In this talk, Rosalind Gill will interrogate a number of features of contemporary postfeminist and neoliberal societies through an examination of the growing trend of “femvertising.” Femvertising refers to a type of mainstream advertising practice that addresses women through discourses of empowerment, body love and self-esteem – examples include many campaigns for Dove, Nike and Always. Through case studies, Gill will explore some of the complexities and contradictions of this form of address, showing how it is located in a wider cultural tendency that Shani Orgad and Gill have called the “confidence cult.” She will argue that the incitements to feel good, believe in yourself and build self-esteem are part of a distinctive psychological turn in neoliberalism. The talk should be of interest to students of gender and feminist studies, media and communications, and the social sciences as well as to anyone interested in contemporary culture.

Rosalind Gill is Professor of Cultural and Social Analysis at City, University of London. Her research focuses on gender and media, cultural and creative work, and mediated intimacy. She has made significant contributions to the critical analysis of postfeminist culture and to debates about the “sexualization of culture.”

This lecture is part of the M.A. seminar “Postfeminism(s) in Popular Culture” taught by Dr. Kathleen Loock and Maria Sulimma, organized in cooperation with the Margherita von Brentano Center for Gender Studies, Freie Universität Berlin. Open to all.