Nestore's blog

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“I, Claudette, am. I don't need to justify myself. But the brand itself is a third-party entity that tries to give women as much information, joy, and space as possible to live what they want to live. It raises the question of what that is. I don't have an answer yet. ”

Claudette Lovencin, co-founder of Fempo

What surprised me was that a staunch feminist hesitated to call her brand as such , while brands seemed to seize the subject without qualms. The same observation came when I read the interviews with the founder of Meuf, Claire Succo. We had nevertheless identified these two brands as feminist in our Nest'Love ( link to the article ). Their founders? Yes, without hesitation. And this permeates all their communication. But, their brands? No.

“Feminist messages are more or less fashionable, and sometimes it can seem opportunistic… That’s why I don’t position myself as a feminist brand, even though obviously, personally, I am a feminist.”

Claire Succo, founder of Meuf

So what is a feminist brand? Or, to extend the argument, what is the role of brands in promoting feminism?

Feminist: a strong argument for brands

Brands have long adhered to societal standards and reinforced gender stereotypes through advertising . Broadly speaking, women are responsible for laundry and cooking; men for cars and financial investments.

We are diving back, not without delight, into the sexist advertisements of the 20th century , of which you can find some extracts here: In 2016, let's fight against sexist clichés: No More Clichés

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Cook or sex object, the choice is yours

Two prominent female models emerged from 20th-century trends: the housewife/cook , who handled the broom and cooked vegetables like no man, and the woman-object . Prestigious brands rejuvenated their image by "injecting" sexually aggressive and provocative values into their ads.

A representation that is still relevant today, as demonstrated by the CSA figures from 2017. Out of 2000 advertising spots analyzed, it emerged that:

1. Two-thirds of advertisements featuring sexualized characters feature women: 67% vs. 33% for men.
2. Experts are almost exclusively men: 82% vs. 18% women experts.
3. A stereotypical distribution of product categories (men talking about cars and women about body care): 63% for “body care”.

It just goes to show that clichés die hard (and women die hard). However, we are still seeing a paradigm shift since the 2010s, with some notable examples.

A paradigm shift - femvertising

Dove was the quickest to catch on to the trend. Dove's 2013 Real Beauty campaign featured an artist drawing women based solely on their own descriptions, then descriptions of others. The second version of the portraits turned out to be significantly more flattering. The conclusion: "You are more beautiful than you think."

Dove Real Beauty Sketches | You're more beautiful than you think (6mins)

In 2014, the sanitary protection brand Always followed suit and launched the "Like a Girl" campaign. In a clip broadcast during the Super Bowl , the American football championship final, she questions the stereotypes about women in order to better deconstruct them.
Always #LikeAGirl (To date, the video has 68 million views).

Many brands then followed this trend , with varying degrees of success: Nike, Yoplait, H&M, L'Oréal and Disney. These advertisements marked the beginning of femvirtising , the practice of brands carrying messages considered feminist (or at least aimed at giving women back their rightful place in society) through their advertising campaigns. We regularly find the notions of "empowerment " and the fight against sexual stereotypes and the phenomena of "self-censorship".

But this sudden interest in the empowerment of women , for so many years relegated to housework and cooking, still raises questions, and we can wonder about the goal pursued : to improve and resolve these prejudices/inequalities/sufferings (you can check several answers) or to maintain a status quo conducive to maintaining sales of these ranges?

Feminist: social commitment or marketing positioning?

What is certain is that feminism has become very fashionable. The term “feminism” was the word of the year in 2017, according to the North American dictionary Merriam-Webster, meaning it was the word most consulted by Internet users.

When brands take over feminism

This has naturally whetted the appetite of advertisers. Indeed, nothing new: advertising and brands have always played on social trends to renew their discourse and create new markets. In 2017, Dior released its “We should all be feminists” t-shirt for €550. It was subsequently worn by Nathalie Portman, Rihanna, and Chiara Ferragni.

