The media industry has been caught up by the feminism wave. Banet-Weiser refers to this trend as popular feminism where every song, advertisement, or social media post aims to solve the challenges women face on the individual level. Feminism is a cultural and political concept awakening society to the struggles of a woman and the need to see that women’s challenges are visible in mainstream and alternative media. Interestingly, adverting media companies, including television networks, magazines, and the news media prefer the feminist agenda to push their commercial interests. Distinguishing the neoliberalist capital structure in media consumption and the push for reforms and change in advancing women’s rights has become cumbersome. Channel 4 is one of the greatest media firms in the United Kingdom. Its #LastLonelyMenopause campaign through its Diversity in Advertising, TENA, offers a great opportunity to judge between commercial interests and feminism as a cultural and value concept.
Channel 4 is a media company that supports diversity and inclusion because it is a public firm that does not major in the economic benefits of its commercial projects. The company relishes the opportunity to represent the voices of the unheard and observe the diversity within the UK. Channel 4 uses its strong brand presence and broad consumer reach to advance socially-benefiting messages. In its annual report 2021, Channel 4 indicated that it elevates unheard voices “from diverse communities, emerging writers and producers, to those who have different points of view or experiences.” The statement alludes to inclusivity, a value system, and the belief that feminism seeks the protection of women’s rights and amplifies their voices. Feminism disowns the media misogyny that dehumanizes women and advances hatred against them. However, the media competes with neoliberal power structures that benefit media owners and profit seekers.
The TENA’s#LastLonelyMenopause speaks to discrimination and isolation of women during menopause. The campaign raises the voice of women and rebukes the society that forgets women when they need them most and adjudicates its responsibility to accommodate the emotions of women at their most vulnerable moment. The advert advances the “coming of age” concerns for the anger and confusion that comes with menopause. Society does not seem to understand women undergoing menopause, a fact that #LastLonelyMenopause illuminates vividly and emphasizes that women’s experiences count. Women undergo many painful experiences during menopause which go unnoticed due to shame and indifference that society and media tolerate. Neoliberal capitalism has led feminism into a collision path with the profit motives of media companies. The #LastLonelyMenopaus is a call to end the plight of women facing trauma due to menopause, citing the challenges of mood changes and loneliness because no one seems to empathize with their condition. Although the campaign was well-intended and of good timing, we cannot be sure that Channel 4 did not use TENA as a production unit for its commercial interests.
In my view, Channel 4 had a genuine intention when distributing TENA’s production, #LastLonelyMenopaus. Looking at their commercial interests, Channel 4 reinvests all their profits into furnishing the British public with entertainment to transform their lives. Their profit-making projects and advertisement campaigns generate revenues that pay for the Broadcast news and film production meant for public entertainment and positive impact. I believe that its commercial interests do not mainly emanate from neoliberal capitalism that uses feminist campaigns to its advantage but uses profit gains from media consumption to fund projects that promote the public good. Channel 4 is a social enterprise that feminism needs to drive its message on women’s inclusivity and campaign for an end to menopause trauma.