The godly girlboss

ABSTRACT

Network marketing has seen no shortage of criticism, but its capital gain for corporate owners and top-tier sellers has remained consistent. In this article, we focus attention on the strategies from which this success emerges. Because the discourses which circulate in these spaces serve to uphold multiple oppressive systems at once and do so under the guise of a seemingly progressive feminism, we see import in demystifying their trends. By analysing brand materials of hair care and wellness company, Monat, as well as the prominent social media presence of some of its most affluent ‘biz and beauty mentors’, we argue that neoliberal feminism and Christian femininity are both demonstrated and reified through the figure of the online influencer we call the ‘godly girlboss’. By exploring how the company’s top sellers integrate messages of religion, beauty, wealth, and wellness, we argue that their rhetoric functions not only to help them sell shampoo, but also to engender investment in a specific white, Christian, feminine lifestyle. In this way, their social media influence operates not only as a capitalist tool, but a political one.

KEYWORDS:

• Christianity
• white femininity
• social networking
• network marketing
• neoliberal feminism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Courtney J. Dreyer

Courtney J. Dreyer is a PhD candidate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her work explores the proliferation of white supremacy and Christian nationalism across film and popular culture. Her dissertation analyzes remakes, reboots, and sequels in contemporary U.S. cinema and their connections to conservative populism.

Dakota J. Sandras

Dakota J. Sandras is a doctoral candidate at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Her research primarily examines evolving processes of hegemonic negotiation occurring along lines of race and gender throughout popular culture. Her dissertation, for example, examines the rhetorical functions of televised constructions of white allyship following heightened demands for antiracist action in contemporary U.S. sociopolitical contexts. She is also interested in the mainstream propagation of social movements, critical pedagogy and dialogue, and First Nations epistemologies and ontologies.