Feminism is not keeping up with a naked Kardashian

As the furore about naked selfies dies down, a cynical Carolyn Moore says the tenets of modern feminism need to remain in the foreground

STRIPPING the power from empowerment Feminism is a funny old thing. A bit like being an artist, it’s not a club you’re invited to join or expelled from if you break the rules. If someone declares themselves an artist, we accept them as an artist. We can dislike what they create, we can disagree with their definition of art, but if they self-identify as an artist we cannot tell them they’re not.

It’s kind of the same with feminism, but when it comes to art, the rule is: there are no rules. With feminism though, the rule is: there are so many rules; they change all the time; and trying to be a thoughtful participant in online feminist discourse can feel like navigating a minefield of accusations, contradictions, and the ubiquitous modern phenomenon of shame.