In a triumph of cynical marketing, there is a hidden devil in much of the “girl-power” and related “women with attitude” wear, such as the earnestly ironic “Hello Kitty”. This devil is the sweat-shop labour practices used by the majority of popular clothes manufacturers. These third world workers, the vast majority of which are young women, are employed in 60-90 hour stretches for wages as little as $0.13 an hour. Few receive overtime benefits, they live in what are sometimes little more then barely converted pig sheds, and are usually fired if they get pregnant. Advocates of the “girl power”, “pro-feminist”, “independent woman” image could be unwittingly funding the worst exploitation of women today(*). Not so cute now, is she?
(*) See Naomi Kline’s “
No Logo” bestseller, for more.