Proposals for the Feminine Economy

by Jennifer Armbrust

A holistic vision for a new economic paradigm, founded in feminine and feminist principles. Transmuting the tensions between feminism and Capitalism, Proposals for the Feminine Economy gives us a roadmap forward by insisting that business can be a site of feminist practice if we embody our values, create new economies, and experiment with redistributions of power & resources. Practical, poetic prescriptions for feminism’s fourth wave.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Self Help, Economics, Social Justice, Politics, Business

97 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

Jennifer Armbrust is a feminist writer, designer, entrepreneur, and the founder of Sister, Feminist Business School, and Feminist Flourishing Club. She opened her first business, an art gallery, at the age of 25. In 2015, she gave a popular talk, "Proposals for the Feminine Economy," that became a successful book and led her to launch Feminist Business School.

In 2021, she was forced to stop working for 3 years to focus on healing full-time after several years of being sick. She launched feministflourishing.club to share the immense body of work she created on her healing journey, including her insights, tools & strategies for individual and collective flourishing.

Armbrust holds a degree in Critical Theory and Political Economy from The Evergreen State College with advanced studies in small business administration, interactive design, and healing arts.

Reviews

[Cindy Pham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely reads more as a light manifesto rather than a hard-hitting book with economic strategies, but somehow, I enjoyed it nonetheless. The emphasis on creating a new economy that embodies our values resonated with me, and I reread some of the pages to continue feeling inspired. Maybe I read it at the right time, since I’ve been dealing with a stressful week at work, and this serves as an eye-opening reminder that we don’t have to adhere to masculine distributions of power; instead, we can create and adapt to what is more meaningful for us.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I follow an artist named Denise Shaunté Brown; she mentioned Armbrust's Feminist Business School in a recent newsletter. Of course I had to see what that was about!

So I traveled down an internet rabbit hole to Armbrust's feminine vs. masculine economies infographic. ✨🌈🔆 Then I watched her Creative Mornings talk. Then I bought her book. Needless to say, I was inspired.

Armbrust marries critical theory with nearly two decades of entrepreneurship experience to envision a new way of doing business that centers our highest values. Out with competition, materialism, scarcity, hierarchies, efficiency, and individualism. In with empathy, abundance, collaboration, ease, care, and gratitude.

She emboldens us to transform the world of work. Reading her book was truly restorative for me. I look forward to picking up some of the texts she cited.

If you are looking for Krugman, Stiglitz, or Piketty, go read them. 👋🏾 If you want to become a conscious steward of money and commit yourself to practicing feminist entrepreneurship 🤑 with humility, heart, and criticality, then stay awhile.

[dominika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course, it is called proposals and they really are just that. But these proposals speak to me on so many different levels. As a potentional business owner or rather business creator in the future, I am deeply unsatisfied with an idea that I would participate in capitalism as such, but is there any other way? Could we create some other way? How? This tiny book offers 12 principles for prototyping a feminist business which to me are beautifully vague yet they inspire me in some way. Let’s design our businesses differently, there are not really rules yet, but this book is a good start to think about different aspects of how that could look like.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very design-heavy and without much substance or real economic strategies, unfortunately.

[Lindsey]

I picked this up after it was referenced in an interesting presentation on cultivating client relationships by someone I admire.

Some of the points brought up, of what business could be, were thought-provoking (if slim). But much of what Armbrust calls "feminine" is not inherently feminine. After saying in an ideal world, masculine and feminine qualities would pervade, two illustrations of the "masculine economy" and "feminine economy" basically blame all of late capitalism's ills on masculinity. Masculinity, of course, isn't inherently bad; just as femininity isn't inherently good. (Nor is feminism devoid of masculinity.) A lot of the book felt like things that would be popular quotecards on Instagram that are shareable but not thought through. Such thinking reifies the gender binary while purporting to be progressive.

This said, despite the shaky politics and understanding of feminism (and gender ... and honestly, probably also economy), there are portions of this book that I found to be good reminders for workers. While the theory fails, the practical is often helpful: The best parts apply to daily life and work. Remembering that we have a body, for instance, and that we need to incorporate it into our work, that our body won't need the same things every day, that it needs to be cared for, is something I definitely need to hear time and again. I also appreciated the quote from another source, "Would it be okay with you if your life were easier?" That struck me. (I feel like that quote will be like, obviously, yes!, to some and like, oh, oof, to others like me.)

Overall, I wouldn't endorse this very pretty book, especially for the price, but will re-refer to snippets and some quotes and am happy to loan out. Like anything else, it's a "take what serves and leave the rest" situation.

[Celeste Mezera · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I agree with Armbrust’s general ideas of using empathy, introspection, and evoking change in our business models, I would have liked to see more ideas about actual business practices/ designs that showcase these values.

Additionally, I found it difficult to equate all aspects of our current economy (although very male dominated) to masculinity. For example, the book assigns the following traits to the “masculine economy”: vilification of poverty, inequitable distribution of wealth, materialism, and perpetual consumption. While no doubt these are aspects of our economy at present in the United States, I wouldn’t say that these are masculine traits. I am rather tired and frustrated with the concept of masculinity being inherently bad and femininity being good. I believe that it is harmful to think in this binary way. This is not to say, of course, that we don’t need more female representation and perspectives. We absolutely do!

I did enjoy the style and bold, empowering statements of the book. Even if there were some points Armbrust made that I don’t quite agree with, I generally think this book makes great broad strokes about improving the economy from a businessperson’s perspective.

[Abbie Duggan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read that I will turn to again and again. Whether you’re reading from a place of entrepreneurship, or just intrigued by the idea of flipping the script on the male-constructed economy, there a many pockets of value here.

[PJ Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads like more of a zine than a book. Has some great ideas that I would love to read more about, but I feel like the author is trying to avoid covering ground already covered by other authors and wanted to keep it short and sweet.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A slim tome of feminist inquiry and beauty.

[Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second time I’ve read this book and I’ve gifted it to a few friends.

I think everyone should read this.

I love the framing of the world as feminine and masculine and the way the author shines a light on how a more feminine way of doing business would make for a better world for everyone.

[Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief and beautifully designed book of ideology that gives the reader a new way to look at and consider how work and economy can be built around feminine principles and qualities in order to be healthier and more humane. More of a fire-starting book than a plan, but thought-provoking nonetheless.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea of the feminine economy and feminine-ism changed my life. I can see outside the box and see all our potential to grow. I can't wait!

[Emily Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable but not substantial.

[Rebekah Bastian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, actionable, impactful book. I absolutely loved it!

[Hannah Silver · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's another way! I love that this book came with satisfyingly crisp bookmarks and a 12 Principles of the Feminist Economy reference card, too, which I am keeping at my desk.

[J.A. Mendez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This bok is absolutely awesome.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and motivating manifesto with beautiful design, but not “book substance.” Will be cute on my work shelf!

[Jingjing · Rating 2 out of 5]

it feels like there is no call to action, and no specifics of what we can do as individuals to create a feminine economy

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read thru this in one sitting while getting my hair done

[Beth Innis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. As a cue female bi business owner who struggles with capitalism in a service based field, it was a real balm. ❤️

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool, short, little book full of interesting ideas. I liked the "12 Principles for Prototyping A Feminist Business", my two favorites were "You have a body" and "Consider everything an experiment".

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grounding

[Steph Stern · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short and inspiring treatise, creatively put together!