Research

Research: Feminism in Contemporary Music

The scene of Pop and RnB music has been filled with talented female artists, and it is a truth that the majority of them were acknowledged for their youthful looks and passivity towards males. This can be observed in various media texts, but especially in music videos where they construct their image and usually emphasize, amplify the meaning of their songs.




 Britney Spears, 'Hit me baby one more time'

 

Britney Spears 'Hit me baby one more time' is an example of this. As she grew into a woman, she begun to sing songs which do enpower women in a way, but let's start from the very beginning. The lyrics to her single 'Hit me baby one more time' convey nothing but female passivity and submission towards males. The lyrics reflect on the subject of relationships and break ups; and it is implied that a woman can not be independent, she needs a boyfriend in order to be happy. The video to this song does not only convey the lyrics but it also portrays another message; the viewer is encouraged to believe that education is not important, as the video begins with the artist Britney Spears sitting in a class, not doing any work as she daydreams away about her boyfriend. So the overall message in this is utterly negative, it weakens women as it puts them in a position of submission. It simply connotes that it is essential for a young girl to have a boyfriend, but it is not important for her to focus on her education.

'My loneliness is killing me(...)When I'm not with you I lose my mind'

'Oh baby baby the reason I breath is you'

Taylor Swift, 'White Horse'

Another female artist whose work is similar to Britney Spears, is Taylor Swift. Her songs consists of the same themes; such as love and relationships. Swift doesn't seem to bring something new and different to her audience. The majority of her works are utterly conventional and stereotypical. Her songs convey female passivity, she always seems to put herself in the role of the weak victim in her songs, who is always suffering and is treated badly.




Fortunately, the music scenario seems to be evolving as new female artists are blossoming and showing the talented, strong and powerful women that they are, consequently enpowering other women through their songs.
P!nk has been one of the most successful female artists in the music industry since 2001, though she does sing love songs that are considered stereotypical, the majority of her songs are 'feel good songs', they convey a positive message and more importantly they enpower and strenghten women. Pink does bring original music to her audience, she has shown she does not only own powerful vocals, but also the ability to stand out from the crowd and create art that truly makes the difference. 'U + Ur hand' conveys the opposite of Spears 'Hit me baby one more time', in fact it conveys that women are not men's sex objects, it also implies that women do not need men to be happy.

"Wanna dance by myself, guess you're outta luck
Don't touch, back up, I'm not the one, uh buh-bye!

Listen up it's just not happenin'
You can say what you want to your boyfriends
Just let me have my fun tonight, alright?

I'm not here for your entertainment
You don't really want to mess with me tonight
Just stop and take a second
I was fine before you walked into my life

Cause you know it's over
Before it began (...)"

 

Pink has released an endless amount of songs with strong meanings behind. Her song 'So what?' which reflects on her divorce, is one example of how she approaches the theme of break ups differently than most females in pop music. Unlike the stereotypical break up songs, 'So What' is an up beat track which also comes along with optimistic and enpowering lyrics, the visuals of its music video only emphasize this as it's humorous from beginning until the end.

Find below the link to Pink's music video 'So What'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XKZh3vWeGc



Feminism Icon Poster

Picture taken from her music video 'Raise your glass',
which highlights the fact that Pink has feminist perspectives in her music.

It can also be argued that Kesha is also a feminist icon. If not all of her songs, the majority of them do bring a sense of equality towards men, as she adressess them in a way that is stereotypical and socially acceptable for male artists to adress females, usually in HipHop and RnB songs. She makes the difference as she is one of the few female artists who constantly portrays men as her sex objects in her songs, as well as depicting herself as a independent and strong woman, who is free sexually to do what she wants, without caring how society may see and judge her simply because she is a female, it is clear in her work that Kesha's aim is for sexual liberation just like other feminists.

The lyrics to the song 'Blah Blah Blah' are a good example, the song is both humorous and quite explicit as she basically conveys that she wants the boy to stop talking as all she wants from him is sex. Is quite comical as it challenges stereotypes, it is seen as normal for pop male singers to make these kind of statements, whereas is not seen as normal or acceptable for a woman to say such things; Kesha is gradually breaking that notion of females being less sexual than men in her songs and strengthening women.

In her song 'Tik Tok' she says the following: 'And Now, the dudes are lining up cause they hear we got swagger' This verse is one of the key ones in this song. It is interesting as she made use of the word 'Swagger' which is associated with confidence, with personality, instead of looks or their sex appeal, which would be the stereotypical words used in pop culture, specially when referring to females. Therefore, Kesha has feminist perspectives in her music.