choice feminism is stupid
I got in an argument with a rando online the other day about choice feminism, the school of thought that ANY choice a woman makes is automatically feminist, because she made it (and therefore can’t be critiqued). Get that Botox and take that Ozempic, sister! No need to acknowledge ageism or fatphobia!
I pointed out that nobody’s choices occur in a vacuum, and the rando said I was taking away a woman’s agency. Hooooo boy! That person (and everyone, really) should read this great essay on plastic surgery, particularly this bit:
“Choice feminism fails because it prioritizes personal consumer acts over all others by assuming all choices are made with equal freedom and awareness. It also discounts (if not entirely disregards) how heavily our choices are influenced by well-established and inherently exploitative systems.”
MIC DROP, AMIRITE?!?!?
It’s not taking away women’s autonomy or disempowering them AT ALL to acknowledge the crushing pressure we’re all under from capitalism, diet culture, etc. etc.!
Cool blogger person (I can’t find a real name!) one more time:
“At best, choice feminism is misguided and ineffective. At worst, it is a Potemkin village, a clever trick that uses the appearance of ‘progress’ to camouflage its true, more sinister purpose: preserving the consumerist status quo.”
ZING!!!
Don’t let ads or media make you feel like there’s anything wrong with you! Do whatever you want with your body, but at least take a second to think about what’s influencing you.