Girls Just Want Fem-vertising

H&M's #Ladylike Campaign 

Natural hair, shaved heads, muscles, armpit hair, and body fat comprise the diverse collection of women that dominate the screen in H&M’s newest advert. A transgendered woman “man-spreads” on the subway, an older business woman rolls her eyes at men, queer women share a kiss, a racially ambiguous woman dominates a business meeting and all women featured throughout this ad challenge our traditional definition of 'ladylike' behavior. These women are accompanied by the cursing, bustling, working women of Organic Valley's "Real Morning Report" commercial. These women don't have time for journaling in their designated journaling nook or brewing a homemade batch of kombucha. The women of the Aerie Real campaign flaunt their tattoos and cellulite in untouched photos and Dove's Real Beauty campaign celebrates aging and curvy bodies.




A new representation of femininity is permeating contemporary visual media and is rejecting traditional understandings of what it means to ‘be’ feminine - even if Aerie and Dove continue to suggest that ‘real beauty’ is predominantly white, able bodied, cisgendered and heterosexual. We are currently witnessing a facet of media culture confront the historically oppressive expectations placed on women. Julia Serano, a trans-bi activist and writer, suggests that femininity needs to be reclaimed and empowered in order to strengthen the contemporary feminist movement. Through rejecting the negative connotations that haunt femininity, such as being weak and passive, Serano hopes to promote a femininity that is empowered and not oppressive. For-profit companies, such as Aerie and Dove, have hijacked this reclamation of femininity in order to sell products and receive a generous pay day. The pro-female messaging of for-profit companies are redefining femininity and providing a seemingly progressive representation of women, but at what cost?

SheKnows Media,  a women’s lifestyle media platform, highlights a new trend called ‘fem-vertising’. Fem-vertising is “advertising that employs pro-female talent, messages and imagery to empower women and girls”. SheKnows Media conducted a study to show that today’s women are more likely to share commercials with pro-female messaging and buy products from brands that depict women as empowered, rather than as sex symbols. Today’s women are aware of the advertising messages around them and are drawn more to brands that challenge traditional gendered expectations. They no longer respond to narrowly defined representations of femininity, and so, our capitalist society has learned to adapt to consumer desires.

Organic Valley's "Real Morning Report" Advert

Sandra Lee Bartky, a professor of philosophy and gender studies, suggests that traditional advertising has sold products to women based on the belief that women’s bodies are deficient and require a disguise, a make-over or should practice taking up as little physical space as possible. The beauty and fashion industries, in particular, have celebrated a normative femininity that all women should aspire to achieve - even if they are doomed to fail from the start. However, this idealization of disciplining, disguising and minimizing the female body through product consumption has become an age-old tale. Women want to see racially diverse, various sized, and strong women dominate the visual media around them. But while this increase in fem-vertising seems to represent a progressive step in redefining femininity and shattering strict gender expectations, these pro-female messages are deeply enmeshed in our consumerist society. The reclamation of femininity that Serano calls for has been commodified and repositioned to attract consumers.

After Aerie ditched photoshop to celebrate the “real you”, their sales surged. Dove’s profits also nearly doubled after the release of their Real Beauty campaign that sought to break down traditional beauty standards. These for-profit companies have capitalized on the feminist movement’s desire to reclaim femininity and have turned it into a trend to buy into.



I am happy to see more advertising that is explicitly challenging the ridiculous representations of women that normally dominate my television screen. More and more brands are advertising their products through the voices of women who are racially diverse, mothers and business executives, young and old. These women appear to be more reflective of my own experiences and my own aspirations. Women today recognize blatantly sexist advertising that exploits female bodies to achieve the ancient mantra that “sex sells”. A cultural moment is unfolding where women are seeking new ways of defining and celebrating femininity. Brands that continue to dissect women’s bodies into sexualized parts do not resonate with contemporary society anymore (see Protein World's "Beach Body Ready" ad). Our capitalist culture is responding to this relaxation of gender expectations and is reframing their products to represent the gateway to female empowerment.

Protein World's "Beady Body Ready" advert

While I personally am drawn to fem-vertising and would love to celebrate its popularity as a step in the right direction towards reclaiming femininity, I can’t help but acknowledge the role that capitalism plays in this seemingly progressive messaging. To what extent can we expect any real social change to arise from commodified pro-female advertising? To a degree, it is clear that consumers have played a role in influencing product messaging, but I am wary that the fem-vertising motivated by profits is dedicated to shattering gender expectations. Serano talks about reclaiming femininity within the context of the political feminist movement, but for-profit companies have adopted this effort to benefit themselves. It is possible that fem-vertising may be capable of redefining gender expectations to empower women in a world traditionally dominated by men. However, this commodification of femininity may continue to demand that women perform femininity in a specific way - even if it is not as blatantly sexist and oppressive as advertising that idealizes an overly photoshopped body. Fem-vertising is still in its early stages and it may be too soon to tell what effect pro-female branded images will have on contemporary society. While keeping these drawbacks in mind, I would like to remain hopeful that this new trend in advertising will encourage society to redefine femininity so that it can encompass a diverse collection of lived experiences and interpretations.