Female bodies have long served the global system of commercialism. They have been used to generate profit and power for those in control and, wittingly or unwittingly, to promote and advance capitalist ideals. In recent years, however, we have witnessed women’s bodies represented in a new light — as powerful and liberated. From glossy glamour shoots and home video sex tapes to near-naked — or naked — selfies posted online, people have been again transformed into images, with advertising masquerading as social content.

 

When our bodies can be celebrated and seen as active agents of our own liberation, we question whether the naked female form is truly liberated from the exploitative and unequal logic of capitalism – or if it has simply been co-opted by the free market economy. In doing so, the exhibition tries to investigate the often-contradictory dynamics of feminism and free market economics, and their implications for contemporary women. It explores the various ways in which women are depicted in popular culture, from the objectification of their bodies to the reinforcement of gender stereotypes.

 

Bety, Pennie and Nikola explore the commodification, and even self-commodification, of

sexuality, and the resulting creation and degradation of the female self by exploring themes of identity, gender, sexuality, and power. The exhibition showcases the ways in which women navigate a terrain of conflicting pressures, from the pressures to conform to traditional notions of femininity to the pressures to reject or subvert them. The works also explore how the commodification of female sexuality is used to control and manipulate female bodies, and how women are made to feel powerless in the face of these images.

The commodification of beauty has become a way to legitimize certain forms of power and privilege while reinforcing normative ideas about beauty and gender. The exhibition also explores the role of technology in the commodification of persons. Technology has enabled us to create and share images of ourselves, and to engage in a variety of online activities. The implications of this process are far-reaching, and the show examines how technology shapes our perceptions and how it, too, contributes to the commodification of persons.

 

The ways in which women use their sexuality as a form of self-expression, even as their bodies are objectified and controlled, serves as an invitation to reflect upon our own attitudes and actions in relation to female sexual autonomy.

 

The title plays on the plurality of feminism, made up of many disparate strands and effing, a term often used to express frustration politely; replaces the f-word with the spelling of the sound of "F."

The frustration concerns ongoing conflicts among feminists to define it (what is liberating to some women can be oppressive to others, disagreements on who is included and who is not), and the complex relationship of feminism, with capitalism and social media, having been commodified and appropriated to sell products.