"Owning it"

The current paper analyses the perceptions of young feminists on self-sexualization as a contemporary tool of female empowerment. Throughout this study the historical developments of feminism are presented and outlined in relation to the rise of sexualization culture and the concurrent phenomena of ‘sexualization’ and ‘self-sexualization’ of women. Both of these concepts will be further explored and developed in light of current socio-economic and cultural values within western societies, which are mostly expressed through the consideration of ‘individualism’, ‘freedom of choice’ and ‘agency’. Thereafter, drawing on Foucault’s theoretical contributions on structures of power and hegemonic discourse, this study engages in the philosophical debate between ‘freedom of will’ and ‘determinism’, which composes a central issue for its critical discussion. Finally, ‘Post-Feminism’ and the conceptualization of a post-feminist ‘sensibility’ are presented as the crucial basis of this research. For this matter, the works of Rosalind Gill are posited as fundamental sources of academic relevance within (critical) postfeminist and cultural studies and further substantiated throughout this study’s analysis. The aim of this research lies in the comprehension of divergent perspectives, among feminists, on how self-sexualization of women in contemporary western societies may (or may not) serve the purposes of the feminist movement. This conundrum, which reveals different conceptualizations of feminism and female empowerment, will be approached through the discussion of female pop artists (such as Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj), and also through the discussion of sex industries in relation to the position of women in society.