This is a brilliant essay. My only worries when it comes to calling out bimbo feminism for what it is is that the course-correct will veer too far in the opposite direction, to the point of degrading femininity itself. You did mention this above. The problem, like you said, is not the femininity or the way people are expressing their womanhood, but rather the fact that stupidity and oversimplification is inherently tied to their idea of femininity. It's almost a case of internalized sexism, the way I see it. Also, this is a bit of a tangent, but the fact that "girl math" only reinforces the social custom (if you can call it that) of infantilizing women into "girls" is gross to me. But that's a whole other issue. Thank you for these thoughts, they are so eloquently put.
thank you! i'm so happy you enjoyed it. i definitely agree and that is something i wanted to explicitly mention within the essay because i didn't want anyone to think at any point that i was implying that femininity itself was wrong or bad in any way. even with my added disclaimers, i definitely understand how someone might walk away with that thought germinating in their mind. while i don't think that pendulum swing is going to be a major cultural issue anytime soon, it's definitely something to think about.
loved this! very well said. something else i’ve noticed as of late is the absolute refusal from women, namely influencers (lol), who wear makeup to engage with well meaning discussions about how the beauty industry is a strain of the patriarchy itself. in large part because saying such is perceived by many, even within “progressive” circles, as misogynistic in and of itself. similar to the sex work discourse, i think we are conditioned to treat these subjects with a heightened degree of a sort of absolutism. if misogynistic men say x & you as a feminist say the same thing then that must mean that you hate women too. when in actuality, a misogynist saying that they hate women who wear too much makeup does not come from the same place as a feminist positing that the beauty industry preys on women’s insecurities (which it helps to manufacture!) in a bid to generate as much profit as possible. this has only gotten worse with the rise of social media influencers.
i don’t have tiktok but i am on instagram & those tend to make their way over there so i have seen these makeup influencers take the audio from this one podcast (sigh) where a young woman was essentially saying that she believes that makeup is bad for women bc it makes them believe that their self-worth is tied to consumption—and use it for the background of their makeup videos to present what she said as misogynistic drivel created to “tear women down” instead of an astute critique of the beauty industry & those who fall victim to its wills. it’s especially concerning bc of the rise of “trad-wives” & the disdain towards the mere mention of feminism as a liberatory politic instead of as a buzz word to sell something in general. it’s all so cynical & late stage capitalism-esque it makes you feel like that one fiona apple quote about there being no hope for women—ik she’s said that she didn’t rlly mean it—just with the addition of “under capitalism”. sorry for such a long comment haha hope you have a lovely day!
yes all of that is so so true and those are some thoughts i've been having as well! i totally did not think to tie those occurrences into this essay but now i really wish i had, because honestly, it's so deeply intertwined with this whole bimbo feminist mentality. it's like these women have basically developed patriarchal stockholm syndrome, even if they wouldn't call it that. i think that's what makes it so much more sinister, too, is this implication that glomming into consumerism and conventional desirability as a woman is somehow progressive or empowering. honestly with the rhetoric we're seeing these days i'm sure i'll have enough fodder for a second essay soon enough... so i may have to talk more about this. i also don't have tiktok (i am really not a big fan of tiktok at all) but sometimes i do find myself getting caught up in the instagram reel rabbit hole and i encounter some of the worst takes imaginable. i think i may have even seen the trend you're mentioning about the audio? it's honestly so disparaging that these people aren't even willing to listen to criticism because of how prepared they are to fend off any opposition to their perspective as plain old misogyny. i think i mentioned this in the essay, too, how this so-called 'feminism' is being weaponized to bat away any actual inquiries into the patriarchal status quo. it's wild. anyway, no need to apologize for the long comment, i loved everything you said! and it makes me very happy to know i'm not the only one seeing something wrong with this.
yes yes oh my god! sometimes it feels like you’re sort of the one in the wrong because it seems like such a popular sentiment. it’s always bothered me how quick so many feminists-with presumably good intentions-will want to push back on the “man hating feminist who doesn’t shave & hates makeup” stereotype. not just because that assessment is in bad faith, especially the man hating part but also because it presents these women-many of them queer, trans, non-white, etc- as hysterical and overdramatic. i could totally be reaching but it gives the impression of wanting to present yourself as respectable & non threatening whilst claiming otherwise. like you mentioned in the essay about still adhering to the status quo! when radical social movements reach the mainstream their messaging must be watered down in order to appeal to the widest-liberal-demographic possible, feminism is a perfect example of this. even during the 70s you had supposed academics citing playboy magazine-the publication which put a nude child on the cover-as THE source on feminism... we sort of saw this same line of thinking with other women who critiqued the barbie movie as well.
