Empowered: Popular Feminism and Popular Misogyny

Abstract

In 2018, we are living in a moment in North Amer i ca and Eu rope in which feminism has become, somewhat incredibly, popu lar.It feels as if everywhere you turn, there is an expression of feminism-on a T-shirt, in a movie, in the lyr ics of a pop song, in an inspirational Instagram post, in an awards ceremony speech.Feminism is "popu lar" in at least three senses: One, feminism manifests in discourses and practices that are circulated in popu lar and commercial media, such as digital spaces like blogs, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as broadcast media.As such, these discourses have an accessibility that is not confined to academic enclaves or niche groups.Two, the "popu lar" of popu lar feminism signifies the condition of being liked or admired by like-minded people and groups, as popularity.And three, for me the "popu lar" is, as cultural theorist Stuart Hall (1998) argued, a terrain of strug gle, a space where competing demands for power battle it out.This means that there are many diff er ent feminisms that circulate in popu lar culture in the current moment, and some of these feminisms become more vis i ble than others.Popu lar feminism is networked across all media platforms, some connecting with synergy, others struggling for priority and visibility.Popu lar feminism has, in many ways, allowed us to imagine a culture in which feminism, in every form, doesn't have to be defended; it is accessible, even admired.But feminism isn't the only popu lar phenomenon we need to c…