Through the guise of empowerment, Beyonce seeks only capital gains and the oppression of fellow females. From Ivy Park - still being in sold in 2020 despite the criticisms of its manufacturing methods - to her music videos, society heralds a woman who has never put her money where her mouth is, but is instead content to perpetuate stereotypes, and lies, to increase her personal wealth.
Beyonce, with a straight face, actually promotes the purchase of high value items as the empowerment of women. She promotes buying high value items as feminism.
Not only is purchasing a particular product completely meaningless – from all angles – but high value products are the archetype of oppression. Only a select few can afford them, others will purchase them just to “show to others” that they can afford such items, and others will purchase them at great personal expense – for the same reason as the previous group.
High value products, brands, and “designer” items, obviously perpetuate ego and the fallacy that we must one-up each other in order to prove our worth; the lie that our worth is dependent on what we wear; the lie that who we are is dependent on what we wear and even demonstrable solely through what we wear.
It will be quickly clarified, before continuing, that the keyword is “solely” in the above sentence. Who we are can at times be demonstrated through what we wear but it is a slight mistake – a slight one, not an important one in the scheme of things - to believe that clothes are always the best representation of identity, beliefs and so on. It really is not an important mistake until the individual believes too strongly in the purpose of clothing and buys/uses certain brands or styles to, really, in essence perpetuate ego. To demonstrate that “they can afford this”; it all plays back into class, social division and too strong a reliance on material objects to express personality. Though again, a large topic and one for another time.
Beyonce’s brand, Ivy Park, sells products such as simple leggings for £100. Let’s determine whether these types of items contribute to the empowerment of women, or instead serve to distract us from other realities.
The UK minimum wage varies from £6.45-8.70. So, to buy one pair of Beyonce’s leggings, would require almost 16 hours of work on the lower end, and over 11 hours of work on the “higher end” of the UK minimum wage.
Working part-time, this would mean around 3 days of work, including traveling to and from work. Lots of commitment for a single purchse.
The figures equate to about the same in the U.S.
Most people, especially within her fanbase as it encompasses a lot of young people, will not be able to comfortably afford spending 100 dollars or pounds on some leggings.
What does this mean? Many brands sell items that are overpriced, why does it matter that her brand does this too? Indeed they do, and they are all guilty of the same problem, whether they masquerade it as empowering women or not.
However, with Beyonce purporting to believe in strong women and showcasing this all the time through videos, and then wanting to sell clothing to this effect, the hypocrisy is just that much clearer. It is not only the price of the clothing which is contradictory to the messaging, but the manner in which they are made.
In terms of cost, the item is placed strategically at a point that makes it seem covetable; this is deceptive and just plain wrong. It’s using the psychology of buying to manipulate and trick people into thinking the garment has more value than it truly does.
If it is priced accessibly – such as maybe 20 dollars or pounds per legging (though some stores sell leggings for far less!) then the item would not seem special. The people behind the pricing of items like this, know exactly what they are doing. The cost is strategically placed.
This is already wrong. Second, to place items at this price point – and it is strategic, not necessary – and then market them as empowering is, well, I would assume it is obvious that this is quite clearly not empowering.
Third, and just as concerning, is that Ivy Park is manufactured abroad in Sri Lanka using sweatshops. Most sweatshop / garment makers are women, (80% of them) as many people already know. Therefore, paying women a substandard “wage” (hell, even manufacturing clothing out in Sri Lanka when there is no need to), but claiming that you want to empower women is: well, it is deceitful, it is hypocritical, it is wrong, and it should also be a huge wake-up call to people.
I will not relay the conditions of the workers because it suffices to say that she made the choice to have her brand be developed in Sri Lanka.
No celebrity truly cares about others. They instead feed the lie that to consume is to be free. Her videos often feature typical images of fame and wealth as something to aspire to; this is just spreading a further fallacy and it is one which, if she truly cared about her fans, she would not perpetuate.
People have tried to excuse this by saying that she is not the only one at fault, and blaming her is unrealistic. It is not about Beyonce being the only bad person in the world – it is about the fact that Beyonce has billions of followers and fans around the world who truly see her as a person that empowers women. But the sad reality is that her actions simply do not match her words.
She isn’t interested in empowering women, she is interested, like everyone else is, in making money and selling products. It is wrong and deceitful to continue to pander to her fanbase this way, and prop herself up on the pedestal of feminism when she really does not care whatsoever about the true issues permeating society.
Personally, I hold no esteem for any celebrity,but to those who will argue that she has done nothing wrong, or that she works the exact same way other brands do – two points. The first, is that anyone claiming this, is simply missing the point of hypocrisy and deceit. The second, is that there are other celebrities, such as Nikki Reed, who actually do try and empower women with realistic actions and business enterprises.
Nikki Reed has extraordinarily less followers and a miniscule fan base in comparison with Beyonce. Further, Beyonce’s husband was reported to become the first hip-hop billionaire. Clearly, they have resources and means. They do nothave to take their business abroad and work with sweatshop manufacturers in a foreign country.
Nikki Reed started a business named Bayou With Love where they handmake everything within the U.S. – or California even – and they use waste materials, like gold found in discarded tech, to create jewellery. Everything is recycled and handmade. She also partners only with other women, and women centered organizations and projects, who work the same way she does, to create her supply chain and make up different parts of her business.
The above video does not even have 200 views - you can not argue that Beyonce is a powerhouse of attention in comparison. Beyonce's latests music video has 17 million views and it was uploaded to youtube only 2 weeks ago. That doesn't count the views the clip excerpt has on her Instagram page.
Beyonce has massive reach. She does not use it to empower women.
But this isn’t about Nikki Reed vs Beyonce. The point is this:
If someone with far less reach and resources can create products like this – at great personal expense and through hard work, because she routinely describes the very difficult struggles that this enterprise carries with it – then why can’t Beyonce be held to the same standard?
Why shouldn’t Beyonce walk like she talks? With the amount of weight she carries in the minds of the youth and in society, and the amount of videos she makes where she pretends to sing about caring for women, then why shouldn’t she also be held to higher standards?
It diminishes the problem to discard the issue, by saying that she is in fact part of a far larger concern pervading the industry anyway; so, “let’s not blame her”.
If we don’t start by acknowledging each case of hypocrisy then how are we meant to eventually challenge any of it? We must challenge wrongdoing when we see it, rather than being told to “forgive” and try and challenge the problem as a whole. This is unrealistic and impossible. Issues much each be addressed in their own right.
There’s no Erin Brockovich coming to make a class action lawsuit against the fashion industry – let’s not kid ourselves. Injustice should be challenged as it surfaces, issue by issue. Don't purchase Ivy Park products. And if you see anyone wearing it, especially if you know them, perhaps start by letting them know that the garment wasn't made by empowered women.
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