Women and money: consumerism, masquerade or seduction?

Since Aristotlethat women are regarded as responsible for their home finances. Consequently, they are accused of consumerism and of spending on fashion and cosmetics to look beautiful and feminine. Our purpose in this paper is to analyse the use of money as a means of feminine seduction. Joan Rivière, in "Womanliness as Masquerade",declared that women put on a mask of womanliness to avert the retribution feared from men and Irena Krzywicka thought they needed to abandon "the masquerade" they used to highlight their feminine side for the benefit of men. Later, Lacan also considers that women hide lack and adorn their bodies to attract male gaze andLuce Irigaray declares their needs are dictated by men’s desire. Judith Butler points out the extent to which the masquerade is indicative of "a coercive heterocentric matrix". Baudrillard in Seduction spoke of power as a form of seduction and of the figure of desire that does not belong to the masters but is produced by the oppressed. Hence in the end we conclude that women need tolearn new ways of living, or rather to unlearn the roles traditionally subscribed to womanhood, and to become part of society through rational acquisition of skills and responsibilities.