profit feminist
The Commodification of Feminism: How Corporations—and Some Women—Exploit the Movement for Profit
By Marie O’Nealle
Queens, NY - Feminism was never meant to be a marketing tool, but in recent years, corporations have turned it into just that. Slogans like “The Future is Female” and “Girl Power” are plastered on t-shirts, makeup ads, and even fast food campaigns, all while these same companies continue to exploit women through unfair wages, sexist workplace cultures, and harmful beauty standards. Instead of challenging patriarchy, corporate feminism sells empowerment as a product while doing little to create real change.
This kind of feminism—often called “marketable feminism” or “corporate feminism”—is designed to be palatable. It avoids the difficult, radical conversations about patriarchy, capitalism, and systemic oppression because those don’t sell as easily. Instead, it focuses on individual empowerment, telling women that buying the right lipstick, wearing a feminist t-shirt, or supporting a “women-led” brand is an act of resistance. But true feminism is not about consumption—it’s about dismantling systems of oppression.
However, corporations aren’t the only ones profiting off feminism. Many women have turned feminism into a personal brand, using the movement as a way to build wealth, gain influence, and sell products or services—often at the expense of other women. Influencers, celebrities, and self-proclaimed “feminist entrepreneurs” make money by packaging feminism into feel-good messages that avoid real movement. They write articles, launch businesses that go nowhere, and sell empowerment courses that promise to help women “break barriers,” all while ignoring the deeper issues of race, class, and systemic oppression.
These women are just as bad as corporations when it comes to exploiting feminism for profit. They build careers off of feminism while doing little to challenge the structures that keep most women oppressed. Many of them push the same neoliberal, capitalist ideals that prioritize individual success over collective liberation.
The irony is that many of the same corporations and individuals profiting from feminist messaging actively harm women. Fast fashion brands that sell “Empowered Women Empower Women” shirts are the same ones exploiting underpaid female garment workers in sweatshops. Beauty companies that use feminist slogans still push impossible beauty standards that keep women feeling inadequate. Even so-called feminist influencers often use their platforms to promote expensive self-improvement courses rather than advocating for systemic change. True feminism is not for sale.