Feminism in Pop Culture 1

Feminisms Negative Reputation and Pop Cultures Role in Modifying It

Kinsey D. Donovan
Glen Allen High School

Feminism in Pop Culture 2

Introduction
Women across the world are coming together to start what some call the second wave of
feminism (Martin & Valenti, 2013). Whether through conferences, news outreach, or social
media, women feel it necessary to stand up against the injustice that still occurs today. Feminism:
the infamous f-word. This movement has long had a negative air that surrounds it. But why?
Todays society is dominated by the never-ending increase of technology that is present in our
everyday lives. This tool is being utilized by advocates across the world in order to spread their
message of the true meaning of feminism to people they never would have gotten in contact with
otherwise. Why has feminism had such a negative connotation over the years? With these
unfavorable views, is pop culture harming or hurting the attempt to reinvent the feminist
movement as a positive necessity in society?
Why People Shy Away From Feminism
In todays society, the question Are you a feminist? draws hesitant responses. History
draws the f-word back to long ago in the early feminist movements. Back then, feminists were
seen as always being against men, which left no room for men to be considered feminists
(Scharff n.d.). So often men will say I wouldnt call myself a feminist, Im a man! (Williams
2014). This female domination pinned men against the whole movement, emphasizing the idea
that feminism was a movement for the advocacy of promoting women and tearing down men. In
a research study of a variety of forty young women, almost half mentioned man-hating in
conjunction with feminism (Scharff n.d.). These extreme views ostracized feminists from the
rest of society, composed of many male critics. Men did not want to be associated with hating
their own gender or joining a movement to take away their own successes, so they dodged any
inkling of involvement, mainly by criticism.

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Within the female-dominated feminist movement came a new dispute: women who hate
men are often accused as being lesbians, creating the stereotype that all feminists are lesbians.
This strong accusation leads to less women wanting to associate with the movement, in fear that
they will be mislabeled a homosexual. A 2007 research study displayed that many women
portrayed themselves as homophobic in order to emphasize their traditional feminine identities
(Scharff n.d.). They were so fearful of being associated with and being labeled a homosexual that
they were willing to preach hate against women within their own social movement group. This
leads to a division in the feminist movement by putting women against each other. Scharff
alludes to the idea that when asked if women hate men after stating that they are a feminist,
saying no, I am heterosexual is inversely saying that homosexuals hate men. With all these
deep-rooted problems within the movement, feminism has experienced strong hesitation and
backlash from society, negativity which some think is irreversibly even in todays modern times.
The Harmful Effects of Online Feminism
In a world of technological prosperity, the internet is a beneficial communication tool for
many different causes. However, it is having some adverse effects on the feminist movement.
The ladies of #FemFuture: Online Revolution, Courtney Martin and Vanessa Valenti, mention
that feminist advocates often experience a psychology of deprivation a sense that they are
in direct competition with one another (2013). Since the internet is thriving with many new
innovations, there are thousands of voices involved in the feminist movement all at once. That
being said, they all want their voice to be heard and to feel like their opinion matters. As
Michelle Goldberg mentions, bloggers and advocates often fight and tear each other down over
each persons approach to the feminist movement (2014). Technology has created a sense of
indestructability, in that one feels they can be a lot meaner on screen than they can in person.

