The Problem of "Empowerment"​ (2024)

Language is a powerful tool in impact work: the ability to communicate complex ideas in a nuanced and persuasive way is a backbone of the profession. As such, I will often critically reflect on the words that we use in the context of impact and social justice work.

There's one word that stands out to me in this regard; it's one that I see frequently and have used myself, especially in the context of women's rights. The word, as you already know from the title of this article, is empowerment, a word that I strongly believe has outlived its utility in feminist discourse, and here are some of the reasons why I believe that to be the case:

Problematic By Definition

There are two common dictionary definitions of the word empowerment:

• noun. "authority or power given to someone to do something"

or;

• noun. "the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights."

The first definition refers to a tangible asset (authority or power that enables action), and the latter refers to an intangible asset or subjective belief (the feeling of becoming stronger and more confident / in control). It is the latter definition that we see used in the context of women's rights, at least nominally so.

This I find to be deeply problematic; the tension between tangible power versus the intangible sense of having power. I have joked in conversations with peers and colleagues that empowerment is all to often the aesthetic, the vibe, the general feeling of equality, rather than the material objective reality of being equal.

The objectives of the feminist movement are to challenge and dismantle the systemic oppression of women on a global scale. This means engaging in class-oriented material analysis of women's experiences in society. "Empowering women" (whatever that might mean) doesn't adequately address the movement's goals, because it is rooted in intangibles rather than tangible, measurable results.

Empowerment is 'like' power, but it is only the belief that you are gaining power, and not the power gained. It reminds me of an excerpt from The Waves, a novel by Virginia Woolf:

This is my first problem with empowerment.

Empowerment is a Marketing Buzzword

Savvy advertisers of today often take a #girlboss approach to marketing consumer products to women, even as the products themselves remain the same: a Revlon ad from the 1950s or 60s might promise a set of "dateable lips" (real copy from a real ad), whereas a Revlon ad campaign of today might 'empower women' with the slogan "I Can. So I did." (also real).

The marketing strategies may have changed, but at the end of the day they're still selling you a tube of lipstick. If a tube of lipstick purchased in 1956 is disempowering, and the same tube of lipstick purchased in 2023 is empowering, then empowerment is merely a marketing strategy.

This is why a woman's individual consumer behavior does not automatically translate into feminist praxis. Simply buying a product marketed as 'empowering' does not actually empower anyone, and often reinforces existing power structures rather than challenges them.

When we focus on an individual's personal sense of empowerment, we miss the forest for the trees. We fail to address the systemic issues that limit women's opportunities and perpetuate inequality. It is important to recognize that true empowerment comes not from purchasing products, but from collective action and solidarity.

Feminism is not just about individual experiences. It's about challenging the larger structures of power that perpetuate gender inequality. By focusing too narrowly on individual empowerment, we risk losing sight of the larger picture and failing to address the root causes of oppression.

Encouraging women to focus on their personal empowerment also enables the beneficiaries of the status quo to deflect attention from the ways in which they contribute to systemic oppression.

The Personal, the Political, & the Material

The phrase "the personal is political" is a feminist slogan and political rallying cry that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was coined by the feminist activist Carol Hanisch in her essay "The Personal is Political," which was published in the journal, Notes from the Second Year: Women's Liberation, in 1970.

The phrase is meant to challenge the idea that there is a clear separation between the personal and the political spheres of life. Hanisch argued that personal experiences such as sexual harassment, domestic violence, and other forms of oppression that women faced were not isolated incidents but rather were part of larger societal and political structures that needed to be addressed through collective action (emphasis mine).

The phrase quickly became a key slogan of the feminist movement, and it was used to emphasize the ways in which women's personal experiences of sexism and discrimination were linked to broader social and political issues. It has since been used in a wide range of contexts, and has become a foundational principle for many social justice movements beyond feminism.

In contemporary discourse, the nuance of this phrase has been lost, in favor of the idea that personal choice is inherently a political action.

While it is true that personal experiences are often shaped by broader societal structures, individual empowerment alone is not enough to create systemic change. Instead, we must focus on collective action and material analysis to challenge and dismantle the systemic oppression of women.

A Final Thought

Empowerment is no longer a useful term in feminist discourse. It has been co-opted by corporate interests as an empty, feel-good marketing buzzword, and it distracts from more meaningful, class-oriented material analysis of women's experiences in society.

Instead, we need to shift our focus to more collective and systemic forms of action, including challenging patriarchal power structures and directly confronting the inequalities that women face at a societal level.

By doing so, we can work towards a more equitable and just society for all women, rather than simply marketing individual empowerment as a solution to systemic issues.

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