Tim J here.
I like to tune in to MTV occasionally, just to keep an eye on what’s current, you know… ordinarily, its pretty desolate. Not much in the way of creativity or beauty or even talent.
– Begin Aside… I don’t see how viewers are supposed to tell one Hip-Hop video/song from another. They all have the same theme; I am better than you because I drink "X", I drive a "Y" and I have a bigger ammo clip to go in my "Z". I also have more bling, more (ahem) etc. than you.
They all have the same fly girls. The posse straight out of central casting.
Okay, does this remind anyone of Disco? Wasn’t there a big disco backlash because (almost) everyone got tired of the shallowness, the gold chains, the slimy sexuality? Granted, what we got in its place was Hair Metal, but at least there was a healthy disillusionment with the overblown worldliness of the whole disco scene. Remember "Disco Sucks" shirts? Anyone remember the Insane Coho Lips? I think another backlash is overdue. Hip Hop sucks. – Aside Over.
Once in a while, though, I run across something of interest. I saw a video the other day by Pink that actually gave me some genuine belly laughs. It’s called "Stupid Girl" and is a send-up of the ditzy, over-sexualized, pampered, shallow, anorexic female stereotypes that so pervasively confront our kids in the media. I generally like well-done parodies, and I really enjoyed this one.
But, Pink is only half right. It appears she has bought in to the brand of radical feminism that says the best way to find your true womanhood is to think, talk and act like a man. So, rather than presenting a sane alternative to the Bratz doll image of femininity, Pink seems to think that girls should… play more football? Wear Vans? What if you’re not into that, either? What if you just want to be a normal girl?
As much as Hair Metal and Punk were a reaction against Disco, the Thong Generation is a reaction against Radical Feminism. Gender will out, no matter what Patricia Ireland says. All the tiny tees, clingy skirts, frilly undies and makeup are a misguided but natural response to the attempted forcible negation of true womanhood in the culture. I would wager that most girls really don’t mind being girls.
For decades, girls have been taught how stupid (if not evil) men are, and then they are taught that if they want to really be a success in life, they should act more like men.
Pink is no role model for young Catholic girls, either (she has her own issues), but her parody of Paris Hilton femininity is spot on. Too bad she can’t see the forest for the trees right now, but she may be on the right track.
VISIT PINK’S SITE & PLAY THE VIDEO. (Warning: Pink is not a nice Catholic girl, or a role model for same. The video conatins language and images that may offend some viewers).
“What if you just want to be a normal girl?”
That’s the thing Tim. In the heart of the secular world right now, being a “ditzy, over-sexualized, pampered, shallow, anorexic female” is considered ‘normal’. That’s the sadest part of the whole thing.
Hey Tim, could you be a little more specific in your warning. “The video contains language and images that may offend some viewers” is really very vague. “Offensive images” especially can mean just about anything: are the images violent, is there nudity, are they gross or do the images condone an immoral sort of behavior? I wish I would have known the answer to this before I watched the video, as I now see that when you said “images that my offend” you meant partial nudity. Other readers would probably like to know that before they click. Interesting post though, keep up the social commentary!
Well, I guess technically its sort-of partial nudity.
Sorry about that. I will be more specific from now on.
I have always disliked disco, for many of the reasons mentioned above, but when I started working in a kitchen, the radio was usually tuned to some sort of awful hip-hop station. Now, after hearing that garbage night after night, I don’t mind disco nearly as much. Actually, I just feel relieved when somebody changes the station, even if the new station happens to be playing the Bee Gees. I’ve always believed that disco and hip-hop were essentially the same thing, and still basically do, but the degree of obnoxiousness is so much greater with hip-hop that it makes even disco look good… or at least tolerable.
What I don’t get is why the contrast is between “stupid” and “athletic”. Are only boys susceptible to being “dumb jocks ” ? )(Note: I’m not saying athleticism makes you stupid- just that athletic ability and intelligence are not necessarily correlated.)
Instead of playing football, why doesn’t the little girl go immerse herself in a book ?
