Tuesday
Dec062011
StumbleUpon: Feminism Isn't About Pretty Pink Paper Dolls
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
I like StumbleUpon. It is a great way to share and discover content on topics that interest me. If you're not familiar with it, you can check out my guest post about StumbleUpon and how it works on Kids in the Capital. Today when I went on the site, they were promoting the "new" StumbleUpon, so I decided to check it out. Turns out, there is a nice page that lists my interests and has a photo to go with each one. One of the images jumped out at me right away. The one for feminism.
Pretty pink paper dolls? Unless it is intended to be ironic, I can't think of anything much more anti-feminist than that. The dolls are dainty, identical, weak, wearing dresses, and pink. While each woman certainly can make her own choices (and I do love both pink and dresses, although I don't think I currently own any pink dresses), the image smacks more of Stepford Wives or obedient perfect daughters all falling nicely in a row, than it does of women fighting for equality, opportunity and choice.
I will say that I liked a lot of the other images though, like the multicultural babies that didn't have bottles and pacifiers in their mouths, the fresh vegetables portraying health, the activist fits in the air, and so on.
But the feminist one was a miss, for sure.
What does feminism look like to you? What image would you suggest for StumbleUpon?
Pretty pink paper dolls? Unless it is intended to be ironic, I can't think of anything much more anti-feminist than that. The dolls are dainty, identical, weak, wearing dresses, and pink. While each woman certainly can make her own choices (and I do love both pink and dresses, although I don't think I currently own any pink dresses), the image smacks more of Stepford Wives or obedient perfect daughters all falling nicely in a row, than it does of women fighting for equality, opportunity and choice.
I will say that I liked a lot of the other images though, like the multicultural babies that didn't have bottles and pacifiers in their mouths, the fresh vegetables portraying health, the activist fits in the air, and so on.
But the feminist one was a miss, for sure.
What does feminism look like to you? What image would you suggest for StumbleUpon?
Reader Comments (19)
Maybe it is supposed to symbolise solidarity, sisters linking hands, united in spite of their differences? I don't actually think this what was going through the mind of the person who chose that pic though.
I think though, when you have to think of an alternative, that is quite tricky. I first thought of two hands clasped together but that could be reinforcing the lesbian/butch stereotype. The I thought a line of shoes, high heels, workboots, running shoes to show the different walks of life that women take - but then this could be taken as 'women are obsessed with shoes'... it's difficult!
I can't speak specifically for StumbleUpon as I've not used the site in ages, but as a web developer it's not uncommon to go to a stock photo site, stick in a keyword and pick the first one that looks ok. It's really nothing deeper or more sinister, and we don't generally think too much about it.
I have to admit thought, I don't know how I would picture feminism. What would you show?
I had the same thought about solidarity - and also thought the identical images, easily identified by gender due to the dresses, just makes it easy to get that this is about women. I personally am not a fan of pink, but I don't read too much into this. Like Charlotte said, what would be the alternative? The idea is to easily identify women with the image, and this one did that effectively and inoffensively (even though it's not really to my own personal taste).
How about Rosie the Riveter? Not all-inclusive, but definitely iconic.
To me, feminism means valuing things that are traditionally feminine while also advocating for progress in women's rights. I don't personally see anything wrong with the image, but you did make an articulate argument against it.
Hmmm . . . You're definitely right, the pink paper dolls don't cut it, but coming up with something that does is a little more challenging. Feminism means so much, it covers such a diversity of topics and people. At this point in my life I see feminism as having a lot to do with public breastfeeding and birth rights. But 6 or 7 years ago, it would have been about reproductive rights and employment. Maybe a woman breastfeeding in a business suit?
Creativity is NOT my strong suit, obviously.
How about just a bunch of different women, all races, sizes and ages, together? Laughing, marching, etc.
Yeah, this wast the first thing I thought of, too. We all love her!
Maybe a chalice or a the "female" symbol Venus? Maybe too "Goddessy" Maybe images of 3 women, a mom with a baby, a woman in an obviously formerly masculine job like astronaut or cop or something and then just a pretty young 20-something? Feminism does not mean one thing to all people, unless you just simply want to say it means women should have the same rights as men (which is what it means to me). So the equal symbol, but that's associated with gay rights, and then you'd have to make it pink to be girly? It's a conundrum, but fun to ponder.
How about the white middle class mom-dad-girl-boy family?
I imagine a woman looking up and breathing in with the mountains in the background. Open space symbolizes freedom and isn't feminism about enjoying the freedom of making different choices that complete our personality.
They look like women standing united against something to me - like a picket line. I don't seem them as weak. Skirts are what identify them as female (as is done on every toilet door). As to them being pink - it looks like salmon/orange on my screen. It wouldn't bother me them being pink but a strong pink would be preferable to a soft shade.
Funny how our own experiences and perceptions make the picture a completely different experience for all of us.
Funny, the one that jumped out to me first was the "Parenting" one. Just a Mom with her kids? Where's Daddy? Isn't he a parent too?
Feminism has come a long way since the days of it just being about women being equal to men. Feminism is the only place I see any acknowledgement of the intersectionality of the various social justice fronts and the also the only place I have seen any decent attempt to address that intersectionality and incorporate the voices and knowledge of others. My initial thought for an image would be the female symbol with the fist in the center, which has been representing feminism for decades. But that image is also symbolic of a lot of racism and hatred that feminists have been working hard to cull from their ranks. I think the only suggestion I even remotely agree with is Rosie the Riveter, even though I know that image would be alienating to many trans* folks.
Asking completely out of ignorance (and I'm learning a lot of late about the transcommunity): what about Rosie the Riveter is offensive to transpeople? I'm genuinely curious and would love to educate myself.
I am not trans* so I can only relay the information I have garnered from discussions of feminism within some trans* communities (and this has all been online, so is decidedly not representative of the trans* community at large) that it wouldn't be so much a matter of being offensive as much as noninclusive.
I initially thought of Rosie the Riveter too. Or a suffragette. Maybe a mom with a briefcase & a baby? <-- or is that too outdated of an idea of feminism (the mom can "have it all" scenario?) An image of a famous feminist? Maybe just the "female" symbol?
I have a feeling it was more like the designers were looking for "women" and clip art female dolls was available (though, I haven't worn a pink dress since I was a child). I also kind of get the suggestion of solidarity being shown with women holding hands... but that could be shown with real, actual women... maybe? Or, how about a man & woman holding hands or working together?
I don't claim to be a feminist, but Rosie the Riveter was the first thing that popped in my head too. Classic, iconic strong woman.
I'm with you, Annie--I find the pink cutouts appalling! For one thing, it implies that feminism is monolithic , which is a stereotype that we're been fighting since the Second Wave. We're not all white, and we're not all women! But if I had to pick one, my iconic feminist photo would be the 1971 shot of Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes posing with raised right fists.
http://modalmayhem.tumblr.com/post/3237972837/body-and-soul-gloria-steinem-and-dorothy-pitman