The pursuit of gender equality has permeated social media marketing, manifesting in contrasting approaches like fem-vertising (i.e. ads promoting gender equality) and fem-washing (i.e. ads pretending support for feminism). Despite their growing prevalence, these concepts remain understudied. This research operationalizes both constructs within a between-subject experimental survey with young social media users (N = 298, 16–26 year olds) to examine: (1) if fem-washing is accurately identified, and (2) its impact on brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Findings demonstrate that fem-vertising enhances positive attitudes toward the brand, while fem-washing diminishes measured feminism principles knowledge, failing to lead to less perceptions of the company's feminist orientation. These results lay the groundwork for future investigations to deepen understanding of fem-vertising, fem-washing, their interaction, and their combined effects on consumers.