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Celebrity Feminism: Politics of Visibility

Currentss Logo Final 1


Digital Archive:
Politics of Visibility

Accompanying Janell Hobson's Currents essay, "Celebrity Feminism: More Than a Gateway"

Other Digital Archive Pages:
Feminist Beyhive | Girls & Media | Commodification & Consumption | Beauty, the Body, & Sexuality | Teachable Signs Articles

  • Taylor Swift
  • Emma Watson
  • Trans Visibility
  • Men

Jordan Bascom, “Taylor Swift Is the Feminist We’ve Been Waiting for,” The Daily Northwestern, November 16, 2014

Melissa A. Fabello, “5 Ways Taylor Swift Exemplifies White Feminism – And Why That’s a Problem,” Everyday Feminism, September 8, 2015

Jill Filipovic, “Sorry, Taylor Swift. Being a Feminist Is about More than Just Supporting Your Girlfriends,” The Washington Post, July 23, 2015

Hermione Hoby, “Taylor Swift: ‘Sexy? Not on My Radar’ | Music | The Guardian,” The Guardian, August 23, 2014

Inda Lauryn, “Dear Taylor Swift: If Your Feminism Ain’t Intersectional, It Ain’t Sh*t,” For Harriet, July 2015

@NICKIMINAJ I’ve done nothing but love & support you. It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot..

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 21, 2015

Zeba Blay, “Taylor Swift’s Tweets to Nicki Minaj Are Peak ‘White Feminism,’” The Huffington Post, July 23, 2015

DailyLife, “Emma Watson Defends Herself against ‘White Feminist’ Criticism,” Daily Life, October 13, 2015

Jill Filipovic, “How Emma Watson Brought Men Into Feminism,” Cosmopolitan, June 8, 2015

Mia McKenzie, “Why I’m Not Really Here For Emma Watson’s Feminism Speech At the U.N.,” BGD, September 24, 2014

Jenni Miller, “Emma Watson Helped Make a Short Film to Inspire You, Ladies,” The Cut, September 25, 2016

Kagure Mugo, “Emma Watson’s HeForShe Campaign Just What We Need,” Thought Leader Mail & Guardian, October 3, 2014

Julia Zulver, “Is Emma Watson the Right Woman for the Job?,” Al-Jazeera, September 24, 2014

Mari Brighe, “Why Caitlyn Jenner May Be Bad for the Trans Community,” Bustle, September 18, 2015

Elizabeth Day, “Lives Transformed: Do Famous Transgender People Help the Cause?,” The Guardian, August 23, 2015

Laverne Cox, “On May 29, 2014, the Issue of Timemagazine…,” Official Laverne Cox Tumblr, June 2, 2015

Kai Cheng Thom, “(Trans) Woman (of Color) to (White, Super Rich, Celebrity Trans) Woman: An Open Letter to Caitlyn Jenner,” xoJane, June 3, 2015

Kristina Marusic, “9 Transgender Trailblazers Who Paved the Way for Caitlyn Jenner,” MTV News, April 27, 2015

Janet Mock, “Revealing Caitlyn Jenner: My Thoughts on Media, Privilege, Healthcare Access & Glamour,” Janet Mock, June 3, 2015

Let’s celebrate Caitlyn & use her moment to uplift trans folks facing insurmountable economic barriers for affirming healthcare.

— Janet Mock (@janetmock) June 1, 2015

Jos Truitt, “On Jill Soloway, Caitlyn Jenner, and the Trans Representation the Media Wants,” Feministing, 2016

Alok Vaid-Menon, “Greater Transgender Visibility Hasn’t Helped Nonbinary People – Like Me,” The Guardian, October 13, 2015

Gabby Bess, “Matt McGorry on the Struggles of Being a Woke Bae,” Broadly, April 28, 2016

The Cut, “15 Famous Men on Whether or Not They’re Feminists,” New York Magazine, The Cut, November 17, 2015

Miles Surrey, “7 Male Celebrity Feminists Adding Their Voices in Support of Equality,” Yahoo News, April 19, 2016

Megan Reynolds, “Welcome to Feminism, Matt McGorry, Now Please, Take a Seat,” The Frisky, September 17, 2015

i don’t dislike matt mcgorry because he’s a ‘feminist’, but his ‘feminism’ takes away valuable space that should be used for women instead.

