The Embodiment of the New Woman: Advertisements’ Mobilization of Women’s Bodies Through Co-Optation of Feminist Ideologies

Issue: Volume 12 Issue 01
Theme: Special Issue
Type of Article: Main Article Authors: Baldo-Cubelo, Julienne Thesa DOI: https://doi.org/10.52518/2015.12.1-03cublo APA Reference Entry:

Baldo-Cubelo, J. (2015). The embodiment of the new woman: Advertisements’ mobilization of women’s bodies through co-optation of feminist ideologies. Plaridel, 12(1), 42-65. https://doi.org/10.52518/2015.12.1-03cublo

 February 2015 · Volume No.: 12 Issue No.: 1 Editor: Campos, Patrick F. advertisementsco-optationembodimentfeminismnew woman

Abstract

This paper stands on an important feminist notion of “embodiment” which considers the body not just as part of a body-mind dualism but as an essential site for political and personal emancipation. It then proceeds to critique the concept of embodiment of the New Woman as a co-opted notion in twenty (20) beauty product advertisements aired on Philippine free TV from 2010 to 2014. Co-optation in representations is a process of borrowing only surface elements of a progressive philosophy/theory such as feminism while ignoring its other, more important, ideas.  New Woman, on the other hand, is a social construction of the modern woman who is supposedly making wise and empowered choices in life. The analysis focuses on how feminism has been co-opted in what the author labels as a “depoliticization project” in these beauty product advertisements.

2015-01-Baldo

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