So this one has been festering away at me for a very long time but I've been unable to articulate exactly why it bothers me so much. However, recent events have spurned me to let out at least a 15 years worth of ranting on this subject, so buckle up people this one's mammoth.
Is Katie Price a role model for the modern woman? Is she a feminist icon?
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Margaret Thatcher:
The changing face of the feminist icon. |
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Katie Price:
Thanks for everything you've done to help squash
female stereo-types, Katie. |
I feel an affinity to this question as I'm of a similar age to Katie Price - what I mean is I've been making my way in the world at exactly the same time as Katie, and witness all her exploits in parallel to my own life.
Love her or loath her she is in our social psyche and one thing that cannot be ignored is the impact she has had on a generation of young women.
A few weeks ago KP was invited to talk at the Cambridge Union Society debate. Assigned to a team with Anna Stansbury and Charlotte Vere, they were debating the motion: The only limit to female success is female ambition. Seriously, in a room full of women who was ever going to win an argument against that motion?!
The papers the next day lead with headlines claiming: "Katie Price WINS debate at Cambridge Union Society". Impling that KP had socked it to the snooty gals of Cambridge with her working class sass.
However, this was not the case, The Independent's Tabatha Legget who was at the event recounted a very different version of events on her blog. Others who bore witness also commented that KP was rubbish, made no argument addressing the question, only talked about herself and had a snipe at Daily Mail columnist Liz Jones, who was on the same team! In her piece Tabatha Legget, also picks up on the fact that KP is touted in the mainstream media and society as a feminist icon and role model for young women. Frankly, this makes me balk.
Let me make clear I don't begrudge anyone being successful and making the best with what they have. KP has done exactly this, she's earned a lot of money and I'm not taking away from that - good on her. However, this fact alone does not mean she gets catapulted to the default status of Feminist icon.
Now, weather I agree with KP getting her knockers out for a living and choosing to share every element of her seemingly vacuous life with the press is, beside the point. What I disagree with is that Kate Price is being forced up on us as a feminist icon. Increasing by valid sources, intellectuals, journalists and our peers and things like KP being invited to talk at Cambridge, or appear on News Night reinforce this message.
What I take particular issue is with two things that the media always claims about KP.
- She's an amazing 'Business women'
- She's a working class hero
Refuting point A: - She's an amazing business women.
This irks me because I consider myself a business woman and it's flippin hard work. Spreadsheets, business cases, negotiations, infrastructure systems, commercial law, market analysis, consumer legislation, union politics, logistics, fiscal planning, sales forecasts, growth projections, CAPEX estimates are a few of the things of business. I'd love to discuss any of these with KP should she grant me audience, I have a feeling she'd refuse.
I know many truly amazing business women and business leaders for that matter, who have over come adversity and boot strapped themselves into business with less support and exploitable resources than KP.
KP is not an 'amazing business women' as so often is banded around after her name, she is a commodity, a product that a lot of very smart other people market. So that's the equivalent of saying that Coca Cola is a feminist icon. Other people do the actual 'business' of KP's business, I assure you KP is not the brains or talent behind her success, other people are. Other people mange her publicity, finances, write her books, other people negotiate her deals, design the art work and packaging. All of which is fine; just don't tell me she's a business genius Mr.Media!
Or Mr. Media if you insist on claiming she is a 'canny business women' back it up, show me her 10 year business plan written by her own fair hand.
*won't be holding breath*
What KP is, is an opportunist who is willing to do anything to make money. Again, that's fine, nothing wrong with that as long as within the framework of the law.
However, putting her forward as a business woman role model does not help the cause of genuine business women at large. I can not think of a single instance in the board room when I have thought...hmmmm 'what would Katie do?'.
So my question is, if she is an amazing business woman - What's been her positive contribution to women in business?
Refuting point B: She's a working class hero.
I hate this because I don't feel it does anything to support women from a working class background. I speak on this as a woman from a working class background. What KP does is reinforce a stereo-type that all working class women should aspire to become is topless models or WAGS. That we should all know our place and that, that is all we have to offer.We should not aspire to be teachers, accountants, business leaders, nurses, product managers, politicians, lawyers, doctors or Prime Minister.
I know there's an argument that not everyone is academic and this is true. But to say that if you are from a working class background and not traditionally academic your only aspiration should be to be a glamour model is quite frankly patronising. I know numerous amazing women who are not academic, from working class backgrounds who have been incredibly successfully without going down this road.
