One of the issues with feminism is how currently it's seen as trend, it's used for commercial gain for companies to profit of it as a fashion statement. Many different band have been selling feminist/pro-female items for their own profit creating a trend around the name without the audience understanding the meaning or any of the profit going to help related causes.
Fawcett Society T-shirt-
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/2014/nov/03/feminist-t-shirt-scandal-exposes-entire-system-exploitation-elle-whistles-fawcett-society
'The high street brand Whistles, fashion magazine Elle, and long-running feminist campaign group The Fawcett Society are currently caught in a fashion scandal after the publication of Mail on Sunday allegations that their collaborative ‘This Is What A Feminist Looks Like’ T-shirts are made in a Mauritian sweatshop by women earning 62p an hour.'
“Being ethical requires more effort than making a statement; it requires investment.”
https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/whistles-pulls-feminists-campaign-t-shirts-amidst-sweatshop-claims/2014110414451
'“How can this T-shirt be a symbol of feminism when we do not see ourselves as feminists? We see ourselves as trapped,” said one worker to the reporters
After being exposed Whistle stop producing the range, theses article explores how a profeminist production actually goes against the ideology it's suppose to support. That the factory where the shirt are made are one of the culprits in the industry adding to the problem rather than fixing it. The t-shirt are being made for 1st world feminist by the subject the issues is suppose to be supporting.
https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/blog/feminist-friday-t-shirt-mayhem/
'we thought this was a great opportunity to spread the word of feminism, and get the real issues into mainstream debate. 'AIM TO GET IT TALKED ABOUT/SPREAD THE WORD
As part of Elle’s drive to get men wearing the t-shirt and engaging in the cause, they invited the leaders of the three main political parties to take a photo of themselves wearing it.' SHOWING IT'S NOT JUST FEMALES
'100% of the profits go to Fawcett.' RANGE PROFITS GO TO HELP THE FEMINIST CHARITY
'sizing up to XXL from XXS, for both gender' SHOWING EVERYONE CAN BE FEMINIST, OPEN TO WIDE AUDIENCE
The idea behind this shirt is to change society views on what a feminist is, to show the world that anyone including males can be and are feminist rather than just the stereotypical feminist portrayed by the media. As to also get media support to diverse feminists to break the stereotype. The idea is a solution to a very strong issues mentioned earlier, to show feminist as strong diverse people who support equality yet it's just not produced in the correct way.
Topshop Feminist Range
Topshop have recently released a range of feminist t-shirt, the range consist of 3 shirts and 2 jumpers with consist of bold graphic statements relating to the support of feminism.
There are two views on this product, one is that it's good to promote feminism and to support the belief system, allowing people to become more aware of the issue/make the belief system popular/mainstream and where as the contradictory view is around the commercial gain for the company of selling t-shirt supporting this view without any of the profit of funds helping the issue.
Also another issue with this range is the lack of male versions, feminism is based around equality yet only allowing females to be feminist goes against the fundermental principles of the system and enhances the stereotypical media view on the movement as just being fro women.
Other brand that so this too/Other examples of feminism as a tend/Fashion statement
Topshop and many other brand have created a T-shirt inspired by feminism yet as they don't actually support any of the causes but instead just brand the war do they actually change anything? Or is the industry commercialising the movement?ID Magazine discusses
https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/what-does-the-feminist-slogan-tee-actually-accomplish
'The trend waned a little with Girls Gone Wild culture, but now feminism is a talking point once again and fashion has gotten firmly on board. Take everything from Dior's "we should all be feminists" tees to Topshop's slogan "FEMINISM" sweatshirts on the high street. Girls turning 25 now have been raised on a market-friendly version of feminism the first time around, so while 2016 might be dogeared as the proverbial watershed moment for fourth-wave feminism in the history books, it's not really anything new. From femvertising, to Miley Cyrus's camel toe and Emma Watson's HeForShe campaign, a majority-white, Hollywood-approved cohort of women have taken a somewhat sanitized re-telling of the word "feminism" pop — again. But at what cost? Have they let big business in the back door with them even if they're more covert about the endorsements they receive?'
'A word that previously whispered of burnt bras, hunger strikes, and sacrifice suddenly became a marketing tool, leverage for Taylor Swift and her super-model girl gang. In short, the term was deodorized and flogged as a trend.'
'Do we in fact need more didactic slogans that discuss the issues currently baiting feminists now like, say, female genital mutilation, intersectionality, rape, forced marriages, abortion potentially being made illegal in the US, and the pay-gap?'
"The proliferation of the word feminism isn't necessarily a bad thing. The problem is that the conversation hasn't progressed." Ione, who founded Polyester in 2014, notes that by that time "Chanel had already staged their 'feminist protest.' We were all talking about the commercialization of feminism already. While designers do probably believe in equality they often can't see beyond their own noses in terms of how they can force real change beyond projecting a 'message.' A message is really nothing if you still exclusively only use skinny white people and unethically made garments."
Feminism As Trend is it a bad thing?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-feminism-became-trendy-and-why-we-should-care_us_5727b5fde4b0b49df6ac0ce4
“It’s this very weird parallel world where on the one hand feminism is now considered very cool — it’s an aesthetic, it’s something that celebrities embrace, it’s something mainstream media uses as a hook to get people interested,” “But at the same time, feminism itself — the need for feminism and the many ways in which it’s an unfinished project — seems increasingly disconnected to that ‘cool feminism.’”
http://www.studentvoices.co.uk/2015/05/modern-feminism-trend-or-just-cause.html
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