How Capitalism Destroys Feminism

You all probably remember the girlboss phenomenon of the last decade. Neoliberal individualism infested the west's once-emancipatory feminist theory and praxis and turned it into a hollow, performative act by upper class white women. What's the deal? Let's talk a bit about neoliberal "girlboss" feminism.

How Capitalism Destroys Feminism – Second Thought

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[jessip]

"GirlBoss" is now slang for "Woman who's been sucked into an MLM scam."

[Blackrain]

Calling them girlbosses instead of just bosses makes me think of this quote
"Anytime someone calls attention to the breaking of gender rolls it ultimately undermines the concept of gender equality by implying that this is an exception and not the status quo" -Knuckles the Echidna

[christygaiser]

I never could get into the lean-in movement because that executive literally had a nanny that kept her baby at her office with her while regular workers had to scramble to find childcare. The hypocrisy.

[HistoryforThinkers]

Let me get this straight. A wealthy executive of a powerful multi-national corporation co-opted feminism, and added aspects of trickle down economics, and sold it as a book to young women looking for liberation. Sounds about right.

Great work as always JT. ❤

[TinaMcCall.]

We need diversity of THOUGHT, not just of hide or plumbing. Capitalism, no matter who wields it, always demands, encourages, and rewards ruthlessness.

[tayzonday]

Great video! For even further reading, Audre Lorde and Bell Hooks made related arguments decades ago ✊

[fuglong]

Lol I will never get over neo-liberalism. You couldn't design a more frustrating ideology in a lab

[junglecat_rant]

So great. Pointing out that neoliberal Feminism is hurting true feminstic goals is long overdue. Thanks for that!

[zayzay]

I can’t believe we really thought calling our selves girl bosses was powerful like omg I get second hand embarrassment just thinking about it lol…

[gregorynuttall]

My wife and I always struggled to understand what role she should play when we decided to have kids. She was constantly told she could have it all, yet we never could understand how that was possible when it was basically all on her shoulders to accomplish that. Even with my support, it's extremely challenging to have a career AND raise kids without social support.

[DarkFaken]

The advice given in neoliberal feminism really just seems like advice given for hustle culture, but they made it female orientated to have a point of difference.

e.g. Your personal circumstances aren't what is holding you back, you're the one who's holding you back. Liz Holmes did it, you can too 🙄

[Oh_ELCapitan]

Yes!!! The parallel can be drawn when it comes to Black Excellence in the corporate world. It's a glorified branding on awful practices.

[jerrystusrapworkshop]

Out with girlboss, in with GirlComrade

[unnaturalredhead]

I really like the phrasing of “reproductive work”. People tout “caring for your family” as work-life balance, ignoring the fact that caring for your family is a form of work.

[RDKirbyN]

The fact that you pump these out each week really speaks to the amount of work and time put into these videos, considering the quality of them stay high each week.

[vivianriver]

Nicely done! I'm glad you're talking about this.

Another way I've heard "girlboss feminism" succinctly criticized is to say that it encourages women to embody the worst attitudes and behaviors that feminists have, for years, criticized men for.

[hellayami]

You keep bringing masterpieces of thought as always. Thank you for addressing this topic so eloquently. I have been struggling to share my thoughts on this topic to other neo liberal feminists and this really help me raising the bar on the conversation. I myself felt on the trap of girlboss pursue, and now struggle to decide what to do in mg life as I approach the end of my reproduction time and still can't afford to have a child. This environment is absurdly toxic and very few can see it.

[StillCisTho]

The best thing that came out of Neoliberal Feminism is the phrase "I may have girlbossed too close to the sun"

[gliiitched]

The concept of the ‘girlboss’ is also a key tool of modern fascism. Women ‘breaking the glass ceiling’ is celebrated uncritically without people considering that they’re celebrating the election of Giorgia “Mussolini woman” Meloni as a great achievement for women. Seriously. She’s set to create the farthest right Italian Government since Mussolini.

an edit: i have realized i made a mistake, in that *this was already said in the video. i will now proceed to shrivel up and die.*

[aaaaasssss]

From a person who lives in Taiwan which becomes the lowest birth-rate country in the world of exaggerating 0.9 children per couple, and a very long work hour in Asia (more than Japan and Korea, Thanks TSMC etc for that), the perspective you told on the latter half really hits hard. Do we really need to work that much just for gpus that went to crypto miner and become e-waste??