Swedish study warns: feminism marketed through stock tips may mask economic inequality
A new analysis of Swedish self-help finance books reveals how gender equality messaging is being weaponized to sell investment products, obscuring power imbalances and creating false promises of financial freedom. The finding matters to business leaders and policymakers navigating how corporate feminism shapes consumer behavior and economic expectations.
Originaltitel: Finansiell feminism?: Jämställdhet & ekonomi i självhjälpsformat
<p>In a contemporary popular cultural Swedish context, gender equality and economic equality seem to be increasingly formulated in financial terms, through narratives centered around succeeding on the stock market, owning assets or practicing venture capitalism. In this context, self-help books in financial speculation targeting women are marketed with a gender equality narrative. In this article, we focus on how values of feminism, gender equality and economy are shaped and maintained by such books. By effectively hiding power relationships and presenting financial freedom as an attainable goal for everyone and through a condensed narrative of happiness and balance in the future, we read the fantasy of financial freedom as cruel optimism through Lauren Berlant's perspective. The fantasy of financial freedom also produces a feminist subject who, with her investments, both can and should maintain control over her own life and her family as well as navigate around the vulnerabilities of life. </p>