Celebrity feminists are making people care less about women’s rights, according to a new study.
Stars such as Adele, Taylor Swift and Gigi Hadid could be hindering the feminism movement, due to it being seen as more of a publicity tool.
The two-year study, conducted by Jeetendr Sehdev, found that although celebrities were still viewed as influential, just 20 per cent of people said they care more about gender equality issues due to a celebrity’s involvement.
Further to this, the study also found that 30 per cent of people admitted to caring less about feminism and women’s rights as a result of singer, Taylor Swift’s involvement.
As reported by the Independent, South-East Asia and Latin America were the most likely to be influence by celebrity feminists, while North America and Europe were the least likely.
Adele, Renee Zellweger, Olivia Wilde, Taylor Swift and Gigi Hadid were found to be the least credible celebrity feminists, while Malala Yousafzai, Lena Dunham, Patricia Arquette, Diane Von Furstenberg and Sheryl Sandberg were found to be the most credible.
Actress Patricia Arquette is very vocal on women’s rights and gender equality, using her 2015 Oscar’s award speech as an opportunity to raise awareness of the disparity between the pay of women stars and their male counterparts. During her award for Best Female Actress, she said, “to every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America.”
Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist, has pulled equality into the forefront of people’s minds after the Taliban shot her in the head for campaigning for girls’ education. Actress Lena Dunham has also positioned herself as a feminist, creating the publication Lenny Letter, a feminist online newsletter.
The survey reported that instead of celebrities championing these causes, 78 per cent of people wanted to see more high-profile, multi-cultural people promoting feminism.