“Brands have always capitalized on revolts. Just look at Che Guevara. They understood that the best way to sell is to be in tune with the times.”

Elisabeth Tissier-Desbordes, professor of marketing and specialist in gender in advertising.

In addition to the benefits of the products, we are offered a moral benefit , we are buying a political conscience according to Mariette Darrigaud, semiologist, who speaks of a "consumer moral benefit", which is added to the cosmetic benefit:

"Women are waiting for empowerment benefits, whatever the object we are talking about, even for a beauty cream, even for a perfume."

Causette was ironic about this. in her April 2017 store titled "Become Superwoman in Two Hours" because empowerment was omnipresent, "to the point that in 2017 if you're not empowered, it's as if you've failed your feminist diploma...".

Feminism sells, and that's a good thing!

So yes, not all companies have woken up to feminists. Sophie Gourion also points out that feminism was already a selling point in the 1950s and buying a bra symbolized women's liberation .

Even if the intention is commercial , we can be happy about two things:

1. Talking about gender equality, fighting stereotypes, and promoting women's diversity has become fashionable,
2. The more messages like these there are, the more awareness there will be: a virtuous advertising hammering?

Christelle Delarue, founder of Mad&Woman, described as the "first independent and feminist advertising agency," goes even further, and declares that it is the duty of advertisers to promote a new image :

“As advertisers, promoting women’s empowerment is a moral and social responsibility.”

What should we expect from brands for women?

Still, there's something striking about the messages being conveyed. In a 2015 Guardian article, Nosheen Iqbal demonstrates that through their high-profile slogans, videos, and hashtags, these brands are largely promoting the idea that women lack self-confidence and should feel better about their bodies , without addressing real issues like gender inequality .

But then, what should we really expect from brands? Can femvertising be more than an advertising campaign?

Recovery and genderwashing

Nosheen Iqbal's words invite us to delve into some statistics, and there are some numbers that don't lie. According to the Ministry of Labor,

• The difference between the gross salary income of men and women amounts to 24%. For the same position and skill level, the average salary gap falls to 9.3%. In the civil service, the gap remains significant, at around 12%.
• The famous "glass ceiling" is hard to break: in almost one in two large companies, men represent 90% of the highest salaries.
  

Which brings us to the question of gender washing : the marketing strategy of companies aimed at presenting themselves as concerned about women's rights and their emancipation ... much more than they actually are, in their daily practices.

The commonly cited example is Dove, which on the one hand communicates about the beauty of women and on the other hand, deploys a communication arsenal that is the opposite of Axe.

Corporate commitment to the feminist cause

So let's pay attention to companies' internal policies and real commitment, rather than their advertising campaigns. And let's promote companies that demonstrate real commitment :

L'Oréal, with its Women for Science program , promotes the work of women scientists.

Always, with its “testimonials” format, aims to develop a close relationship with a very young female target to make periods more commonplace.

Like L'Oréal, Verizon in the United States encourages young girls to choose the sciences (a field in which only 18% of engineers are women).

We can also mention Ypsylone, a ready-to-wear brand that donates 50% of its profits to the Maison des Femmes, Monki (from the H&M group) which gives 5,000 menstrual cups to women in Kenya, or AgentGirlPower, an Arab brand supported by activist Maryam Montague who advocates for gender equality.

Some brands participate in the emancipation of women , deconstruct stereotypes , contribute to public utility programs, and for these reasons, must be encouraged.

And what about consumers in all this?

Let's pay attention to these initiatives and give priority to the brands that are behind them. Let's also condemn those that don't play by the rules.

But above all, let's be aware of our role as consumers in shaping the world of tomorrow. If brands seize societal trends and translate them into campaigns and actions, it's up to us to assert our values, and brands will follow. Some will even make them founding principles.

There may not be a feminist brand, but there are some that exist to change women's daily lives . And we can only encourage them.