When a guy plays football, he is acting in character, showing he is a meathead. When a girl plays football, it shows she is aggressive and assertive and doesn’t want to fit into the mold that society (supposedly) tries to force her into.
Oh. I suppose expecting a woman to show intellectual aggressiion in a music video is unrealistic.
I hope you realize I was stating the common perception, not my own opinion.
We have here a degradation of femininity by both sides presented in the music vidio.
Tim, you may not be aware of this, but Pink is masculine in more ways than one:
http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/0/3EE8A5A9AAD6FA2880256DD6004D234C!opendocument
Perhaps that explains her video urging women not to be feminine.
Yeah, David C, I considered that possibility, but it’s impossible to tell where these celebrities’ real lives end and their publicity machines begin.
She could be gay, or bi, but who knows?
It would only underscore the current dilemma that girls face when they look to the popular culture for guidance.
Well, to be fair, being president is an intellectual activity. And it’s healthier to play football (or music, which was also shown in the “good” pile of playthings) than to stay inside, watch television, and fill one’s head with silly or degrading images of womanhood.
Tim, this was a prophetic post. Oprah had an ex-hip hop video star and Pink herself on yesterday. WHOA.
One difference between wearing a “Disco Sux” t-shirt and a “Hip-Hop Sux” t-shirt is the danger of raising the ire of one of their respective fans. Disco fans would just sniff at you and strut away. Hip-hop fans are likely as not to give you graphic example of the content of one of their … er… “songs.”
Hi just wanted to add my 2cents…
Pink is married to a motorcross star and was a gymnast before her music career. She was also into playing sports and skateboarding and doing things that she was told growing up that she shouldn’t do because she is a girl. I think she is trying to say “be yourself and you don’t have to be less than someone else. Be your authentic self, not a copy of a satire”
Kyle
Camden Martin Nathanael Tylor …
I grew up a good “traditional” Catholic girl – my mother gave me a book on how to “submit” to men, and taught me “traditional” femininity – i.e. baking cookies and embroidery – I’m not kidding. I’d rather play football. I have always thought that religions that require us to be less well-rounded instead of more are serving some other purpose than “love.”. Like the vanity of those who place themselves in positions of power over others under the guise of “natural differences,” for instance – as has been the traditonal practice in the church.
Always fun to hear a guy spout off what he thinks a “normal” girl should be though. I think I’d like to decide for myself – to me it means being adept at both strength and love – that we can evolve into people who are capable in every area of life, try new things (like football), and ultimately grow into complete human beings. The separation of the sexes into behavioral rules is ultimately the separation of different aspects of the human experience. It’s not too healthy. In i’ts most extreme level, it’s why we have excessive aggression like rape or abuse, or excessive weakness, people who can’t/don’t defend themselves, or their liberty, loved ones etc… Too much indulgence in stereotypes produces weakness either emotional or physical. Balance is what we should all be striving for – not in “marriage” but within ourselves, so our societies are made up of people who are equal parts strong, free and loving. Because too much focus on strength can easily lead to cruelty and too much focus on “softness” can easily lead to weakness, I can’t imagine a worse way to organize a society. It’s why history has been rife with so much cruelty – that paradigm of imbalance creates an environment for the creation of excess, populating the world with out-of-balance bullies and victims – not just in sexual relations, but in every area of society…. So I’m all for the ladies playing football and people broadening their horizons in general. People who do the same thing over and over are boring anyway. I could always predict how men and women in my Catholic community would act before they even did anything. There’s something bland about it. Being a good Catholic girl always did suck, it felt like shame to me and was a boring restricted lifestyle. You can be profoundly spiritual good person and still be free – and non-religious for that matter. Pink is definitely not a good role model for Catholic girls, but a great one for girls who love liberty, strength, intelligence and trying new things.
Oh, and Pink wanted to be president in the video too – there’s some mental aggression for you.
“I think I’d like to decide for myself..”
So you made a conscious decision to become a walking cliche, echoing the gender-feminist mantra?
jgrl-
So, you really think that boys and girls are the same?
Do you have kids?
