Feminism Campaigns Advert Research

While creating my own advert I looked at other feminist campaigns and consider how they worked, how successful the message was and who the target market was.  I began by looking at Emma Watson's Un Speech as what I wanted to convey was very much in line with the ideas that Watson is talking about in her speech.

Here Watson talks about the importance of men and boys being involved in change, she discusses the word 'feminism' and how unpopular this is and how women have turned away from this stating; 'my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word. Women are choosing not to identify as feminists. Apparently, I’m among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, and anti-men. Unattractive, even.' ( Cole L.N. 2020)  This speech really does have the basis of good Feminism that if these values were embraced by both sexes perhaps real change could begin.  

HeforShe is still going strong and their website has resources and action kits and ideas so that YOU can get involved and promote change. HeforShe website.  The target audience is all men and all women, so we can really work together for gender equality.

Another campaign - 'This is what a Feminist Looks like' was high profile and the Fawcett Society & Elle the fashion Magazine promoted this campaign.  'The Fawcett Society's story begins with Millicent Fawcett, a suffragist and women's rights campaigner who made it her lifetime’s work to secure women the right to vote.' (FawcettSociety 2022)  now it still continues and promotes women's rights across the globe.  The campaign that we are discussing here - 'This is what a feminist looks like' (2014) started well with many male celebrities and politicians wearing T-shirts to promote feminism. Conscious Magazine stated;  “This is What A Feminist Looks Like” shirts that you might have seen on the chests of some of the most in-demand men in Hollywood to raise awareness for this movement (in the guise of consumerism, of course, but we can save capitalist holidays/agendas for another time). In theory, the idea of getting influential men to spread the word about, and trying to normalize, feminism, sounds like a decent way to attract more men to join the cause'(Katebi, 2014) and it really did and it is a pity that teh fashion idustry acyauly brought thsi campaign with a bang as it was disciveered that teh T-shirts were being made by women in sweatshops in Mauritius for pennies an hour causing the men to withdraw from the campaign, all the profits from the T-shirts were going to promote women's rights and women's charities. 

Benedict Cumberbatch, 'This is what a feminist looks like' 2014

I have looked at these two campaigns as they were of the same mindset as my own, engage men and change could happen.  Education, conversation and understanding will get us further and we should be trying to do this everyday and speak up when we see a woman being treated in a way that is not equal or fair.

We do need to keep going, we are now entering the 5th wave of feminism, what will it bring?  What will we contribute to change?

References

HeforShe (2022) HeForShe. Available at: https://www.heforshe.org/en/champions (Accessed: October 16, 2022).

Nicki Lisa Cole, P.D. (2020) Full transcript of Emma Watson's 2014 speech on Gender Equality, ThoughtCo. ThoughtCo. Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/transcript-of-emma-watsons-speech-on-gender-equality-3026200 (Accessed: October 16, 2022).

FawcettSociety (2022) The Fawcett Society. Available at: https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/ (Accessed: October 16, 2022). 

Reporter, S. (2014) Nick Clegg: 'I wouldn't have worn pro-feminism T-shirt if I knew, Evening Standard. Available at: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/nick-clegg-i-wouldn-t-have-worn-profeminism-tshirt-if-i-knew-where-it-was-made-9836819.html (Accessed: October 16, 2022). 

Katebi, H. (2014) This is what a feminist looks like. The Feminist Shirt Controversy, Conscious Magazine. Available at: https://consciousmagazine.co/the-feminist-shirt-controversy/ (Accessed: October 16, 2022).