The theme of my last post on how International Women’s Day has been transformed from a public to a private holiday reminded of the enormous advertisement at Lubyanka Square covering Detskii Mir, the famous toy store now under renovation. The advert was put up in November to promote the publication of Elle Magazine in Russian. I don’t know if it’s still there, but I do know there are smaller incarnations around the city as photos from a small IWD protest held yesterday show (the photo shows one of the ads was with a leaflet picturing the Bolshevik-feminist Alexandra Kollontai).
The Elle ad, designed by Johann Sebastian Hanel, is worth thinking about in the context of the general consumerization of feminism not only in Russia, but around the world. It also reveals, yet again, as Thomas Frank showed in his book about post-1960s advertisements in the US, consumer capitalism subsumes revolutionary messages into its logic quite seamlessly. All potential contradictions are smoothed under the powers of the culture industry.
Elle‘s ad does exactly this by picturing a crowd of women engaging in a riotous protest. All of them are dressed and primped to the hilt, of course. At the helm is a brunette carrying a red flag–the universal symbol for communism. Black flags–the symbol for anarchism–are also found among the crowd. The feminine mob flanking her are waving handwritten signs demanding a slew of rights. But the demands aren’t for economic, social, or political equality. Rather, they are for consumer equality and the right to excessive consumption. They read “Let there always be mini-skirts!” “Give us a paid holiday during sales!” “Shopping is the best opium!” “Everyone vote for new dresses!” and “A third purse isn’t a waste!”
To add more insult to injury, Elle‘s press release reads:
ELLE, the most popular fashion magazine in the world, has proclaimed revolution! And this time without seizing the Winter Palace! Today ELLE advances new demands and calls for a fashionable rebellion of active, flashy young women who keep track of fashion trends, love to devote time to themselves, spend money, are financially independent and successful in family life, in their career, and for whom self-realization is important and love fun and excitement. ELLE makes this fashion revolution and declares with every intent: “ELLE’s TIME HAS COME!”
Revolution, feminism, and consumerism all wrapped up into one. Beautiful.
{ 3 comments }
Sean, open any fashion magazine and you’ll see similar imagery. It’s art. It’s fantasy. It’s escapism. It’s materialism. It’s sending conflicting messages. It’s ridiculous. It’s tongue in cheek. It’s a guilty pleasure. It’s many things.
Not new, though. And criticizing Elle for not being politically correct or terribly intelligent is like criticizing Spike TV for the same thing.
What’s with this sudden (or maybe I’ve just suddenly noticed it) concern about women’s issues? And why the focus on media messages rather than the real experiences/perspectives of the women you’ve met in your travels?
Sean, the images could be interpreted the other way as well – as using consumerism to promote a feminist agenda. Here, Michel de Certeau’s idea of secondary consumption is insightful, as after all, we do not know how those who read the messages understand them.
Funny, came across the post because I was just thinking similar things. I find it really weird that International Womens’ Day is just an opportunity for men to give women flowers in Russia, with all the politics sucked out.
Comments on this entry are closed.