Meghan Markle slammed by academics for dropping feminism after marrying Prince Harry
BEFORE her wedding to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle was seen as an outspoken feminist who would shake up the Royal family.
But now top academics are accusing her of letting the feminist cause down by betraying by letting herself undergo a “conservative, upper-class makeover” and becoming a submissive royal woman.
A paper published in the journal Celebrity Studies claims Meghan has been “silenced” by the Palace
The Duchess of Sussex was outspoken about women’s rights before she met Harry, once saying: “Women make up more than half of the world’s population . . . it is neither just nor practical for our voices to go unheard at the highest levels of decision-making.”
The report’s authors, Laura Clancy and Hannah Yelin, claim that she has toned down her political views since the wedding to Harry in May.
They say: “Markle’s activist voice has been either silenced or appropriated by the monarchy: she has quit her acting career, closed down her popular blog and social media accounts for all her online activity to be ciphered through Kensington Palace.
“Meanwhile, Markle is said to be receiving ‘duchess lessons’ from the Queen’s advisers, to be brought up to speed with protocol and expectations of life with the monarchy.”
This, they say, means she will no longer be a campaigner for women’s rights.
The report said: “While the monarchy appears to be celebrating her diversity and modernising influence, then, this is only permitted within prescribed boundaries.”
Clancy, a sociology lecturer at Lancaster University, where she studies “elites and aristocratic forms of power”, and Yelin, who researches “celebrity and gender issues” at Oxford Brookes University, say Meghan’s royal makeover undermines her feminist credentials.
They add: “A celebrity (post) feminist such as Markle is of great value to a British monarchy keen to . . . mask, or at least deflect attention from, their own intensely problematic relationship with issues of race, gender, class and religion.
“What is at stake here is much more than the representations of one woman and the meanings contained therein; it is the meaning of feminism itself.”
However, Meghan HAS spoken out about women’s rights since the wedding, most recently in October in New Zealand.
At a ceremony marking the 125th anniversary of women getting the vote, she said: “Women’s suffrage is not simply about the right to vote for women but . . . to be able to participate in the choices for their future and their community.”
Kensington Palace declined to comment on the report.
But, while she is no longer able to voice her opinion on social media, Meghan is expected to nail her feminist colours to the mast when she announces her royal patronages next year.
It is thought she will single out charities and organisations which relate to female empowerment.
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In other ways, Meghan is certainly getting her voice heard - as far as husband Harry is concerned.
It has emerged that Prince Harry will miss the traditional boxing day pheasant shoot at Sandringham as Meghan is vehemently anti-hunting.
The couples also snubbed a Christmas invitation from William and Kate, meaning they will celebrate alone at Anmer Hall.