— spooky kitty (@KittyWenham) April 10, 2016

Andi Zeisler, “Let’s Not Fawn over Male Celebrity Feminists: Making Stars Weigh in on Women’s Rights Is Hurting the Cause,” Salon, August 20, 2014

Beejoli Shah, “Aziz Ansari and the Problem with Celebrity Feminists, Daily Dot, October 7, 2014.

Amanda Marcotte, “Aziz Ansari Is Better Than Most Celebrities at Talking About Feminism,” Slate, October 7, 2014.

Watch this video on The Scene.

Lena Dunham, "8 Thoughts on Feminism," Vanity Fair, October 2015

Mia McKenzie and guests N'Jaila Rhee, CarmenLeah Ascencio, and Cate Young, "White Celebrity 'Allyship,'" The Black Girl Dangerous Podcast, 2015

Phoebe Robinson and guest Janet Mock, "#3 Phoebe Robinson and Janet Mock Make Lemonade," Sooo Many White Guys, July 2016

Online Articles

  • Race & Privilege
  • Debating Visibility
  • Figures

Zeba Blay, “On Watching ‘White Feminist’ TV When You’re A Black Girl,” The Huffington Post, May 16, 2016


Laverne Cox, “Laverne Cox Explains the Intersection of Transphobia, Racism, and Misogyny (And What to Do About It),” Everyday Feminism, December 7, 2014

Tara Culp-Ressler, “The Problem With Making Celebrities Like Patricia Arquette The Face Of Feminism,” ThinkProgress, February 23, 2015

Hanna Flint, “Suffragette Is Good for White Feminism, Bad for Intersectionality,” Metro, October 12, 2015

GirlTalkHQ, “How Beyonce’s ‘Formation’ Just Stepped Up The Visibility For Black Feminism & #BlackLivesMatter,” GirlTalkHQ, February 12, 2016

Pia Glenn, “Another White Celebrity Is Speaking Up For Feminism and Ignoring Intersectionality,” XO Jane, March 13, 2015

Callia Hargrove, “What Hip-Hop Taught Me About Feminism,” Racked, March 5, 2015

Janell Hobson, “Sexual Geopolitics of Popular Culture and Transnational Black Feminism,” The Feminist Wire. January 13, 2014

Arit John, “The Year in #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen and Twitter Feminism,” News from the Atlantic, The Wire, December 31, 2013

Lasha, “Lena Dunham and the Privilege of Recklessness,” EBONY, September 7, 2016,

Jamilah Lemieux, “Black Feminism Goes Viral [EXCERPT],” EBONY, March 3, 2014,

Jamilah Lemieux, “Why Those ‘Suffragette’ T-Shirts Are a Racial Slap,” EBONY, October 6, 2015

Lesli-Ann Lewis, “Why We Can’t Have Black Feminist Pop Icons.,” Hoodfeminism, December 6, 2013

Enuma Okoro, “Michelle Obama ‘Leans in’, Just Not in the Direction Privileged Feminists Want,” The Guardian, November 26, 2013

Erika L. Sánchez, “How Feminism Continues to Fail Women of Color,” Al Jazeera America, August 1, 2015

Julie Zeilinger, “The Brutal Truth Every White Feminist Needs to Hear,” Identities.Mic, September 11, 2015

Amy Zimmerman, “Meryl Streep’s Divisive Feminism: How White Feminists Silence People of Color.,” The Daily Beast, February 13, 2016

Callie Beusman, “What Does It Mean for Feminism If Feminism Becomes Trendy?,” Jezebel, February 23, 2014

