That famous t-shirt with the slogan “This is what a feminist looks like†has gained traction among artists, celebrities and politicians worldwide. But it turns out this great t-shirt, with a great slogan isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The Daily Mail recently revealed that the t-shirts are produced by women in Mauritius who work in “sweatshop conditionsâ€, earning only R11 an hour. Where’s the feminism in that?
The Fawcett Society, the women’s rights organisation that launched the t-shirts, has since defended itself, saying the t-shirts were made in a perfectly ethical manner.
“The evidence we have seen categorically refutes the assertion that the ‘This is what a feminist looks like’ t-shirts produced by Whistles were made in a sweatshop,†Eva Neitzert, deputy chief executive of the Fawcett Society told the Guardian.
Celebrities from Emma Watson to Joseph Gordon-Levitt have donned the bold garment, and even Ed Miliband, leader of the UK’s Labour Party, owns one. The Fawcett Society charges R266 for the t-shirt on its website, and a limited edition of the shirt recently sold for over R900. At this rate, you’d think they could afford to pay factory workers more than R11 per hour.
AJ Plus, a branch of the Al Jazeera news network, reports that women who work at the factory were forced to sleep 16 to a room.
“How can this t-shirt be a symbol of feminism when we do not see ourselves as feminists? We see ourselves as trapped,†a 30-year-old factory worker told AJ Plus.
This is not what a feminist looks like, but it could be what a hypocrite looks like.