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This fearless disparagement tears apart the people who are supposed to be coming together for a
cause that was rooted in the same ideals.
Contributing to this indestructability, technology fosters the opportunity to tear people
down across social gaps, such as race, sexuality, and class lines. Feminism has involved some
group bias, in which advocates only support gender equality for their specific social or ethnic
group. Technology has allowed this to grow, by making posts excluding others as easy as 140
characters. With the #FemFuture meeting, Martin and Valenti aimed to grow online feminism in
order to advance the movement. However, many people were outraged because the meeting was
somewhat exclusive in its invites, not providing transportation for those outside of New York
City (Goldberg 2014). Additionally, online feminism does not have the funding or backing that
previous movements have received by organizations. Without this funding, the online movement,
for the most part, only benefits the privileged (Martin & Valenti 2013). They already have the
resources and time to blog and speak out, so their voices are heard. Those who are less fortunate,
are working full-time to provide for their family and therefore do not have time to share their
opinions online. Their voices are overshadowed by the wealthy and privileged in the world of
technology, contributing to the growing gap between social groups in online feminism.
The Benefits of Online Feminism
While technology has enhanced a divide among the feminist movement, it is
simultaneously and more effectively bringing more and more people together. Courtney Martin
and Vanessa Valenti explained.
There is paradox here. While the times we are living in call for social justice
movements to embrace decentralization, our technological tools allow

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coordination among a much broader, more motley collection of organizations and
individuals than ever before (2013).
89% of women who go online use social networks (Martin & Valenti 2013). This explains why
the next wave of feminism is primarily online. Experiences and controversies can trend in a
matter of hours to spread reasons why feminism is still needed. In 2012, the hashtag
#Delhibraveheart trended on Twitter to spread the word about the brutal gang-rape of a 23-yearold woman in Delhi. This viral trend of women and men coming together to protest violence
against women lead to governmental action (Martin & Valenti 2013). As women begin to see
feminism growing online, the negative stigma associated with the movement is beginning to
disappear. The online campaign informs young women that by letting [them] know can be a
feminist and care about pop culture, [it] gives them social permission to care about equality
(Martin & Valenti 2013). Technology is bridging the gap between past feminist movements and
pop culture, allowing the movement to thrive now more than ever.
Online feminism has many methods of gaining momentum and breaking down the
negative stereotype. Advocates have begun to use humor, fashion, and personal anecdotes to
name a few. Andi Zeisler talks about how pop culture informs our understanding of political
issues (n.d.). The internet has allowed feminists to play to the hearts of people across the world
to recruit them to join the movement. Interviews such as Emma Watson talking about her
HeforShe Campaign that go viral easily spread the word about feminism by spreading celebrity
endorsements, encouraging people to think that if their role models are feminists, maybe they
should be too (2015). Technology open[s] our eyes to the plight of women and girls around the
world (Wallace 2014). It allows us to hear stories of suffering from inequality that we would not
be able to hear otherwise.

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Conclusion
Feminism has had a long history of having a negative stigma. Past movements have
struggled to break this stereotype. Currently, todays society is also attempting to destroy the
stigma. Within pop culture, the internet has had both negative and positive effects on the
movement. However, the benefits of online feminism are beginning to outweigh the harms. Past
associations combined with accusatory feelings have created a negative ambiance for feminism,
which pop culture and the internet are attempting to break.
Reference List
Goldberg, M. (2014). Feminisms toxic twitter wars. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/
article/178140/feminisms-toxic-twitter-wars?page=0,0#
HeForShe, (2015, March 8). HeForShe conversation with Emma Watson on International
Womens Day 2015 [full q&a] official. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/LNi9Ypc0cg8
Martin, C., & Valenti, V. (2013). #FemFuture: online revolution. New Feminist Solutions, 8.
Retrieved from http://bcrw.barnard.edu/wp-content/nfs/reports/NFS8-FemFuture-OnlineRevolution-Report-April-15-2013.pdf
Scharff, C. (n.d.). Repudiating feminism: young women in a neoliberal world. Available from
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%20negative&f=false
Wallace, K. (2014, October 7). Technology is feminisms friend and foe. Retrieved from
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/18/living/technology-empowering-women-identity/
Williams, A. (2014, November 17). Common misconceptions too many people have about

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feminism. Retrieved from http://hellogiggles.com/misconceptions-about-feminism/#read.
Zeisler, A. (n.d.). Feminism and pop culture: seal studies. Available from
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ROhSbOQIzmYC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&d
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D8#v=onepage&q=feminism%20pop%20culture&f=false