Brands and celebrities are turning feminist language into an aesthetic
Empowerment has become one of the most widely used words in advertising, entertainment and social media. Phrases such as “the future is female” and “empowered women empower women” appear on clothing racks, makeup packaging and luxury perfume campaigns. Major brands including Dove, Sephora, Chanel and American Eagle have built entire promotions around the image of a confident woman. What once began as a political demand for equality now appears packaged as a lifestyle choice. Many students say the shift has transformed empowerment from a collective movement into a polished aesthetic meant to fuel sales.
“It feels like companies discovered that feminism sells,” Leena Saini, a second-year psychology student, said. “They use these quotes and images to look progressive, but most of the time they just want to seem relatable, so people buy more.” She said the constant repetition of empowering language makes it harder to tell which messages are sincere.
This controversy was seen last year surrounding actor Sydney Sweeney and the American Eagle “Good Jeans” campaign. The ads featured Sweeney in hypersexual poses wearing denim pieces, which sparked backlash online. It was argued by many online that the brand was using her body to sell confidence while still promising a message of empowerment for young women. Students described the campaign as another example of mixed messaging in the fashion industry. “The ad looked more like a fantasy than empowerment,” Markus Perez, a first-year BA student, said. “It confused the line between showing confidence and selling sex.”
Artists such as Doja Cat and Sabrina Carpenter present confidence and sexual freedom as part of their artistry. Students say their images are often repackaged by brands and labels to fit into a commercial agenda. “I think artists like Sabrina Carpenter project freedom and fun, and that is great,” Amina Francis, a first-year English student, said. “But when the whole [narrative] is pushed by [labels and brands], the message starts to look like a product.”
The problem is not sexual expression itself but the narrow image of how companies continue to market femininity. Empowerment is often shown through glamorous and highly curated aesthetics meant to appeal to consumers. This can erase more diverse and less “commercial-friendly” forms of confidence. “There is nothing wrong with sexual confidence,” Chloe Canning, a fourth-year in user experience design, said. “The problem is when it is presented as the main way to be [a] woman.”
Many companies that advertise their support for women face criticism for weak labour protections, a lack of diverse leadership or inconsistent commitments to equity. “If a brand is going to talk about empowering women, it should also treat women fairly behind the scenes,” Lucas Tran, a first-year health science major, said.
The gap between branding and action is the reason empowerment no longer feels genuine. For some, the commercialized version of empowerment has become so common that it risks overshadowing the movement it claims to support. Others worry that younger audiences may grow up thinking feminism is a marketing scheme rather than a collective fight for equity. What empowerment means now depends on who is defining it — is it the people pushing for change, or the companies trying to sell it?
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