Amelia Horgan is the author of Lost in Work (Pluto Press, 2021). She is a PhD candidate in philosophy at the University of Essex.
At the center of the “dark academia” aesthetic is the fantasy of uninterrupted personal time and deep scholarly concentration in an elite campus setting. It couldn’t differ more from the reality of the hyper-capitalist modern university.
The inclusion of more women at the top of oppressive power structures shouldn’t be confused with women’s liberation. We need a radical, socialist feminism, not a repackaged version of Sheryl Sandberg’s corporate-friendly “lean-in” brand.
The Wing, London’s new private members’ club founded by a former Hillary Clinton aide, is just more of capitalism covering itself in the veneer of women’s empowerment.