Feminism, Consumer Culture, and Cannabis : A Textual Analysis of Broccoli Magazine

Abstract: Modern media patterns show feminist narratives being used to market different consumer products in the name of female empowerment and emancipation. Typically, the industries targeted have historically been dominated by male perspectives and aim to perpetuate a capitalist consumer culture. The newly legalized cannabis industry in North America, has seen an increase in female participation both in production and consumption. This thesis takes Broccoli, an all-female produced magazine about cannabis, as a case to textually analyze how feminist narratives are used to appeal to their majority female and non-binary audience to a cannabis consumer lifestyle. In the analysis I have found that the magazine is critical to postfeminist notions of consumer culture, while simultaneously working within them in order to act as pioneers, holding a female-oriented space within the industry.