Paradoxical cynicism is the hammer in numerous a comic’s tool belt. This tool is something starlet Lena Dunham uses with eagerness, but it’s not constantly as efficient as she plans to be.
In teasing herself, Dunham truly buffoons those who break down and objectify her. This medium can likewise be misunderstood, possibly turning her distinct technique of empowerment into one of self-degradation. And that’s specifically what took place in her collaboration with fashion business Revolve in September, when they established a project that was implied to support body positivity and feminism by playing off of familiar shaming discuss the web.
Revolve is a billion-dollar style company often visited primarily by fashionable ladies in their mid-20s who aren’t afraid to take a bold technique to style. The company was founded by 2 men, Michael Mente and Mike Karanikolas, with no preliminary star recommendations, classifying the company as a self-made, moneymaking innovator. Nowadays, however, it has carefully associated its brand name with digital influencers.
Lots of influencers in the modern-day age actively make an effort to spread a favorable message with their growing platforms, and by supporting them and integrating their perspectives into style, Revolve itself has the possible to spread a positive and empowering message.
For this objective of spreading out body positivity, Revolve selected to work with Lena Dunham, a self-proclaimed feminist who has actually been compellingly truthful throughout her profession. This decision to produce empowering and socially conscious clothing is in itself a really rewarding endeavor. But by utilizing irony and sarcasm through nonverbal and mass media communication, Revolve has accidentally stabilized the issues and stereotypes it was originally attempting to dismantle.
Take, for example, the titular sweatshirt from the new line, which was at the center of all the backlash. The light-gray “Paloma Sweatshirt” selling at $168 reads, “Being fat is not beautiful, it’s a reason.” The sweatshirt is used by a thin, white model, masking the initial designated irony of the sweater. As a fashion company, Revolve should understand the power of displaying statements like these to and on young females. It not just physically reminds us of the constant criticism dealt with by women on social media every day; it likewise internalizes it. The irony behind this particular sweatshirt is completely lost when it is put into a mass-marketed context. It is not nuanced anymore– it is merely offensive.
Those who think “fat is not lovely” and that “it is a reason” now have the ability to purchase these sweaters wholesale and counter the extremely movement Revolve and Lena Dunham planned to create.As Dunham mentioned in
an Instagram post, the campaign’s quotations originate from”popular ladies who have actually experienced internet trolling and abuse.”The campaign was implied to serve as solidarity in the face of perpetual online bullying, this sweatshirt and other pieces, such as the one that states”Slut feminist problem, “standardize the usage of prospective trigger words. In an ideal world, words like these would lose their unfavorable implications and be reclaimed as easy usages of speech. At the minute, their association and use can not only be offensive however unpleasant to bystanders, and the phrasing lacks the self-awareness the campaign was expected to have. In such a way, Revolve’s campaign fuels the fire of web hatred by showing the haters that influencers really read their comments and, moreover, provides unlimited freedom to other degraders to utilize similar language. The project does not represent an end to fat-shaming or negative anti-feminism, but rather offers baseless attention to the negativeness. It’s worth keeping in mind that, as a company founded by two men, Revolve shouldn’t have actually ventured into creating this line based upon experimental feminist comedy to start with. There is a history of gender inequality and sexist battle that backs words such as”slut “and”fat”when they are used in this context– a history that is distinctively understood by females. In this sense, Karanikolas and Mente lack the authority to tackle this line with genuine understanding. In action to backlash, Revolve canceled any sales of the items and donated$ 20,000 to Girls Write Now, the very same group that was originally
supposed to get the proceeds from the project. The business also issued an apology declaration on its own social networks. Dunham followed match, taking to Instagram with a post proclaiming that in all upcoming television appearances, she would only be wearing”brands that accommodate ALL females. “It is essential that both Dunham and Revolve comprehend the consequences of their actions and the repercussions of paradoxical and ironical techniques to sensitive subjects. This sort of comical allure on
an individual scale can be both moving and insightful. However sarcastic paradox is not implicit when it is not spoken. The tonality and intent are removed. All that is left are hurtful words. In Revolve’s case, what’s left of this project are the extremely exact same painful words that made the business want to help spark a motion in the very first place. Samantha Banchik covers fashion. Contact her at.