complete tangent: but tiktok/reels audios could be a whole essay in and of themselves to be honest. what with the way they take what could be a very uncomfortable clip from something-think the part from girl interrupted where angelina jolie’s character is making fun of brittany murphy’s for being a victim of abuse at the hands of her father or the scene from precious where her mother is saying why she didn’t step in when precious’ father would abuse her-and turn it into something cutesy or funny. i’ve even seen women use priscilla presley recounting how elvis would treat her like a doll & carefully craft every aspect of her appearance when she was a child, as a background for them to do that exact same 60s makeup look and it’s like... parody levels of disconnect. a case for this encouraging anti-intellectualism & individualism could be made as well i believe. so much to say i could go on forever. but anyways once again i cant express enough how much i enjoyed this essay! it’s always great to have these sorts of conversations with other ppl who are on the same page about the current state of affairs lol
yes i completely agree with everything you are saying yet again! that’s such an interesting thought about wanting to appear palatable and non-threatening. i hadn’t even really thought about that but it definitely feels right on the nose with this brand of feminism. i feel like a lot of liberal politics in general revolve around that idea of wanting to concede to the enemy/seem nonthreatening to the enemy, like we saw with ‘abolish the police’ turning into ‘reform the police’ in 2020. its like they’re so close to getting it but then i think there’s this fear of genuinely disturbing the status quo which just makes them swerve completely away from any genuinely radical rhetoric. what’s crazy though is i do feel like liberal feminism makes a brand out of hating men, but in a very gender-essentialist-y way that kind of rubs me the wrong way? it’s like the new age spiritual assumption that femininity is inherently soft and nurturing and creative and masculinity is inherently tough and angry and protective (the colonial binary strikes again). i recently saw someone commenting ‘you’re literally a girl, why are you hating like a man’ on a tiktok of a woman being transphobic and i was like - you really did not just say ‘hating like a man’ about transphobia, right? when trans exclusionary radical feminism is literally right there? and i mentioned this in the essay, too, how liberal feminism becomes this cult of girlhood where femininity turns into a safeguard against recognizing oneself as the oppressor (particularly in the case of white cis women), and everything can be traced back to/blamed on men. not even toxic masculinity, either, just like - men as a concept.
and god, don’t even get me started on tiktok, lol. basically every essay i want to write has been inspired or supplemented by some ridiculous tiktok trend or other. i feel like that platform is just an echo chamber of complete and utter (in many cases) willful ignorance. there's definitely a lot to be said about short form videos and the way we consume content in like, 280 characters or 30 seconds now - there's no room for nuance, it's just a cash grab where people throw out these volatile absolutist statements and people latch onto them without consideration because they're in this mode of mindlessly consuming for dopamine which doesn't really put one in a state of mind to step back and form a nuanced opinion. or room to actually think about the implications of what one is creating, like you're saying. and it permeates our non-digitized reality in a very alarming way! at this point i just need to write a whole essay series where i decimate every tiktok trend one by one until that entire platform is nothing but ashes.
This is a brilliant essay. My only worries when it comes to calling out bimbo feminism for what it is is that the course-correct will veer too far in the opposite direction, to the point of degrading femininity itself. You did mention this above. The problem, like you said, is not the femininity or the way people are expressing their womanhood, but rather the fact that stupidity and oversimplification is inherently tied to their idea of femininity. It's almost a case of internalized sexism, the way I see it. Also, this is a bit of a tangent, but the fact that "girl math" only reinforces the social custom (if you can call it that) of infantilizing women into "girls" is gross to me. But that's a whole other issue. Thank you for these thoughts, they are so eloquently put.
thank you! i'm so happy you enjoyed it. i definitely agree and that is something i wanted to explicitly mention within the essay because i didn't want anyone to think at any point that i was implying that femininity itself was wrong or bad in any way. even with my added disclaimers, i definitely understand how someone might walk away with that thought germinating in their mind. while i don't think that pendulum swing is going to be a major cultural issue anytime soon, it's definitely something to think about.
loved this! very well said. something else i’ve noticed as of late is the absolute refusal from women, namely influencers (lol), who wear makeup to engage with well meaning discussions about how the beauty industry is a strain of the patriarchy itself. in large part because saying such is perceived by many, even within “progressive” circles, as misogynistic in and of itself. similar to the sex work discourse, i think we are conditioned to treat these subjects with a heightened degree of a sort of absolutism. if misogynistic men say x & you as a feminist say the same thing then that must mean that you hate women too. when in actuality, a misogynist saying that they hate women who wear too much makeup does not come from the same place as a feminist positing that the beauty industry preys on women’s insecurities (which it helps to manufacture!) in a bid to generate as much profit as possible. this has only gotten worse with the rise of social media influencers.
i don’t have tiktok but i am on instagram & those tend to make their way over there so i have seen these makeup influencers take the audio from this one podcast (sigh) where a young woman was essentially saying that she believes that makeup is bad for women bc it makes them believe that their self-worth is tied to consumption—and use it for the background of their makeup videos to present what she said as misogynistic drivel created to “tear women down” instead of an astute critique of the beauty industry & those who fall victim to its wills. it’s especially concerning bc of the rise of “trad-wives” & the disdain towards the mere mention of feminism as a liberatory politic instead of as a buzz word to sell something in general. it’s all so cynical & late stage capitalism-esque it makes you feel like that one fiona apple quote about there being no hope for women—ik she’s said that she didn’t rlly mean it—just with the addition of “under capitalism”. sorry for such a long comment haha hope you have a lovely day!
