The past decade has seen a boom in ‘confidence culture’. But behind all the positive thinking, are more cynical forces are at work?
elieve in yourself. Be empowered. Show up. Love your body. Stand tall. How many times have you seen statements like these on social media? Or used to advertise products? All point towards confidence: a particular c-word that the modern woman cannot get away from.
Sociology professors Rosalind Gill and Shani Orgad think the latter. In 2015, the two friends began making what they called a “confidence basket”. They tore pages from magazines and newspapers, piled up self-help books and had a digital folder of music, social media content, apps and advertising images. All contained a repeated message being broadcast to women: the answer to all your problems is to be more confident.
“Confidence is inter-subjective,” says Gill, meaning that it comes alive when other people reflect how we feel. It is also context-specific. I have confidence in my ability to communicate and cook, for example, but less in my ability to drive. For someone else, it may be the opposite. Mantras like “lack of confidence is holding you back” are seductive, but ignore the variability of human experience.
Psychologists Suzanne Imes and Pauline Rose Clance developed the idea in 1978, then called “impostor phenomenon”, with a study on self-doubt in high-achieving women. “Despite outstanding academic and professional accomplishments, women who experience the impostor phenomenon persist in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise,” they wrote.
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