Commodifying Feminism

I really hated the idea of commodifiying feminism. When we saw that Pantene commercial with the white size-four brunette telling me what it means to be powerful and oppressed, it seemed to fall so short of more meaningful examples like Supreme Court Justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan tearing up the court in defense of the birth control mandate.

While I still have issues with the idea of a media conglomerate hijacking hundreds of years worth of feminist theory to sell dish-washing detergent, I do think that advertising can reach an audience untapped by feminist thought. It does beg the question, what kind of feminism are they promoting? Post Feminism? Third Wave? Many consider post Feminism to undercut the culture created by preceding Feminists.The Pantene commercial seemed to channel lipstick feminism. As a more positive example, I LOVE GoldiBlox. I will gladly spend the extra $15 to get my niece their product. The benefits of commodifying feminism could outweigh the costs, but I hope we reach a point where we can discern what school of thought were being exposed to.