Claire Carusillo, “Stop Asking Female Celebrities If They’re Feminists,” Racked, June 24, 2015

Christina Cauterucci, “The ‘Hey, What About Me?’ Movement: Rich, Famous, and Super-Confused about What Feminism Means,” Slate, December 22, 2015

Jessica Contrera, “‘Are You a Feminist?’-the Question More and More Female Celebrities Are Asked,” The Washington Post, September 26, 2014

Meghan Daum, “Is Feminism’s Current Moment All Slogan and No Change?,” Los Angeles Times, October 1, 2014

Amanda Duberman, “Why We Need To Ask Celebrities Whether They’re Feminists,” The Huffington Post, June 6, 2014

Kyrstin Felts, “The Pros and Cons of Celebrity Feminism,” Feministing, July 10, 2015

Anna Friedman, “So You’re a Celebrity Who Calls Yourself a Feminist. Now What?,” New York Magazine, The Cut, February 25, 2016

Roxanne Gay, “Emma Watson? Jennifer Lawrence? These Aren’t the Feminists You’re Looking for,” The Guardian, October 10, 2014

Stephanie Hallett, “Why Celebrity Feminism May Actually Be Good for the Movement,” The Establishment, November 17, 2015

Margaret Hodson, “Are Celebrities Helping or Harming the Feminist Movement?,” Candor News, June 18, 2014

Alexandra Kilpatrick, “The Problem With Making Celebrities the Face of Feminism,” Newsweek, April 3, 2015

Caitlin Lansing, “Living in an Age of Celebrity Feminism,” About-Face, March 4, 2015,

Hanna Paige Lustig, “Celebrity Feminism: Sugar That Makes the Medicine Go down,” Soapbox Inc., October 24, 2014

Danika M., “The Pros and Cons of Celebrity Feminism,” MookyChick, August 10, 2015

Marisa Meltzer, “Who Is a Feminist Now?,” The New York Times, May 21, 2014

Teresa Navarro, “Faux Feminism Epidemic: How Celebrities Are Using the Feminist Movement for Their Own Self Gain,” RATSmagazine, August 4, 2015

Roisin O’Conner, “Dear TIME Magazine, You Can Stop Using the Word ‘Feminist’ When Women No Longer Need Feminism,” The Independent, November 13, 2014

Martha Plimpton, “Can Celebrities Be Real Feminists?,” Dame Magazine, October 13, 2014

Susan Rohwer, “Threatened by Beyonce, Emma Watson and the Feminist Movement? Good.,” Los Angeles Times, October 1, 2014

Rhian Sasseen, “Feminism’s Obsession with Celebrity: It’s Time to Stop Making Our Pop Stars into Political Icons,” Salon, May 14, 2014

Sarah Seltzer, “From Jennifer Lawrence to Gwyneth Paltrow, Do Celebrity Feminists Help or Hurt the Cause?,” Flavorwire, October 13, 2015

Valerie Tejeda, “Pop Stars and the Miseducation of Feminism,” The Huffington Post, Huff Post Women, November 20, 2013

Jessica Valenti, “When Everyone Is a Feminist, Is Anyone?,” The Guardian, November 24, 2014

Amy Zimmerman, “The Perils of Glitzy Celebrity Feminism Having a Moment,” The Daily Beast, October 15, 2014

Jennifer Aniston, “Jennifer Aniston: ‘For The Record, I Am Not Pregnant. What I Am Is Fed Up,’” The Huffington Post, July 12, 2016

Kate Arthur, “Do Gay Celebrities Have an Obligation to Come Out?,” New York Times, July 2, 2012, sec. The Opinion Pages: Room for Debate

Noah Berlatsky, “Katy Perry’s Aversion to Feminism Shows Feminism Is Still Radical,” The Atlantic, December 5, 2012

Suprateek Chatterjee, “The Wage Gap In Bollywood Is Worse Than Hollywood,” Huffington Post India, July 15, 2016

