KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Media challenge or subvert the stereotypes of women

• The marketed feminism of popular culture

• Neoliberalism and commodification

Media challenge or subvert the stereotypes of women

In the past decades, traditional media have conveyed traditional images of women on television, such as housewives and damsels in distress （Basaran, 2023）. In the present, popular media have redefined women’s identity and they are portrayed as independent and strong individuals.

HM also offers a new interpretation of the word ‘Lady‘ and a new way of presenting it in their latest autumn and winter advert in 2016. This one-minute advert shows women of different races, body types wearing HM’s latest styles of the season. Most importantly, the advert is shot from an everyday perspective, with the models doing daily things. It reduces the sense of detachment from the audience. This also reflects the core of HM’s Autumn 2016 collection:

Make beauty not unattainable, and different types of ‘Lady’ have the right to pursue it.

And the music used for this advert is a remix of Tom Jones’ ‘She’s a Lady‘. It expresses a man’s appreciation for the woman he loves and the honour of having her. For instance, ‘What she’s got is hard to find, and I don’t wanna lose her’. And the chorus of the song keeps repeating ‘She’s a lady’, emphasising the author’s respect for women. This emphasis shows the independence of a woman with a distinctive personal character. Therefore, I would say the choice of the background music in this advert linked with the theme.

Pay more attention on the model choices in this advert, it uses many different angles to show the diversity and possibilities of women. For example, photographed the famous British model Adwoa Aboah with a buzz cut; a muscular woman; and a women who is not slender enough. It shows that women should not have so many constraints and requirements, they can be all kinds of characteristics of themselves.

The marketed feminism of popular culture

In the context of neoliberal capitalism, pop culture’s marketised feminism is strong through digital media (p18,Banet-Weiser,2019). For example, these are reflected in films (eg. Barbie) as well as in pop music (eg. Doja Cat’s “Women”), etc. At the aim of these pop culture displays of popular feminism is the need for young girls to be confident（Chapter 3,Banet-Weiser,2019).

“Emerges forcefully in a neoliberal capitalist context and via networked digital media.”

“Popular feminism associated with discourses of ‘empowerment’ and consumption.”

Banet-Weiser, 2019

In this HM advert, the content shot is based on this core. It conveys to the female audience an attitude of being confident to be themselves. For example, ‘a young girl unzips her trousers and eats a plate of fries alone on her bed’, the act of unzipping her trousers is more daily and breaks the stereotype that women should eat less.

As well as the fact that the advert also features this model’s armpit hair, it shows that women can be more diverse. So I think this advert is more of a pop-feminism campaign to appeal to a wider female audience. With HM appropriately portraying women as ‘special‘, ‘independent‘, ‘fearless‘, ‘confident’, etc. having a sense of freedom.

Neoliberalism and commodification

Banat-Weiser (2019) has mentioned feminism is the easiest ‘item’ to sell as a commodity and the easiest concept to brand in a capitalist economy.HM uses this concept to brand  feminism, hitting women emotionally while promoting the product.

“In a capitalist, corporate economy of visibility, those feminisms that are most easily commodified and branded are those that become most visible”

Banat-Weiser, 2019

So that you end up near the emotional effect to the product and the emotional value of the purchase outweighs the product value. The advert also depicts neo-liberal and individualistic ideas.

From my perspective, it emphasises that everyone should strongly express their own characteristics and personal values. This in itself is a very subjective realisation as everyone has their own different characteristics. The bravery of the ladies in the film to be what they want themselves to be to infect every audience. Therefore in the context of neo-liberal capitalism, this advert’s strong rise on popular feminism through online digital media has the help of each of the ‘Ladies’.

Recommended Readings

Banet-Weiser, S. (2018) ‘Introduction’, Empowered: Popular Feminism and Popular Misogyny. Durham, NC: Duke.

Başaran, B. (2023). Women on screen: How TV shows redefine modern femininity. Daily Sabah.

Gilliland, N. (2016). Why women are talking about H&M’s latest ad campaign, Econsultancy.

Ilyashov, A. (2016). This Fashion Ad Completely Rethinks What A ‘Lady’ Acts (& Looks) Like.

Liu, R. (2019). Empowered: Popular Feminism and Popular Misogyny – Book Review. LSE Business Review

Logan, E. (2016). Watch H&M’s Stunning, Relatable, Subtly Feminist New ‘She’s a Lady’ Ad. Glamour.

Rottenberg, C. (2018). How neoliberalism colonised feminism – and what you can do about it. The Conversation.

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