An economic system does not truly care for an ideological movement. However, the movement can benefit from the system in as much as the system can benefit from the movement. With respects to capitalism and feminism, this relationship holds true as modern feminism has benefited in few ways from capitalism as it gives rise to the opportunity to participate in markets with incentives for women which provide freedom at least in respects to modern societies values. The success that women have in regards to this system is not the point of this article, but rather a discussion for another article. However, in order to garner a benefit from capitalism, the capitalist system has to benefit from modern feminism in some manner and it does so by adopting modern feminist values and throwing it to consumerism and advertising these values in a superficial way that undermines the values of the movement.
Due to this relationship, modern feminism has become more of a trend based on brand names, whether well-known or not, that focus specifically on women using modern feminist ideals. This type of behavior is prominent in the fashion industry as fashion brands have developed a variety of feminine aesthetics which collects a huge amount of attention from women as it psychologically appeals to them in an attractive manner. The feminine aesthetic developed from fashion brands has adopted the subjective values of empowerment and autonomy as well as the reclaiming of derogatory terms and advertised it back to young women to make a profit.
Brands such as Calvin Klein and Gucci have been criticized for their unrealistic portrayal of women and this argument holds because of how these brands Photoshop their models. However, take Calvin Klein as an example, the brand has been a part of many controversial issues and shown it's incompetence on several occasions to properly portray women in media. But despite the many times it has failed the brand tries to portray a feminine aesthetic to its woman audience. It tries to present a woman that is cool, formal, and modern while at the same intimidating. Despite the controversy that follows for this type of portrayal, there are many women that subjectively feel that this aesthetics of cool yet intimidating is the autonomy they want. Calvin Klein is one example of a brand but there are other brands that appeal to feminist ideals in manners opposite to that of Calvin Klein.
For example, ranked highly on the streetwear totem pole, is Anti-Social Social Club and their success in streetwear fashion is predominately due to the appeal to women and the faces of the brand that can be seen from advertisements to the brand’s Instagram are women. The T-shirts, hoodies and dad caps are unisex-minimal designs that are simple to wear as well as non-threatening while also embracing a sort of imperfection. This offers an escape from the advertisements of brands such as American Apparel, Gucci, Armani, and other brands that have been known to create photoshopped ads and produce an intimidating line of hypersexualized work. Not only has the brand produced an opposite agenda, but they have also developed an aesthetic, that can be seen on their Instagram, of a cute girl that does not conform to the values presented in front of her by other people and is not afraid to be weird and at times a “bad-b*tch.” This brand has also taken modern feminist ideals of autonomy, empowerment and the reclaiming of individuality, and is making a huge profit and garnering a large amount of success in streetwear fashion with women that wish to portray the same ideals and be empowered as well, but with an opposite strategy compared to other brand names such as Calvin Klein and Gucci.
However, what this brand has done is no different than what any other brand has done when it rises to success, it simply offers something different to appeal to the idea of subjectivity. It is a staple of capitalism and how the system makes a profit, it simply follows trends and either rides the trend or it may develop something opposite to a trend that will appeal to a large audience and eventually claim success as well. While Anti-Social Social Club and Calvin Klein produce different feminine aesthetics and appeals on the surface; both brands have adopted and abused feminist ideologies to sell and make a profit off of women.
It can be argued that wearing clothes and following brands that offer a sense of empowerment and individuality help to develop these ideals in the long-term as it produces a larger degree of self-confidence. However, this is not widely true and for modern feminism, it only hurts the movement more as it produces superficial confidences and empowerment only on the surface rather than a deep-rooted reflection, critical thinking, and action that feminism was founded upon that have allowed women to continuously rise through oppressions of many forms. A solution to this is not quite as simple as blaming capitalism and will only lead to a dead-end as I stated in the beginning that any economic systems does not truly care for a movement. Placing blame on an indifferent entity for the lack of the development of women really is a simple solution that does not offer much growth. Rather the responsibility should be placed more so on modern feminism and it’s lack of cohesion and development of articulate critical thinking which has done more to allow capitalism and consumerism to use its own values to make a profit off of young women while these women are growing up and trying to rise above cultural values that impact them negatively.
