The Commodification of Feminism (or How Beyoncé Changed America’s Mind

 Lately, I have been overwhelmed with the “feminist” articles shared on my Newsfeed. Granted, a lot of my friends on Facebook lean left or are activist types, but feminism has never been more mainstream than it is now. Twenty years ago, a lot of female liberals would not have described themselves as “feminists”—even if they believed in equal rights, it was still a four letter word (and that’s not to say that there are not people who still believe it is today, but the amount is much smaller). My own mother, who talks openly about the inequality of women in the workplace and how ridiculous it was that some members of congress did not support birth control being covered by health insurance, never called herself a feminist. When I asked her about it, she would shy away from the question and dismiss it by saying it means something different to me than it did to her (which might be true if we are thinking in terms of third wave vs. second wave). And although I think she is beginning to change her mind due to many long phone conversations and pressing questions, I have still never heard her say those three words that everyone wants to hear, “I’m a feminist.” Personal stories aside, feminism has become trendy for our generation. People who I went to high school with who go to college in Middle-of-nowhere, Arkansas and are not studying anything remotely resembling Gender Studies post articles about male privilege from Upworthy or videos of slam poets speaking about the importance of pro-choice. Not to mention that most of these people were very socially conservative when we were 16.

The reason for this sudden surge of "girl power" can be attributed to many things, like the natural progression of society or the fact that social media does allow us to share ideas quickly and change our minds about issues just as fast. However, if I could point a finger at one person in particular, it would be everyone's favorite superstar, Beyoncé. Her new visual album has a feminist message, though it is very problematic at times (see my short post from two weeks ago). And because of Beyoncé’s openness, the backlash against female celebrities not claiming to be feminists has become more intense (I’m looking at you, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga). And, believe me, I am not saying that Beyoncé is the perfect feminist icon, but if the biggest celebrity in the world promotes an idea that has been taboo for years, I will definitely take it. But another question remains: is feminism becoming a commodity? This question is hard to answer (I mean, is it even wrong to make something a commodity if it’s promoting an important idea?), but Beyoncé is right in the center of it. Is her new album only “feminist” to appeal to her twenty-something audience? It’s also just as important to ask if her twenty-something audience is becoming more progressive because of her. It’s kind of like the chicken or the egg; the world may never know. But for now, I’m just glad the Queen is on our side.