One friend of mine left school at 16 with no formal qualifications, went to study beauty therapy in the evenings at college, then went on to work for many years for a pittance in a salon. She grafted hard built up a client base and eventually opened her own salon. She now has three very lucrative salons, employs 11 people and earns considerably more than me and many other better educated women I know.
Similarly, another friend from school left with not a single GSCE's, but she had fantastic communication skills and used this as a strength. She got on a YTS in sales, learn't the business worked hard for many years got prompted to a sales rep over achieved on every target, won every sales award and bonus to boot. Got made Area Manager then Regional Director, managing a national field force of 130 people. She eventually, left set up her own consultancy bought a brand new Porsche, homes in the UK and condo in Miami. Now she wizzes around the country helping companies teach graduates how to sell. Now both of those women are my definition of a working class hero's, you go girls, well done you.
When are women like these invited to Cambridge to give a working class business women's perspective?... Oh that's right they're not, they ask Katie flippin Price to represent us instead!
I wonder what were Cambridge thinking when the committee sat around deciding the speaker line up?
I imagine it as an all female Monty Python sketch with a load of slone rangers sitting around going;
"We really should be more diverse this year Henrietta, does anyone know any working class or black women whom we could arsk to come and talk?"
*silence ensues*
"No. But Octaivia's friend Cressida works for the PR agency that manges that Katie Price person and isn't she from the working classes?.....
Maybe we could arsk her - she's a bit thick but has made some money, surely she must represents them all".
What was worse was seeing all the fine minded lady academics of Cambridge fawning over KP, looking at her as if she's the Dalai Lama and expecting her to say something profound.
Maybe, was that just the affect of the fame monster, either way honestly I wanted to vomit.
This made me think maybe it's a class issue whereby middle and upper class women think they can't knock KP because that would make them seem elitist in some way.
Even Tabbatha Legget says in her blog, "I always had a feeling that she [KP] was quietly intelligent".
Really Tabbatha?! Did you?! What exactly have you ever seen, heard, read about or by KP that made you think that? Or did you just want to believe that she had to be 'quietly intelligent' - otherwise why have we been looking up to her?
Do we all want to believe that? - maybe it's not at all about class, maybe we all feel we can't knock KP for fear of accusations of some sort.
Of jealously because she's successful or deemed attractive. Or that old anti-feminist label - that when women criticize each other they are being bitchy that women are their own most enemy.
So maybe because of this we all just nod along and don't dare to tell the truth about Katie Price, for fear of not being right on to the sisterhood.
This annoys me, as it's an unfair notion that as a woman I have to agree and support everyone who has a vagina or if I don't that makes me anti-feminist.
Men criticize each other all the time and no-one says, 'oh listen to him he's anti-MAN'.
So what makes a feminist icon?
Looking at it in objective terms - KP is a woman who has been successful due to her physical appearance and you can argue ambition.
Fine, I have no problems with that but it's in no way unique. I can think of dozens of other women who could claim that same thing....really any famous model pick one. Naomi Campbell, Elle MacPherson, Kate Moss or Paris Hilton. The latter who probably has more in common with KP's success as a brand, to sell lines of other products - fragrances, clothes, eyelashes, whatever.
The thing I'm confused about is that I've never heard any of those women referred to as a feminist icon's, so my question is; why is Katie Price?
We have been wrongly sold KP as a feminist icon, business woman and working class hero and I for one am not buying it. I have also noticed quite a lot of men seem to think and worse tell me KP is a feminist icon.
So, is it the men folk who decide our feminist icons now?
If so why do we go along with it?
Or, is the truth that we're so desperate for a feminsit icon that isn't the angry, flat shoe wearing cliché, we are willing to hand the challis to anyone?
Or is it because they're aren't any other feminist icon's in public view to choose from?....and if so why is that?
I think these are the real questions we should ask.
Sorry, KP as a feminist icon is a pill I refuse to swallow.
To achieve that title you have to contribute positively to the cause of women and inspire them to better and greater things, that aren't solely about money and fame.
I actually think KP's impact has been negative in this respect, influencing a generation girls not to seek or aspire to academic or vocational success. But instead to pander to a male projection of silicon attractiveness and to value only cash. Which in effect surely makes her an anti-feminist icon.
Or is it that we as women are all afraid to ask the real question.
What does it mean to be a feminist icon?
Who do we want and what do we expect of our feminist icons?
And also.....where the hell are they?
Is Katie Price all our daughters have to aspire to?.....is she the best we can do?
If the answer is yes then I don't worry for myself, I worry for a generation of young women, who no longer aspire be Prime Minister but to be Katie Price.
