The Politics of Fashion and the Sale of Femininity: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Gendered Representation in Social Media Culture
Abstract
This study explores The Politics of Fashion and the Sale of Femininity through a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of gendered representation in contemporary social media culture. It examines how fashion-related digital discourses construct and commercialize femininity by transforming the female body into a marketable symbol of beauty, desirability, and social value. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Fairclough's CDA and feminist media theory, the research investigates how language, imagery, and branding perpetuate patriarchal ideologies under the guise of empowerment. Social media platforms, while appearing to celebrate women's agency, often reinforce objectification through curated aesthetics and consumerist narratives. The study reveals that femininity is strategically packaged as a commodity; sold through the rhetoric of self-expression but sustained by capitalist exploitation. Ultimately, this analysis highlights the subtle power dynamics embedded in online fashion discourse, where the language of liberation conceals deeper systems of gendered control. The paper contributes to feminist and media scholarship by exposing how digital culture redefines markets, and monetizes contemporary womanhood.
How to Cite This Article
Samra Akram, Mamoona Yousaf, Irum Tasleem, Sidra Asghar, Aroosa Aman Ullah, Muhammad Rizwan, Tarim Masood (2025). The Politics of Fashion and the Sale of Femininity: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Gendered Representation in Social Media Culture . Journal of Frontiers in Multidisciplinary Research (JFMR), 6(2), 324-330. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54660/.JFMR.2025.6.2.324-330