Has someone empowered you recently? If you’re shaking your head no, you must live under a rock or your phone is in for repair? I mean come on; everything is about heightening empowerment nowadays. Every celebrity, social influencer and even your local butcher is giving it away or they’re supporting a campaign aimed at empowering the world.
Empowerment. I wish the term would die a sudden death. The word is supposed to evoke something powerful. However, it is too malleable and unclear to carry more than little meaning. What does it actually mean? So many people and companies use the term, comfortable with its lack of clear, shared meaning. Many have come to view ‘empowerment’ as nothing more than the most recently popular buzz word thrown in to make sure something sells. Now like everything, it’s simply about selling things.
Lately, the word seems to be used almost exclusively with reference to women. A woman would now find it difficult not to feel empowered every day, going by the fact everything a female does, from brushing her teeth to bringing her own lunch to work is described as a method to empower her. It’s used as an aid for increasing consumerism, so you can empower yourself by buying that expensive handbag or the ‘cute’ shoes or the pretty stationary.
Here are a few things I’ve been told this week will make women feel empowered: Watching Drake’s new star-studded music video; posting naked selfies; being Kylie Jenner; buying designer handbags; following Kim Kardashian on Instagram and wearing a gloss instead of a matte lipstick (no joke).
It’s not just aimed at women. I was in the children’s section in Penney’s last week trying to find a gift for my 11-year-old cousin. Browsing around, I began to feel this ball of rage rise from inside me. It wasn’t the tacky faux-fur jackets or the questionably high-heeled shoes –completely unsuitable for a child of six- that sent me into a frenzy this time. My moan was over the new trend of ‘empowering’ T-shirts for young girls. They were everywhere and each displaying a separate ‘girl power’ message: “I’m a woman, what’s your superpower?” “Girls Run the World.” “Just Smile.” “Born this way.”
If young girls need to wear these t-shirts to remind themselves of just how great they are, then we’ve failed them as a society. Those t-shirts don’t reassure me. In a time where there are issues over gender pay inequality, in a country facing a referendum on the eighth amendment and in a world where female genital multination still occurs, it’s moving feet on the ground that’s needed. I want something that will encourage people to get out and do something.
What’s happening to all this empowerment? Where does it all go? The problem with this use and approach of empowerment is that it leads to a whole pile of nothing. T-shirts aren’t enough and using messages of female empowerment to sell products just doesn’t sit well with me.
The idea of empowerment – the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life and claiming one’s rights- became widely used in the 70s primarily in reference to black people. Then it was adopted by feminists and the term was considered quite radical. But now, it’s no longer about improving the rights and powers of minority groups, but about what we can do for ourselves as individuals. How can one woman gain more power? I wish it could at least focus on power through more education not by purchasing materialistic things.
Empowerment is now something you can purchase but the opportunities to gain power remain the same. Those selling empowerment as a brand are focused on women like me, twenty-something, middle class and with a (very small) disposable income. I’m fortunate enough not to need any more empowerment. I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford education, have a job and yes, occasionally buy myself ‘cute’ shoes.
The messages are all wrong. Forget the STEM courses and computer skills, just watch Drake’s all-female video or throw up a naked photo online. Feel empowered.