Capitalism Is Sexism

A bold and incisive personal manifesto on the ways sexism is used in capitalist systems to exploit women, using algorithms that pressure them into spending money on a distorted ideal of beauty, motherhood, and success.

The age-old pressure to focus on either a career or building a family has been compounded by a new reality: Millennial women are often both the breadwinner and head of household—all while being told by the cosmetics industry to start Botox before it’s too late and that only the best mothers use a Zeitgeist baby carrier.

Through the lens of her own experiences and influencer culture, prominent Dutch journalist and cultural critic Doortje Smithuijsen explores how seemingly innocuous phenomena like smoothie recipes and spin classes are part of a system that persists in marginalizing women by reinforcing an illusion of inadequacy. Capitalism Is Sexism is not simply about finding body positivity in the age of Ozempic or resisting the Trad Wife lifestyle; it’s about how these forces are here to captivate your attention, your earnings, and your labor—all while pointing towards an inner deficiency. With razor-sharp insight, Smithuijsen shows how difficult it is for women within this system to make choices that are truly their own.