“Build-a-betch” : an analysis and critique of popular feminism on Instagram

Abstract

Feminism can be found emblazoned on mugs, t-shirts, dishcloths and other knick knacks in just about any store you go into but what does it mean to wear a shirt that says feminist” without action to back up this identity? My thesis explores this popularized version of feminism and what it looks like online. Looking at the Instagram page for media conglomerate Betches, critical feminist discourse and visual analysis was used to uncover what feminist perspectives were being espoused and which gained traction online. The feminism I found centered and reproduced heteronormative and neoliberal paradigms of women and feminism.