listen to, in our magazines etc. The definition of sexy itself is constantly changing. Women in general want to be treated as equal and taken seriously by the men but by over sexualizing themselves, how can women expect men to take them seriously. As women liberate themselves sexuality, it reverses everything feminists have fought for. Fox quotes British feminist author Natasha Walter and Australian anti-raunch crusader Melinda Tankard Reist who do not agree with the mainstreaming of sex in the industry by saying “Young women who dress and act provocatively are not ’empowered’ as they claim to be but are instead enslaved by their own sexualization”. Women who purposefully objectify themselves cannot complain about not being respected as individuals if they can’t seem to respect themselves.

It’s no secret that 2013 was a big year for feminism. The feminist movement has gained many prominent supporters in the entertainment and publishing world. In the article What Does It Mean for Feminism if Feminism Becomes Trendy? questions whether or not the sudden revival of the interest of the feminist movement is because people are starting to recognize what they are fighting for or is it because it’s what’s “in” now?

It is common to look up to people in the entertainment as our role models. Individuals, especially young kids, recognize the name of their favorite singer or actor and look to them for guidance. When celebrities openly state that they stand for/against a certain issue, people are likely to become interested in it simply because someone they admire is interested in it. The problem comes into play when the public is giving a misinterpretation of a situation, especially feminism. Women in the entertainment business give this oversimplified version of feminism which welcomes expressing ones sexuality. One may be confused because it’s like women may say something like”I’m a feminists and I believe that women should have the right to be treated as equals” but then their actions are something opposite of that. That can cause a misinterpretation of what the feminist movement is about and the spread of false information.

In the Huffington Post article “Beyoncé and the Oversimplification of Women Through Beauty”, author Ernest Owens discusses how superstar Beyonce Knowles has “redefined what it means to be feminist by putting her own twist on it.Beyonce Knowles have often stated in interviews that she’s a feminist. In December 2013, Beyonce released her anticipated fifth album and with that came a wave of discussion about her views on feminism. In her album, Knowles makes bold statements supporting feminism especially in her song “***Flawless”. In this song, she uses to recordings of Nigerian feminist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche in which she argues that we should all be feminists. “We as women are expected to want to have achieve certain goals such as getting married and having children, but we don’t teach men to have those same aspirations” states Adiche in her lecture .Despite having this lecture in that song, it seems as though Beyonce is over sexualizing her femininity not only in her music but also in her performances. Her own personal politics can be seen as being sexist. Beyonce and many other female artists have used their bodies as body politics. Their bodies are used to get the message they are trying to send across to their audience.

Body Politics is defined as the practice and policies of society to control the human body, including the struggle over the degree of individual and social control of the body. The original intention of using body politics was to fight against the objectification of a woman’s body. It emphasized a woman’s power and authority over own body. It seems as though women in entertainment today are the one’s objectifying themselves without the help of any outside influences. Their provocative dance moves and the way women, especially singers, dress and is holding back the movement for women to considered equal among women.

Promoting sexuality is a marketing tool predominantly used by women. These days, it is used as a gateway for women in media to present their sexuality in a way that is slowly destroying everything that has been fought for.

Another issue is the way the media portrays feminists in the media. The media is largely responsible for the way feminists are portrayed because of the what Radical feminists are the ones who get reported on in mainstream media for their over the top ways of protesting equality between especially with their extreme beliefs such as reordering the world in favor of the women, which has been seen as the universal perception of feminists for those who are not full informed. Feminism may get a bad reputation in the eyes of some people, when really the intention is equality among both genders. Feminists are working hard to change our society for the better and from the time that the movement started until now, they have made a lot of progress.

Ever since the founding of NOW (National Organization for Women) advocates for gender equality have become more organized with their protests. During the 1960’s, feminists have fighting against how women were being portrayed in the media. Prior to this time, whether it was on television or film, women were portrayed as being over sexualized and unintelligent. Back then it was common for women to play the role of the damsel in distress who always needed a man to save her.

In the last generation, the role of women has changed. TV is becoming more versatile with the roles women are playing some of which are the successful career woman, the loving single mom or the heroine. Women behind the scenes are becoming more active by producing, writing and/or directing their own shows. Women like Mindy Kahling and Tina Fey have gained notoriety for the way portray the “realness” of women. They both show the struggles and insecurities that women are faced with everyday while sending message that it’s ok to not have it all; the perfect body, being happily married with children or having life figured out. Sexuality is still a part of the work they have done but it doesn’t dominate the whole show.

In her article Social Media Sharpens Our Feminist Solidarity, Louise Ferreira discusses how the internet has a big involvement with the progression of feminism in our society. Even if one does not have an interest in feminism, they still will gain some understanding about it because it have been such a talked about topic these last few years. Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook have created a support system for feminism. Those who were criticized for their support of feminism can now have a fair chance to openly discuss their views with other feminists.

This newfound mainstream publicity that the feminist movement is getting is good in the sense that more people know about feminism. But the feminism that is gaining attention is more of a watered down version of what the movement is truly about. There are levels to the feminist movement but people are not as interested in that. They are more interested in the celebrity than the “message” they are trying to send.

Works Cited

Owens, Ernest. “Beyoncé and the Oversimplification of Women Through Beauty.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 Jan. 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

“We should all be feminists: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie at TEDxEuston.” YouTube. YouTube, 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 5 May 2014.

Fox, Katrina. “The Scavenger.” Time to challenge what’s considered sexy. ABC News, 12 June 2010. Web. 8 May 2014

Louise, FERREIRA. “Social media sharpens our feminist solidarity.” The M&G Online. N.p., 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 3 May 2014.

Beusman, Callie. “What Does It Mean for Feminism if Feminism Becomes Trendy?.” Jezebel. N.p., 23 Feb. 2014. Web. 7 May 2014.