Celebrity Feminism/Feminists Discussion

The FRG met to discuss how affective the intersection of celebrity and feminism is in making feminism acceptable/accessible to all. Below are point form notes of issues that were raised. Please feel free to continue the discussion on these issues here, or on the FB group page:

• Celebrity Feminism seems to be very commercialized and centres around geographical limitations to activism. We buy something "here" to help women "over there".
• There is definitely and interaction of feminism and humanism in the "This is what a feminist looks like" campaign
• There also seems to be an importance placed on aesthetics in that campaign however. Feminists "look" as certain way, or at least they are supposed to. This creates a subsectionality to the movement.
• Thus ultimately this "this is what a feminist looks like" campaign seems to re-inscribe the very problems it is supposed to eradicate.
• In the Avon campaign the bracelet is the locus of power and empowerment
• This campaign is vague in its purpose and seems to inspire women who take such activism at face value without digging into the deeper issues and motivations.
• Seems to misrepresent itself as a UN partner/program.
• It never uses the "feminist" word in the campaign.
  
• Is Angelina Jolie a better feminist than others because she refuses to engage in the commercialized "performance" of the feminist? She actively refuses to engage with that discourse. Seems to use her silence as resistance.
• Allison Janey as possibly a good example of celebrity feminism, because she does not necessarily engage with commercialized or problematized activism. She addresses the issues using media but in a covert way.
  
• Hillary Clinton, is she signaling a movement towards feminism and feminist ideals to the US government?

Please join us again on February 25th from 1:30-3:30 in UC 384 when we will be discussing Motherhood, Feminism and Careers in Academia.

Celebrity Feminisms

The Feminist Reading Group invites you to join us for our first meeting of the term on Wednesday, January 28^th, from 1:30-3:00 pm in UC 384: “Celebrity Feminisms.” This meeting will interrogate the cultural politics of celebrity feminism, and celebrity-endorsed feminist campaigns—from the Feminist Majority’s celebrity “This is What a Feminist Looks Like” campaign, to Reese Witherspoon’s endorsement of the Avon Empowerment Fund and the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women.

No formal preparation for this meeting is required, as we will provide select material from news and media sources at the meeting itself. If anyone has material that they would like to contribute for discussion (including online sources), please feel free to send it along ahead of time. Hope to see you there!!

Here are a few links to start:

Celebrity Feminists

Reese and Avon Campaign

Avon Campaign

Maher on Feminism

Faux Celebrity with Real Celebrifeminist

Celebrity Feminism and Magazines