Rachael Combe, “Amy Poehler Talks Feminism, Friendship, and Staying Away from Selfies,” Elle, January 30, 2014

Jordan Crucchiola, “Kesha and the Total Mainstreaming of Feminism,” The Wrap, February 29, 2016

Daniel D’Addario, “Tina Fey and Amy Poehler: Hollywood’s Imperfect Feminists,” Salon, January 12, 2014

Britni Danielle, “CLUTCH Debates: Do Black Gay Celebrities Have an Obligation to Come Out Publicly?,” Clutch, 2014

Eliana Dockterman, “Miley Cyrus: ‘It Has a Lot to Do With Being a Feminist, but I’m Finally O.K. With Being Alone’,” Time, May 7, 2015

Jane Fonda, “My Convoluted Journey to Feminism,” Lenny Letter, March 23, 2016

Alex Frank, “Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Her ‘Flawless’ Speech, Out Today as an eBook,” Vogue, July 29, 2014

Gerren Keith Gaynor, “Will Robin Roberts’ Coming Out Shatter Stereotypes of Black Queer Women?,” Centric, December 30, 2013

Meenu Goel, “6 Bollywood Divas Whose Definition Of Feminism Will Really Confuse You,” MTVIndia, May 24, 2016

Constance Grady, “Amy Schumer Doesn’t Consider Herself a Political Figure. Her Critics Do. It Gets Messy.,” Vox, August 19, 2016

Melissa Jeltsen, “A Pakistani Social Media Star Was Killed For Owning Her Sexuality,” The Huffington Post, July 20, 2016

Arushi Kapoor, “12 Hollywood Celebrities Who Redefine Neo Feminism,” Vagabomb, May 30, 2015

Anne Kingston, “Chick Wit: Comedy’s New Stealth Feminism,” Chatelaine, July 16, 2015

Jennifer Lawrence, “Jennifer Lawrence: ‘Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Co‑Stars?,’” Lenny Letter, October 14, 2015

Anna Leszkiewicz, “How Kesha’s Rape Allegations Spiralled into a Celebrity Feminism Contest,” The New Statesman, February 22, 2016

Noreen Malone, “Michelle Obama Is a Feminist, Not a ‘Feminist’s Nightmare,’” News, The New Republic, November 22, 2013

Amanda Marcotte, “Anna Paquin’s Bisexuality for Dummies,” The Daily Beast, August 5, 2014

Soraya Nadia McDonald, “The Complicated Feminism of Amber Rose’s SlutWalk,” The Washington Post, October 5, 2015

Ms. Magazine, “Adele: ‘I’m a Feminist,’” Ms. Magazine, November 5, 2015

Tavia Nyong’o, “Lady Gaga’s Lesbian Phallus,” Bully Bloggers, March 16, 2010

Barack Obama, “Exclusive: President Barack Obama Says, ‘This Is What a Feminist Looks Like,’” Glamour, August 4, 2016

Andrew Pulver, “Meryl Streep Defends Feminist Credentials as Suffragette Opens in London Film Festival.,” The Guardian, October 7, 2015

Quartz Staff, “All the Feminist Reasons Indian Celebrities Have Cited for Not Being Feminists,” Quartz India, May 23, 2016

Ree, “Don’t Look For Your Feminist Heroes In K-Pop,” Blog, SeoulBeats, (July 16, 2013)

Tricia Romano, “Laverne Cox: ‘I Absolutely Consider Myself a Feminist,’” The Daily Dose, June 1, 2014

Allison Samuels, “It’s Not Easy for Black Celebrities Like Raven-Symoné to Come Out,” The Daily Beast, August 5, 2013

Keertana Sastry, “Amber Rose Held A SlutWalk To Honor Women & Celebrities Came Out To Show Their Support,” Bustle, October 4, 2015

S.E. Smith, “Cate Blanchett, Miley Cyrus and Gillian Anderson Need You To Stop Policing Their Sexuality,” XO Jane, May 19, 2015