yes all of that is so so true and those are some thoughts i've been having as well! i totally did not think to tie those occurrences into this essay but now i really wish i had, because honestly, it's so deeply intertwined with this whole bimbo feminist mentality. it's like these women have basically developed patriarchal stockholm syndrome, even if they wouldn't call it that. i think that's what makes it so much more sinister, too, is this implication that glomming into consumerism and conventional desirability as a woman is somehow progressive or empowering. honestly with the rhetoric we're seeing these days i'm sure i'll have enough fodder for a second essay soon enough... so i may have to talk more about this. i also don't have tiktok (i am really not a big fan of tiktok at all) but sometimes i do find myself getting caught up in the instagram reel rabbit hole and i encounter some of the worst takes imaginable. i think i may have even seen the trend you're mentioning about the audio? it's honestly so disparaging that these people aren't even willing to listen to criticism because of how prepared they are to fend off any opposition to their perspective as plain old misogyny. i think i mentioned this in the essay, too, how this so-called 'feminism' is being weaponized to bat away any actual inquiries into the patriarchal status quo. it's wild. anyway, no need to apologize for the long comment, i loved everything you said! and it makes me very happy to know i'm not the only one seeing something wrong with this.
yes yes oh my god! sometimes it feels like you’re sort of the one in the wrong because it seems like such a popular sentiment. it’s always bothered me how quick so many feminists-with presumably good intentions-will want to push back on the “man hating feminist who doesn’t shave & hates makeup” stereotype. not just because that assessment is in bad faith, especially the man hating part but also because it presents these women-many of them queer, trans, non-white, etc- as hysterical and overdramatic. i could totally be reaching but it gives the impression of wanting to present yourself as respectable & non threatening whilst claiming otherwise. like you mentioned in the essay about still adhering to the status quo! when radical social movements reach the mainstream their messaging must be watered down in order to appeal to the widest-liberal-demographic possible, feminism is a perfect example of this. even during the 70s you had supposed academics citing playboy magazine-the publication which put a nude child on the cover-as THE source on feminism... we sort of saw this same line of thinking with other women who critiqued the barbie movie as well.
complete tangent: but tiktok/reels audios could be a whole essay in and of themselves to be honest. what with the way they take what could be a very uncomfortable clip from something-think the part from girl interrupted where angelina jolie’s character is making fun of brittany murphy’s for being a victim of abuse at the hands of her father or the scene from precious where her mother is saying why she didn’t step in when precious’ father would abuse her-and turn it into something cutesy or funny. i’ve even seen women use priscilla presley recounting how elvis would treat her like a doll & carefully craft every aspect of her appearance when she was a child, as a background for them to do that exact same 60s makeup look and it’s like... parody levels of disconnect. a case for this encouraging anti-intellectualism & individualism could be made as well i believe. so much to say i could go on forever. but anyways once again i cant express enough how much i enjoyed this essay! it’s always great to have these sorts of conversations with other ppl who are on the same page about the current state of affairs lol
yes i completely agree with everything you are saying yet again! that’s such an interesting thought about wanting to appear palatable and non-threatening. i hadn’t even really thought about that but it definitely feels right on the nose with this brand of feminism. i feel like a lot of liberal politics in general revolve around that idea of wanting to concede to the enemy/seem nonthreatening to the enemy, like we saw with ‘abolish the police’ turning into ‘reform the police’ in 2020. its like they’re so close to getting it but then i think there’s this fear of genuinely disturbing the status quo which just makes them swerve completely away from any genuinely radical rhetoric. what’s crazy though is i do feel like liberal feminism makes a brand out of hating men, but in a very gender-essentialist-y way that kind of rubs me the wrong way? it’s like the new age spiritual assumption that femininity is inherently soft and nurturing and creative and masculinity is inherently tough and angry and protective (the colonial binary strikes again). i recently saw someone commenting ‘you’re literally a girl, why are you hating like a man’ on a tiktok of a woman being transphobic and i was like - you really did not just say ‘hating like a man’ about transphobia, right? when trans exclusionary radical feminism is literally right there? and i mentioned this in the essay, too, how liberal feminism becomes this cult of girlhood where femininity turns into a safeguard against recognizing oneself as the oppressor (particularly in the case of white cis women), and everything can be traced back to/blamed on men. not even toxic masculinity, either, just like - men as a concept.
and god, don’t even get me started on tiktok, lol. basically every essay i want to write has been inspired or supplemented by some ridiculous tiktok trend or other. i feel like that platform is just an echo chamber of complete and utter (in many cases) willful ignorance. there's definitely a lot to be said about short form videos and the way we consume content in like, 280 characters or 30 seconds now - there's no room for nuance, it's just a cash grab where people throw out these volatile absolutist statements and people latch onto them without consideration because they're in this mode of mindlessly consuming for dopamine which doesn't really put one in a state of mind to step back and form a nuanced opinion. or room to actually think about the implications of what one is creating, like you're saying. and it permeates our non-digitized reality in a very alarming way! at this point i just need to write a whole essay series where i decimate every tiktok trend one by one until that entire platform is nothing but ashes.