Feminism
is ‘the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes’, (modern
feminism. 2008-2010) and is also defined as an organizational activity in womens
rights and interests. This is a subject which links issues of all human rights,
it is a human right to be treated with equality, the image aside could be seen
to liken the fight for gender equality to the fight for racial equality or it
could be seen that the most important kind of equality is gender equality.
Before feminism became a well known topic Marylin Monroe was one of the
first women in show-business to be outspoken about her views and rights as a
woman. In doing this she influenced women and is still influencing and empowering women to this day. She is,
even now, considered the image of womanhood, her image has continued to be used
by the media even after her death in 1962, because of this and her feminist
views she is still one of the worlds most respected and influential female
icons. Her views at the time were
forward thinking, statements such as ‘I don’t mind living in a man’s world, as
long as I can be a woman in it.’ and ‘Women who seek to be equal with men lack
ambition,’ show her feminist views, in speaking out at the time she paved the
way for other women in the public eye to openly share their feminist views.
Nowadays,
feminism is less of a taboo, it has become more visible, in the media and in
popular culture. Artists such as Beyoncé , who was
in an all female group called “Destiny’s child’ publicly share feminist views through music. The group was hugely empowering to women,
through their lyrics and their behaviors the group crafted a very clear
message that women need to think independently, make their own money, and
provide for themselves without any assistance from men. ‘Independent Women’ ‘Survivor’
‘Bills’ and ‘Nasty Girl’ are just some of the many songs they released creating
a strong image for women. ‘Destiny’s child’ released songs that focus solely on
the need for women to be independent and the sense of achievement women should
feel in living and thinking this way. In doing this they were leading women to
think and be independent with the ultimate goal of creating strength
within oneself.
This attitude was pushed forward further by Beyoncé when she started
her solo career and decided to stop her dad, a dominant male figure in her life,
from being her manager so she could manage herself. Her main reasoning for doing this, which is
expressed in her documentary ‘Life is but a dream’, is the need for women to be
independent, and to prove the power women can achieve in this society, almost
overtaking man as the dominant force in ones own life. Whilst watching the documentary ‘Life is but a dream’,
I realized Beyonce holds feminist views, that women need women and that they
have to work harder then men in many respects to achieve and maintain the same
levels of success. A woman must be ‘strong enough to bear the children then get
back to business’. This line from her song “Run the world (Girls)” is one example
of her feminist views. As Beyoncé voices
over her song ‘Girls’ in her documentary, she makes a statement, which for me completely
changed my views on feminism. She states, ‘It really pisses me off that women
don’t get the same opportunity’s as men do or money for that matter, because
lets face it, money gives men the power to run the show, it gives men the power
to define our values and to define what’s sexy and what’s feminine and that’s
bullshit at the end of the day its not about equal rights its about how we
think .We have to reshape our own perception on how we view ourselves,’ showing
that feminism isn't only a fight for equality but a means for women to change
the way they think, in order to be as powerful as men.
In
the music video she is the only female surrounded by several powerful looking
men. I believe this indicates that males dominate the music industry and put
pressure on female performers, the information shown through slides in the
video tell us of suppression behind the
scenes and alludes to the fact that Emeli
Sande may have felt suppressed by males in the music industry, as was Beyoncé.
The
girl group TLC were an influential girl group of the 90’s. Their first major hit, “Waterfalls” was a number one in several
countries, making millions, however the girls never saw this money. Their manager Perri Reid ‘Pebbles’ took
advantage of the young girls naivety, although he managed to orchestrate fame
for the group worldwide, he also managed to run them into bankruptcy, Perri was
also managing Toni Braxton when she filed for bankruptcy. It could be argued
that he exploited these women and their inexperience. These artists and their songs had heavy feminist
undertones, in a way it was ironic that they were still being exploited
in an anti-feminist way. After TLC went through bankruptcy their return to
music saw a change in the nature of their songs, their new music was more about
having their voice heard and being respected as women. Songs such as ‘No
scrubs’ and ‘Unpretty’ are both about not being what man/society wants you to
be but to only take on board your own thoughts as a woman and to listen to your
inner voice,’Every
time I think I'm through, it's because of you, I've tried different ways but
it's all the same, at the end of the day I have myself to blame I'm just
trippin' as shown in these lyrics from TLC’s song ‘Unpretty’.
I have noticed that women
within the music industry are pushing more then ever to get their voices heard
and have almost created a movement in order to achieve that change, what about
men in the music industry? Feminism isn't just a movement which is followed by
women and about a change being engineered by women. There have been male
artists who have made music which alludes to feminism, as early as 1966 James
Brown sang
the song ‘It’s a man’s world’ lyrics such as ‘This is a man’s world but it wouldn't be nothing without a women or a girl’ show the importance of women in
society. I
was intrigued by the influence of women on males in the industry, the song
‘Keep ya head up’ by Tupac is predominantly about respect for women and men
needing to change the way they view and treat women. ‘And since we all came from a woman. Got
our name from a woman and our game from a woman. I wonder why we take from our women.
Why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think it's time to kill for our
women. Time to heal our women, be real to our women … He has no right to tell a
woman when and where to create one. So will the real men get up. I know you're
fed up ladies, but keep your head up.’ Tupac grew up with only a female role
model at home. This led him to hold quite feminist views, to believe women were
strong and men needed to stand by the strength of their women instead of
dominating them. The media portrayed Tupac as a womanizer and, although he was
cleared of all charges, he was accused of sexual abuse on women and the media
still portrayed him to be a character with little or no respect for women. The
feminist messages in his music were almost overridden by the media forcing a
perception of him on the public. However, Tupac did release several songs that
focused on the views and struggles of women, bringing feminism to a whole new
audience with his willingness to discuss these issues, in order to support the
females not only in his life but everywhere, to me he was a male musical
pioneer of feminism.
It
is not just through the medium of music which feminist views are explored. Wolfgang
Klaus Friedrich is an artist, a male feminist and the first male to exhibit his
work in the women’s museum in Bonn. His work is considered by the art community
and other men to be controversial, the feminist messages displayed through his
work are strong. He openly admits, "I love
women, and I'm a determined feminist, but I'm a man … I would like all rights
to be shared 50/50. " an artist speaking out in such a way, especially a
male, regarding feminism, in such a
traditional field, is truly ground-breaking.
Freewebs. (2008-2010). Modern feminism: an evaluation. Available: www.freewebs.com/feminism-evaluated
Marylin Monroe. (2006). My Story. Available: http://www.marilynmonroe.ca/camera/books/63.html. Last accessed 24th April 2013.
Marylin Monroe. (2011). Quotes. Available: http://marilynmonroe.com/category/quotes/. Last accessed 24th April 2013.
Beyoncé Knowles (2013). Life is but a dream. America: Parkwood Entertainment. 38 minutes into the documentary.
Female First. (2012). Emeli Sande - Clown. Available: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/popmusic/single/Emeli+Sande-270413.html. Last accessed 23rd April 2013.
TLC. (1999). Unpretty. Available: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/tlc/unpretty.html. Last accessed 24th April 2013.
Tupac. (2006). Keep ya head up. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP02bz7n1Us. Last accessed 24th April 2013.
Vytene Stasaityte. (2013). Feminist male artist shakes up gender norms. Available: http://www.dw.de/feminist-male-artist-shakes-up-gender-norms/a-16506066. Last accessed 24th April 2013.
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