feminism in 2010

I’d like to talk about something a little different this week. I’ve always known lipmag is a feminist publication by nature, or at least rooted in the idea, yet somehow my pieces don’t relate to that. I find it strange, because after two years of intense internal debate and a thesis that essentially proved this to me once and for all, I know that I am indeed a feminist.

I don’t have to sit here and explain to you all that “feminist” does not mean Birkenstock-wearing, non-shaving man-hater (although the idea certainly includes her too) – if you’re reading this website regularly, you’ve probably put some thought into modern ideas of gender roles and expectations and/or openly consider yourself a feminist.

In thinking about this year on the whole, I realized that I’ve noticed something peculiar with feminism and pop music. There has been a recent wave of young pop stars, primarily Rihanna and Lady Gaga, that are (unconsciously or consciously) promoting a new type of warped feminism whose attempts to make reverse gender roles by promoting a females dominant image only greater exposes the dependence on male acceptance.

In Rihanna’s case, her image is revolves around seeking revenge for being scorned by a past lover (we all know what happened with Chris Brown back in early 2009). Her late 2009 release Rated R contained a strange mix of paradoxical man-hating anthems like “Hard” and “Wait Your Turn” in between deeply sorrowful ballads like “Russian Roulette” and female oriented pop songs like I’ll-allow-YOU-to-give-me-an-orgasm “Rude Boy”. The fact that her album contained songs to match her stages of anger, grief and acceptance gives her a depth that I think few other pop stars have.

However, she essentially appealed to men the whole time, right?

In all these different attitudes, Rihanna still primarily focuses on appealing to men, singing about men and acting because of men. While she definitely carved her own identity through the process, her actions were almost entirely motivated by, governed by and judged by men. Don’t get me wrong – I like Rated R as much as the next person and actually think Rihanna has a great voice. I just can’t help but notice that her image is so contradictory and dependent upon males that it is the exact opposite of feminist. She may think she’s changing gender roles by imitating the hardness of a conventional male, but it’s exactly that: an imitation. That image plays into another male-centered arena and/or audience.

The world paid attention to her, though, because she put her pain on display. Her most recent studio efforts have garnered plenty of media attention and three Grammy nominations.  2010’s “Love the Way You Lie” collaboration with Eminem has earned two Grammy nominations and “What’s My Name” with Drake continues to earn a top spot on the charts. While she has grown, these two songs continue in this same strange feminist vein. “Love the Way You Lie” is a hell of a song about domestic violence and volatile relationships, and she sings the tragic hook while Eminem blasts through powerful metaphor after heart-wrenching scenario. The song’s catchiness is totally Rihanna, but it’s totally secondary to Eminem’s intense lyrics and trademark delivery. You can picture some record executive thinking “Well, we need to soften this song. Why not get that girl who was just beat up for a few sing-song lines to reach to a different target demo?”

The hardness is visually gone on Rihanna’s most recent album Loud. Her hair might be bright red, but gone is the heavy black makeup and leather from Rated R. When you go to her website now, it’s all pink. Lead single “What’s My Name” features Drake rapping about sex and Rihanna complimenting him in every way possible. The song is the same brand of pop that makes Rihanna loveable, but all the pain and consequent vocal talent she’d been circling around with Rated R and even “Love the Way You Lie” is gone. She’s back to the “Pon de Replay” era, singing about boys on a drum-machine looped beat in a song that somehow reminds me of shopping. I think what makes me so mad is that although she’s clearly been through so much and had shades of really changing artistically, she’s never left the sex object image.

The other thing that got me thinking about this strange paradoxical brand of 2010 feminism is my perpetual love of Lady Gaga. Gaga has been a political figure in her short two-year catapult to fame. She frequently stands up for gay rights, constantly praises her fans for being so open and loving, etc. She claimed that the infamous red meat dress was somehow an oblique reference to the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell act, while the general public took it as a claim that she’s more than a piece of meat. I’d say that yes, I would have to agree that she is viewed as something more than a piece of meat. She isn’t even close to the same kind of sex object that Rihanna is. Most people I know think she’s either super talented or super weird (or both), and maybe bring up her butt, but nobody admits that she’s number 1 on their list. Gaga distorts her appearance in her videos:  nudity and sex in “Bad Romance” are more disturbing than sexual, the lesbian undertones in “Telephone” are visually conveyed through costume and “Alejandro” is borderline fetishistic.

Gaga has been focused on showcasing the underbelly of our culture’s obsession with sex and conventional gender roles, which has been truly ugly and hard to digest at times. I’d say that Gaga achieves something closer to feminism because of these principles, but I still think she’s a victim of the “male gaze”. Perhaps it’s judgmental of me, but I can’t help thinking that it seems like her record label decided she was ugly but talented enough to keep around, so they totally transformed her sound and image to appeal to gay men, thinking it was the one demographic that would definitely accept her (side note – why so many record executive thoughts?). Only after had she established a solid following did they allow her to explore her rock roots. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with this shift in her sound or how permanent it’s going to be, but if you watch that video, you can see that THIS is the music she’s passionate about.

So where is an example of the right kind of mainstream feminist pop songstress? I don’t know and I’m not sure she exists yet. While there has been some small victories and we seem like we’re almost there, the sad reality is that pop (American) culture is too conservative to truly accept gender equality, even in 2010.

(Image credits: 1.)