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This was a personal brief, which asked to address an issue within an important
movement and bring it to light, which could potentially inspire a campaign on
the subject. I chose to focus on feminism, as I believe it is still extremely crucial
that we honour the movement, and keep it alive and moving.
The complication that I am questioning and inviting others to question,
is a very specific and familiar (throughout the media) way of celebrating being a
woman, which is constantly being broadcasted as ‘feminism’. However this is
simply draining the movement of any sentiment more complex than, “Hooray,
women”, and making a profit from it in many cases.
The first two waves in the western world undoubtedly tackled real and important
issues. Whilst first-wave feminism focused on property rights and women’s suffrage,
the second wave took on issues within the workplace, family, reproductive rights
and sexuality. I have specifically focused on feminists from the 1st and 2nd wave,
and included some current feminists. Including feminists from the present day is
impactful too, to represent that these ways of thinking are not just a thing of the past.
I feared solely focusing on the 1st wave would become meaningless to the viewer in
case they can’t relate to the cause (too far removed) or that they likely won’t be
familiar with the figures from this time.
I focused on a small amount of key figures of feminism from the western world,
to contrast this with the commodified and empty version of feminism from the same
part of the world. To show this contrast, I have designed a website which works as a
kind of ‘honey trap.’ It reels in the person who is unbeknownst to them, most used to
commodity feminism and likely unaware that this is their understanding of what
feminism is about. The piece that I’ve made is to give you an idea of how the website
works, showing a selection of different areas of the site.
This was a personal brief, which asked to address an issue within an important
movement and bring it to light, which could potentially inspire a campaign on
the subject. I chose to focus on feminism, as I believe it is still extremely crucial
that we honour the movement, and keep it alive and moving.
The complication that I am questioning and inviting others to question,
is a very specific and familiar (throughout the media) way of celebrating being a
woman, which is constantly being broadcasted as ‘feminism’. However this is
simply draining the movement of any sentiment more complex than, “Hooray,
women”, and making a profit from it in many cases.
The first two waves in the western world undoubtedly tackled real and important
issues. Whilst first-wave feminism focused on property rights and women’s suffrage,
the second wave took on issues within the workplace, family, reproductive rights
and sexuality. I have specifically focused on feminists from the 1st and 2nd wave,
and included some current feminists. Including feminists from the present day is
impactful too, to represent that these ways of thinking are not just a thing of the past.
I feared solely focusing on the 1st wave would become meaningless to the viewer in
case they can’t relate to the cause (too far removed) or that they likely won’t be
familiar with the figures from this time.
I focused on a small amount of key figures of feminism from the western world,
to contrast this with the commodified and empty version of feminism from the same
part of the world. To show this contrast, I have designed a website which works as a
kind of ‘honey trap.’ It reels in the person who is unbeknownst to them, most used to
commodity feminism and likely unaware that this is their understanding of what
feminism is about. The piece that I’ve made is to give you an idea of how the website
works, showing a selection of different areas of the site.
The aim of the project is to question and reassess what’s being broadcasted by the
mainstream media as ‘female empowerment’, in order to deliver a true explanation
of this, instead adding to the widely expressed interpretation of feminism which is
predominantly a commodification (consumer feminism).
This project makes a difference in this chosen context as it
sheds a light on the disconnection between 1. the true essence of feminism and
2. The current figures and companies in pop-culture who boldly proclaim themselves
‘feminist’, through speech, visuals and products and services. It is now a wide-spread
trend and essentially a job requirement amongst female pop-stars today. The project
focuses on the frivolity, meaninglessness, and often absurdity of pop culture’s definition
of ‘empowered’ and ‘feminist.’ Often, the actual ideology of feminism is either lost or
misrepresented and so it leads young people who pay attention to the media to receive
the buzzword/commodified version of Feminism only, which is in fact counterproductive
for the movement. Young people will be affected by the project as it will either
1. confirm the validity of their confusion towards the seemingly empty and nonsensical
messages from the media and finally see their opinions and beliefs in this topic being
represented, or 2. Change the way they think about what a progressive advancement
for women is, and push the question - what is just a money-making scheme?
A platform which is a critical analysis of this false version of feminism(which damages
the true cause). It also should be sure to not solely demonise specific companies or public
figures, but to provide the user with clear information describing what the movement
really is about. To do this, I have designed website pages which acts as a trojan horse of
sorts. This will be carried out by luring the user in by providing them with buzz words and
visuals which typically adhere to this consumer trap. Hidden within this website will be
the work of reputable feminists from predominantly the second wave of feminism.
mainstream media as ‘female empowerment’, in order to deliver a true explanation
of this, instead adding to the widely expressed interpretation of feminism which is
predominantly a commodification (consumer feminism).
This project makes a difference in this chosen context as it
sheds a light on the disconnection between 1. the true essence of feminism and
2. The current figures and companies in pop-culture who boldly proclaim themselves
‘feminist’, through speech, visuals and products and services. It is now a wide-spread
trend and essentially a job requirement amongst female pop-stars today. The project
focuses on the frivolity, meaninglessness, and often absurdity of pop culture’s definition
of ‘empowered’ and ‘feminist.’ Often, the actual ideology of feminism is either lost or
misrepresented and so it leads young people who pay attention to the media to receive
the buzzword/commodified version of Feminism only, which is in fact counterproductive
for the movement. Young people will be affected by the project as it will either
1. confirm the validity of their confusion towards the seemingly empty and nonsensical
messages from the media and finally see their opinions and beliefs in this topic being
represented, or 2. Change the way they think about what a progressive advancement
for women is, and push the question - what is just a money-making scheme?
A platform which is a critical analysis of this false version of feminism(which damages
the true cause). It also should be sure to not solely demonise specific companies or public
figures, but to provide the user with clear information describing what the movement
really is about. To do this, I have designed website pages which acts as a trojan horse of
sorts. This will be carried out by luring the user in by providing them with buzz words and
visuals which typically adhere to this consumer trap. Hidden within this website will be
the work of reputable feminists from predominantly the second wave of feminism.
And some early iterations of the brief I'd like to showcase ...
