 To counteract this anachronism, the ad agency came up with two
marketing strategies. The first - to draw attention to the sexual inequalities
that continue to exist (some women are still being paid half what men get for the same
job). The second - to make feminism more inclusive
and part of a larger human rights issue, in a word to rebrand, making feminism
the new ‘humanism’.
Is this the
way forward - logos, campaigns telling us that we are all members of the human race,
public relations exercises saying ‘be a woman, be human’?
Members of the Fawcett Society thought otherwise. They were more interested in how feminism had fragmented
into sometimes conflicting subgroups and cultures, and wanted a new kind of feminism that
offered freedom to choose within an inclusive framework.
Empowerment, authenticity, feeling good about
being a woman were key words.
Someone pointed out that Muslim women have evolved
their personal brand of feminism. Covering
themselves is their way of reclaiming their bodies by not sexualising them in public. In
other words, if it’s a woman’s choice, it’s fine. If it’s imposed from outside, it’s anything
but.
Feminism, it
seems, can be seen as a state of being which varies from individual to individual, and
culture to culture.
 Are there fundamental differences between the sexes? Yes, and they should be celebrated. Women’s bodies
and hormones are different from men’s. Motherhood,
is different from fatherhood, though they have things in common. Rebranding feminism to embrace all of humanity would not
necessarily clarify situations.
Equality of opportunity itself raises issues. Young women today expect to do it all and have it all,
though the reality may prove a struggle, and competitiveness brings its own stresses.
Like all good debates, this one ended up with more
questions than it started with: Does feminism need to change its essential meaning or
merely its image? How can feminism be more
inclusive without losing sight of its original aims? How
can it reflect the current need for a greater pluralism while still retaining its ideology
and being an instrument for change?
Everyone agreed that something has to be done, but
there was no general consensus about how or what.
There was one firm conclusion: feminism is in
crisis not so much because of its media stereotype, but because of its extraordinary
complexity and diversity of female identities in current times. Before feminism can be rebranded, it needs to redefine
its many different, and often contradictory, meanings.
We may have
come a long way since the twentieth century, but there’s still a good way to go in
the 21st.
*The Fawcett Society campaigns for equal
pay for women and runs conferences, supports local groups, etc. To find out more about its activities, log on to
www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
You can also take a look at previous
personal views by Harriet Ewe:
Personal view 6 - The big lie
Personal view 7 - How I became a serial killer
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