Kat Stoeffel, “Claire Danes Is Feminist, Invokes Lena Dunham,” The Cut, December 3, 2013

Michelle Woo, “Bollywood Star Speaks Out About Gender Inequality in Indian Cinema, Calling For Scripts That ‘Make Women Our Heroes,’” Upvoted, March 10, 2016

Books

Su Holmes and Diane Negra, eds., In the Limelight and Under the Microscope: Forms and Functions of Female Celebrity, Continuum International Publishing, 2011

David Ogden and Joel Nathan Rosen, eds., A Locker Room of Her Own: Celebrity Sexuality and Female Athletes, University Press of Mississippi, 2013

Gwendolyn D. Pough, Check It While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip Hop Culture, and the Public Sphere, Northeastern University Press, 2004

Liza Tsaliki, Asteris Huliaras, and Christos A. Frangonikolopoulos, eds., Transnational Celebrity Activism in Global Politics: Changing the World?, University of Chicago Press, 2011

Academic Articles

Michelle Arrow, “‘It Has Become My Personal Anthem’: ‘I Am Woman’, Popular Culture and 1970s Feminism,” Australian Feminist Studies, 2007

Dayna Chatman, “Pregnancy, Then It’s ‘Back To Business’ Beyoncé, Black Femininity, and the Politics of a Post-Feminist Gender Regime,” Feminist Media Studies, 2015

Lilie Chouliaraki, “The Theatricality of Humanitarianism: A Critique of Celebrity Advocacy,” Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 2012

Shelley Cobb, “Is This What a Feminist Looks like? Male Celebrity Feminists and the Postfeminist Politics of ‘equality,’” Celebrity Studies, 2015

Jeremiah Favara, “A Maternal Heart: Angelina Jolie, Choices of Maternity, and Hegemonic Femininity in People Magazine,” Feminist Media Studies, 2015

Hannah Hamad and Anthea Taylor, “Introduction: Feminism and Contemporary Celebrity Culture,” Celebrity Studies, 2015

Hannah Hamad, “‘Hollywood’s Hot Dads’: Tabloid, Reality and Scandal Discourses of Celebrity Post-Feminist Fatherhood,” Celebrity Studies, 2010

Hannah Hamad, “Introduction: Transgender Celebrity, Celebrity Political Endorsements, and the Practice of Celebrity Public Relations,” Celebrity Studies, 2016

Deborah Jermyn, “We Know How Sarah Jessica Parker Does It: The Travails of Working Motherhood and Celebrity Privilege,” Celebrity Studies, 2012

Erin Meyers, “‘Can You Handle My Truth?’: Authenticity and the Celebrity Star Image,” The Journal of Popular Culture, 2009

Natasha Patterson and Camilla A. Sears, “Letting Men off the Hook? Domestic Violence and Postfeminist Celebrity Culture,” Genders Online Journal, 2011

Jemima Repo and Riina Yrjölä, “The Gender Politics of Celebrity Humanitarianism in Africa,” International Feminist Journal of Politics, 2011

Raka Shome, “‘Global Motherhood’: The Transnational Intimacies of White Femininity,” Critical Studies in Media Communication, 2011

Anthea Taylor, “‘Blockbuster’ Celebrity Feminism,” Celebrity Studies, 2014

Anthea Taylor, “Germaine Greer’s Adaptable Celebrity: Feminism, Unruliness, and Humour on the British Small Screen,” Feminist Media Studies, 2014

Nikki Usher, “Anderson Cooper and Jodie Foster: The Glass Closet and Gay Visibility in the Media,” QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking, 2014

Zala Volcic and Karmen Erjavec, “Transnational Celebrity Activism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Local Responses to Angelina Jolie’s Film In the Land of Blood and Honey,” European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2015

Julie Wilson, “A New Kind of Star Is Born: Audrey Hepburn and the Global Governmentalisation of Female Stardom,” Celebrity Studies, 2011

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