Should we be rooting for Janet Yellen as a pop icon?
Making public servants, like Janet Yellen, accessible and relatable through pop culture is a powerful agent of change. Our storytelling must evolve, however, to account for nuance and complexity.
Some of us know her as the most prepared woman in Washington. Others know her for her heroic efforts as president of the San Francisco Fed and then as Fed Chair, where she — like an Avenger with impeccable forecasting skills — played a key role in saving the American economy from the aftermath of the 2008–2009 financial crisis. You might also recognize her from the Federal Reserve’s thoroughly entertaining #PopYourCollar Campaign.
Janet Yellen is now the first woman to serve as US Treasury Secretary, a “glass ceiling” that was broken 232 years Alexander Hamilton became the first person appointed to the position. Meanwhile, Hip-hop star Dessa wasted no time in releasing a rap song to let us know who exactly is “Yellen now.”
But as someone with one of the most powerful jobs in this country, is Janet Yellen’s rise to pop-culture stardom something we should celebrate? Is the “iconification” of influential figures — such as activists, government officials, and academics — an agent of change or a hinderance to accountability?
I pondered this question as I marveled at a press conference where President Biden praised Janet Yellen’s wealth of accomplishments. He then, somewhat jokingly, encouraged Lin-Manuel Miranda to write a sequel to the musical “Hamilton” about her.
As I watched, my first thought was, “Well, Justice Ginsberg was 5’1, Janet Yellen is 5’3, and I’m 5’2. There’s hope for me yet!” I then thought about the time I was passed on for a job because I didn’t have enough “gravitas.” You can then imagine my delight watching this extremely capable 5’3 woman with a popped collar and a white bob persevere despite also facing this mystical gravitas barrier.
Beyond inspiring young professionals like me, to Americans who are not familiar with names like Hank Paulson and Tim Geithner, Janet Yellen, the burgeoning pop icon, makes a highly impactful — but otherwise obscure — government position accessible and relatable.
Representation and increased civic engagement across a broader audience are phenomenal arguments for why Secretary Yellen’s stardom should be celebrated. There is, however, another side to that coin in the form of loss of accountability and public scrutiny. Washington Post columnist, Alyssa Rosenberg, eloquently addresses this in her analysis of the “cult of RBG.” Rosenberg argues that “hero worship” of Justice Ginsberg resulted in the public overlooking important but albeit less desirable aspects of her legacy. In pop culture we rarely address that Justice Ginsberg hired only one black clerk in 30 years or that she dismissed Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protests as “dumb.” This aspect of her legacy was admittedly not on my radar when, shortly after her passing, I posted a picture of her on Instagram with a heartfelt note about women empowerment.
Similarly, as I became obsessed with the soundtrack to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton,” I hadn’t considered that Alexander Hamilton was not a staunch abolitionist as the play makes him out to be. Research shows that he did in fact own slaves and was not exactly a “man of the people.” These are some of the many historical incongruencies on display in the record-breaking musical.
The pop icon phenomenon has often stripped public servants of their negative qualities and created Disney-like heroes out of complex individuals. Can we then conclude from these examples that Janet Yellen as a pop icon should be condemned because it will only lead to unintended consequences where the public overlooks accountability for the sake of her appointment being a symbol of access and inclusivity?
Not exactly. If Justice Ginsberg had been a lesser-known judge like Stephen Breyer, for example, that would not have resulted in Justice Ginsberg hiring more people of color. It is true that we cannot bury her less than stellar actions in an Instagram post or an “I dissent” tote. But the access that these pop icons create allows the public to get closer to understanding and engaging on issues that impact their everyday lives. The public cannot hold accountable someone they have no exposure to and whose position they know nothing about.
So where does that leave us?
It leaves us with an opportunity for innovation and honesty. An opportunity for storytellers like journalists, writers, and mainstream media contributors to innovate their tactics to allow for the version of the Notorious RBG that paved the way for women’s rights as well as the one that refused to resign earlier, obstructing President Obama from naming a nominee for her seat, resulting in repercussions that will span a generation. Both versions are facets of our beloved hero.
Along these same lines, Janet Yellen may not turn out to be the perfect icon — but we should have never expected her to be perfect in the first place. Yes, I do hope that she becomes the icon that little girls everywhere aspire to and that her rise to pop culture stardom allows more Americans to connect with her. I also hope she’s able to inspire more women like me to just go for it, with or without perceived gravitas. But this time I hope the rap songs tell the full story, imperfections and all.