Why People Are So Upset About Wall Street's 'Fearless Girl'

The “Fearless Girl” statue, a bronze sculpture of a young girl with her hands on her hips, standing defiantly in front of Wall Street’s Charging Bull has certainly made an impression. Placed to celebrate International Women’s Day, some proclaimed the installment an “instant icon,” and an online online petition to make the statue permanent gained over 40,000 signatures. In recent weeks, however, the sculpture has garnered a different type of response.

Some have derided the statute as “fake corporate feminism,” suggesting that the statue is less about promoting gender equity than it is a publicity stunt. They see the installment as a successful marketing coup masquerading as a message of female empowerment, or Wall Street pinkwashing. Others lament the use of a young girl’s image to represent the ambitions and goals of grown women.