Arts·Commotion

How the '90s girl power movement turned into marketing

Culture critic and Pulitzer Prize finalist Sophie Gilbert Culture analyzes 1990s and 2000s pop culture to find out how this happened, as well as discusses her new book on the subject, Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves.

Culture critic Sophie Gilbert analyzes 1990s and 2000s pop culture to find out how this happened

Britney Spears at the release of "Crossroads" in 2002
Britney Spears at the Spanish release of "Crossroads," the 2002 girlhood movie she starred in. (PIERRE PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images)

The phrase "girl power" was coined by Bikini Kill in the early 1990s, but its meaning was watered down later in the decade when angry radical women in music were followed by younger, less opinionated pop stars.

But how did this happen? Culture critic at The Atlantic and Pulitzer Prize finalist Sophie Gilbert takes a deep dive into 1990s and 2000s pop culture in her new book, Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves, to find out.

Today on Commotion, host Elamin Abdelmahmoud speaks with Gilbert about her new book, how this pop culture shift happened and how its effects continue to shape our current moment. 

WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube:

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.


Interview with Sophie Gilbert produced by Jane van Koeverden.