A SYTYCB Entry!
Feminism is a social justice movement committed to the liberation of women and equality for all. These aims are simply not compatible with the level of consumption that we engage in within the Western world. Therefore, feminism needs to be committed to explaining the dangers of excessive consumption to those who are unaware of its dangers. This is particularly a feminist issue because women possess a disproportionate amount of purchasing power. Statistics show that, in the United States, Women account for 58% of all total online spending and a whopping 85% of all consumer purchases. It is thought that over the next decade, women will control two-thirds of consumer wealth so if this is not an urgent women?s issue I?m not sure what is.
Unfortunately, if the dangers of excessive consumption and the importance of sustainable living for all are not highlighted the feminist movement will stall. And here is why.
1)????? Excessive consumption does not allow for consideration of whether the products being purchased were ethically produced.
The aim is to buy and buy and buy until one?s appetite is satiated. This is incompatible with worldwide social justice. One of the most shocking examples of this incompatibility is found within retailers. Many popular retailers use sweatshop labour such as American Apparel, Abercrombie & Fitch, Burberry, Nike and Adidas. Sweatshop labour is awful, guys. According to dosomething.org, sweatshop workers earn as little as ? to ? of what they need to provide for basic nutrition, shelter, energy, clothing, education and transportation while almost 75% of the retail price of a garment is pure profit for the manufacturer and retailer. To really put this in perspective for less than 1% of Nike?s advertising budget, wages could be doubled for all workers making Nike university clothing. The unfortunate and unpopular conclusion from this is that people women need to stop buying so many clothes until we are sure that the big profit retailers are giving their workers the resources to have a decent life.
Common (by common, I mean my own) protestations to this line of argument include:
- But fashion is empowering and it makes women feel better!!! How dare you tell women to stop shopping as much when it makes them feel better? Look at the explosion of fashion blogs! Women expressing themselves- isn?t that what feminism is about?- ?If your empowerment is enabling your less fortunate counterparts to be disempowered then you need to find a new way to empower yourself. The end. As for the recent explosion of fashion blogs, if fashion is the never-ending consumption of unethical products then we need to find a new and more creative way of defining fashion. Fashion is about expressing yourself so express yourself in a more ethical way. Clothes swapping and the use of charity shops are two examples that come to mind. We need to shop in smart, ethical and informed ways and we as the feminist movement need to bring this issue to the forefront of public consciousness, rather than having futile and classist debates about whether women can ?have it all?.
All of the shops are bad!! I still need clothes don?t I?!? Not my problem then/nothing I can do! ? No, sorry, that?s not an acceptable response. Not when 85% of sweatshop workers are women between the ages of 15 and 25 and we in the Western world have benefitted so much from a movement that many today consider to be?irrelevant. As relatively privileged people we need to call each-other to a higher standard than this.
2)????? We cannot afford the amount of products that we are buying.
?If the feminist movement is committed to the liberation of women then it needs to tell women that instead of buying products they need to start saving now. Right now. Today. According to smartmoneychicks.com,?80-90% of women will be solely responsible for their finances at some point in their lives- mainly due to divorce and the fact that on average women outlive men by seven years, yet fewer than two in 10 women feel ?very prepared? to make wise financial decisions. Half indicate that they ?need some help,? and one-third feels that they ?need a lot of help.? Obviously statistics do not always reflect the full truth of the situation. But if elderly women are much more likely to be poor than elderly men?then the feminist movement needs to help women out when it comes to managing their finances and part of this help1 involves telling women to quit buying so much stuff. You think you need that product? You need a healthy savings account more.
It is in the interest of the aggressively capitalist Western world to market products to women that are both unethically produced, so as to provide maximum profit to the already wealthy corporations. Our culture also glamorizes financial irresponsibility specifically in women and tells them that this is the beauty product/item of clothing/furniture that will make you the person you want to be. This is not just a lie, it is a dangerous lie that perpetuates mass inequality and feminism needs to take a strong public stance on the issue, even if it risks offending the ?I choose my choice!11!!1?2 ?feminists?.
?
?
1 Not all because we know that structural inequality enables poverty in both men and women.
2 We all know the ones: ?I made a choice and I am a woman, therefore feminism needs to get behind my choice?.
landon collins dorial green beckham mike kelly kristen bell colbert super pac colbert super pac sloth
No comments:
Post a Comment