Self-professed celebrity feminists like Taylor Swift, Adele and Gigi Hadid, are damaging the reputation of feminism and making people care less about the cause, according to a new study.
The research, carried out by branding expert Jeetendr Sehdev over two years, suggests the reason may be because these celebrities are perceived to be using feminism as a publicity tool to increase popularity.
The study also found that the celebrity’s influence and appeal did equate to rallying more support for the cause, as only 20 per cent of people said they cared more about gender equality issues because of a celebrity’s involvement. In fact, their association was said to make the matters seem more trivial.
In addition to Adele, Gigi Hadid and Taylor Swift, Renee Zellweger and Olivia Wilde were also found to be the least credible celebrity feminists. Around 30 per cent of people said they cared less about feminist issues because of Taylor Swift.
Instead of celebrities, 78 per cent of people want to see more high-profile multi-cultural spokespeople like Malala Yousafzai, Diane Von Furstenberg, Lena Dunham, Patricia Arquette and Sheryl Sandberg, who were found to be the most credible, advocating for women’s rights.
Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer at Facebook, who wrote female leadership manifesto Lean In, has been vocal about empowering women. At a Stanford University event, she discussed women’s progression at work.
She said: “As a woman, you have to be more careful. You have to be more communal, you have to say yes to more things than men, you have to worry about things that men don’t have to worry about. But once we get enough women into leadership, we can break stereotypes down. If you lead, you get to decide.”
Diane Von Furstenberg, whose iconic wrap dress is a symbol of women’s empowerment and sexual liberation in the 1970s, said in a Harpers Bazaar interview that her mission was to empower women.
“Why? Because I wanted to be an empowered woman, and I became an empowered woman. And now I want to empower every woman. And I do it through my clothes, I do it through my words, I do it through my money, I do it through everything,” she said.
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