Functions of Femininity

© Matthew Harbinson 2010

A brief exAminAtion into

the roles of gender in populAr

music

In recent times, postmodernists and cultural relativists have attempted to create an ideology which reinvents gender as a nothing more than a cultural construction.

However as media students, we state that reinvention is best left to Madonna…

With this in mind, we shall begin.

Fifteen (2008)

Taylor Swift

When you’re 15 and someone tells you

they love you, you’re gonna believe them.

But in your life you’ll do things greater than dating

the boy on the football team. You might even

find who you’re supposed to be.

I didn’t know that at 15.

Femininity as Experience

Throughout much of her first two albums, Taylor Swift details her experience as an ‘everygirl’ growing up in America.

In her reflective song, Fifteen (2008), she addresses femininity in two ways:

Swift notes upon reflection of her middle school experience and recounts the importance of symbols and social phenomenon (‘cars’ and ‘boys on the football team’) to her being depicted and recognised as female.

She looks back critically, expressing a sentiment that she sees her desire for stereotypical femininity as naïve and irresponsible.

By the end of the song the audience has been told the story of Swift’s experiential journey from her desire to appear feminine,

to her actually achieving a ‘true’ femininity in realising, embracing and expressing her unique identity.

I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman (2001)

Britney Spears

I'm not a girl.I'm not a girl don't

tell me what to believe.

Not yet a woman.I'm just trying to

find the woman in me.

All I need is time. A moment that is mine, while I'm in

between.

Femininity as Entertainment

Across mainstream music we observe the actual ity of

hegemonic femininity being used in and for entertainment.

Beautiful (2001)

Christina Aguilera

Don’t look at me…

Now and then, I get insecure, from all the pain. I’m so ashamed.

I am beautiful, no matter what they say. Words can't bring me down.

I am beautiful in every single way. Yes, words can't bring me down.

So don't you bring me down today.

Femininity as EmpowermentIn Aguilera’s song, Beautiful, she begins by whispering ‘Don’t look at me’ and proceeds to say that she feels

‘insecure…so ashamed’.

This cuts to the heart of self-awareness as the audience learns that it’s the comments of others that has given her this

Hurt.

However, she addresses this pain by belting out an anthem, expressing that which can empower her and all those who

hear her song.

“I am beautiful, no matter what they say…in every single way…Words can’t bring me down, so don’t you bring me

down today.”

The last line even serves as a warning to those (presumably men) who’ve made her feel worthless in the past. Similarly, the bridge further empowers the listener to rediscover their

own worth in every situation.

Independent Woman (2000) Destiny’s Child

The shoes on my feet.

I've bought it.The clothes I'm

wearingI've bought it...

The house I live in.I've bought it.

The car I'm driving.I've bought it.

Coz’ I depend on me, If I want it.

All the women who are independent.

Throw your hands up at me.

Femininity as Expression

In a similar vein to Beautiful, the focus of Independent Woman is to recognise and refute the perceptions of women as weak and reliant on men. The chief lyric being “Coz’ I depend on me, If I want it.”

As the title suggests, the singers want to express themselves as independent, powerful and capable.

Further from this, Destiny’s Child encourage this self-reliance amongst their audience by asking them to participate in the song, insodoing, making independence a virtue.

Madonna Whore (1999)

Cyndi Lauper

Every woman’s a Madonna; Every woman’s a Madonna; every woman’s a whore.every woman’s a whore.

You can try to reduce me, You can try to reduce me, but I’m so much more.but I’m so much more.

I don’ t want to be your I don’ t want to be your mother, won’ t be shoved in a mother, won’ t be shoved in a

drawer.drawer.

Every woman’s a Madonna; Every woman’s a Madonna; every woman’s a whore.every woman’s a whore.

Femininity as EducationOne of the Freudian concepts drawn on in music is the Madonna-Whore Complex

(Freud 1957, pp. 161-167) which sees men desiring for a promiscuous woman rather than a romantic partner.

Lauper draws on this, telling the listener that every woman both desires and can provide both the Madonna; a loving relationship and the Whore; a want for sexual fulfillment.

The lyrics work to educate men that women cannot be reduced towards either extreme, the song also acts as an anthem of empowerment regarding the sexual liberation of women in that era.

© Bernard, Marie Lynn 2010

Express Yourself (1988)

Madonna

You don't ne ed d iamond r ings ,Or e ighteen karat go ld .

Fancy cars that go ve ry fas t ,You know they never la st .

What you need i s a b ig s t rong hand ,

T o l i f t you t o your h igher ground .

Make you fee l l ik e a queen on a throne ,

Make h im lo ve you ‘ t i l l you can't come down .

Don't go fo r s econd bes t , baby .Put your l ove to the t est .

Y ou know, you know, you've go t to .

Make h im expre ss how he fee l sAnd maybe then you' l l know

your l o ve i s r ea l .

Femininity as ExpectationMadonna used, Express Yourself, to prove to the world that she wasn’t a pop celebrity who was going to sing about unfaltering love like Stand by Your Man.

Her love would only be ‘real’ once she knew that her partner’s commitment was to her alone.

Her femininity came through an expectation that she would be man’s equal.

Her songs engaged with her audience in speaking to them directly about what they should expect as women.

Glee: The Power of Madonna (2010)

“Cultural ly, Madonna’s legacy

transcends her music because by

and large the subtext of her

songs are about being strong,

independent and confident no

matter what your sex.

But more than anything,

Madonna’s musical message

is about equal ity…”

“As Madonna once said, ‘I'm tough, I'm ambitious and if that makes me a bitch,

that's what I am’.Madonna, is the most powerful woman

ever to walk the Earth.”

Functions of Femininity

ExperienceEntertainment

EmpowermentEmpowerment

Expression Education

Expectation