Pop music takes on many forms. I guess at the moment there are a lot of girls who feel the need to wear tiny outfits and sing about boys, and while I wish that wasn't so encouraged out there in pop-music-land, it seems to be widely accepted, encouraged even.
It saddens me as a feminist and as a songwriter that this approach flourishes, but I'm not sure it's really a 'new' thing. "Sex sells!" has always been a slogan, it would be nice to think that we've come a bit further in this day and age where it would be necessary to objectify women, or for women to allow themselves to be objectified, but it appears to be a journey we are still on.
I do feel like there is an increasing number of female artists out there that are not relying on their toned abs to get them into the charts. Missy Elliot is having a bit of a resurgence since her Super Bowl appearance with Katy Perry and while she looks great, she's not 20 and she doesn't parade around in hot pants. In fact, 'Get Ur Freak On' is the anthem for the 'This Girl Can' ad set up by Sport England featuring women doing exercise, sweating, making ugly faces while they run/jump/swim, showing the wobbly bits, and I think it's great!
Beth Ditto challenged the norm with her naked NME cover, and she's no size zero. Adele is one of the most famous pop stars in the world and she keeps it classy with modest black frocks and flicky eyeliner. Lorde is a wispy young thing, but chooses to wear loose-fitting, long skirts and draped blouses, not short, figure-hugging stuff.
A lot of my favourite females in music are women who rock their own style their own way, like Cate LeBon, Courtney Barnett, MIA, Karen O and the older ladies who paved the way, Kim Deal, PJ Harvey, Bjork, Patti Smith, Laurie Anderson, Wanda Jackson, Yoko Ono, Kim Gordon, Kate Bush, Grace Jones. I mean, that's an inspiring bunch of women there, all of whom are out there doing credible stuff and expressing themselves in a way that's sincere and individual. I guess what's disappointing is that these amazing women do feel a bit like the exception, rather than the rule.
Don't get me wrong, I love Katy Perry if I'm in a bubblegum pop mood, but I don't like to hear 12 year old girls singing along to 'Last Friday Night' or aspire to wearing a cupcake bra when they are old enough. Then there is the question... is that Katy Perry's responsibility?
I mean, on the one hand she's a role model because she's a pop star, but on the other hand she didn't sign up to be the Pied Piper. So all the kids want to follow her, maybe that's not her fault. But once in that position it would be great if pop stars were mindful of the young people they are affecting, because that essentially affects our future and the future of feminism.
Miley Cyrus, on the one hand, it's her right as a young woman to portray herself the way she chooses to portray herself, on the other hand is she leading a bunch of ex-Hannah Montana fans down a path where they think sexual exploitation is okay? A bit of rebellion is normal, but how much is too much?
I guess as a liberal, I am hesitant to say: "no don't do that", because if it feels good and doesn't hurt anyone, who am I to say no? Does wearing a see through t-shirt and singing about a boy make you a bad person? No! Does it set feminism back a bit? Perhaps.