“You can be profoundly spiritually good person and still be free–and non-religious for that matter.” Yes, you, too, can wallow in the mud and be as slutty as the sluttiest of men.
If freedom means free of all restrictions, then a train is most free to be a train when it is off the tracks.
If freedom means the right to do whatever you want, then only the strong are free. Example: You and I are in a room. You decide you want to leave the room. I am stronger than you, and I tell you I will stop you from leaving the room. Are you free to leave the room?
When you buy a new car, the dealer gives you an owner’s manual that tells you what to do to take care of it, to keep it running properly. Is the dealer trying to restrict your liberty? No, he wants you to get the most pleasure and best performance out of the car that you can get. Suppose you decide you don’t want to put gasoline in the tank; it’s too smelly, so you want to put perfume in it instead. Are you free to put perfume in your gas tank? Sure. Are you free to put perfume in the gas tank AND drive the car? No. Is that a restriction on your freedom?
We human beings come with an owners manual, given to us by the Maker. It’s called The Ten Commandments.
“So, you really think that boys and girls are the same?”
I believe we’re a lot more alike than different – especially in terms of potential. Sometimes it’s great to celebrate differences, but ultimately I think it’s more positive to focus on our possibilities, our ability to evolve in any direction. If we start out with an imbalance in our natures, it would be an honorable quest to spend our lives balancing it – not over-indulging it and making it further pronounced.
“So you made a conscious decision to become a walking cliche, echoing the gender-feminist mantra?”
Feminism isn’t a “mantra” – not nearly as much as gender dogma that has been repeated over and over for thousands of years. I don’t check with any feminist popely “authority” before forming my opinions. Actually, I never went to college and have never been part of the liberal world – I grew up, and still live in a very conservative Catholic community, who know a little something about dogmatic matras, believe me. I believe there is much profound thought in feminism that holds a lot of hope for humanity. The real cliche is holding to the same old gender roles that have been unquestionable creed for thousands of years.
“”You can be profoundly spiritually good person and still be free–and non-religious for that matter.” Yes, you, too, can wallow in the mud and be as slutty as the sluttiest of men.”
I fail to see how being “slutty like men” has anything to do with with being non-religious or free. That’s the very thing Pink’s video was ridiculing – the point of it is to think, dream of being president, or play sports as an alternative to dumbed-down sluttiness. That’s also been the point of feminism until the new “pop feminism” (which as far as I’m concerned isn’t feminism at all) came along.
“If freedom means the right to do whatever you want then only the strong are free”
Like many sects of the Christian church that place men in positions of power over women because they’re considered “stronger?” That gives them the “freedom” to make decisions for women? The church is just a complicated, organized version of that power you speak of – that ability to keep women “in the room” through it’s strength of political power, propaganda etc… it’s already true that the strong are free and the weak are not – that’s my point – true freedom calls for equality so we can all be free, not just a select few.
People who are selling you an “owner’s manual” (apt name) for yourself in the name of god, usually have an ulterior motive in my opinion. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that religions who are completely male-dominated in term of positions of power, preach male-supremacy in the name of love… then continue to try to protect that vanity at the expense of women’s liberty are anything less than self-serving. I think the Catholic church has some of the most dangerous, woman-hating dogma of any institution – all the more dangerous because it has acquired the skill of subtletly, diguising it’s removal of strength and liberty from women as benefiting not only women – but society. These forces of preaching the supremacy of one group over another are strong the world over, are often cloaked in sentiment and tradition – and I’m sorry for butting in with wordy posts, but I just need to get my voice out there at this point, because I think we’re heading into a time where we’ll go backwards into fundamnetalism, or we’ll continue forward into something better. I’d like to put a few words in for the latter.
Thank you for making my points for me.
As Bishop Sheen said: “We can teach the world about women’s liberation; we have the only liberated woman who ever lived.”
I think the Catholic church has some of the most dangerous, woman-hating dogma of any institution
Dogmas are those doctrines which the Church proposes for belief as formally revealed by God. You do not sound like the Catholic you pretend to be.
Take care and God bless,
Inocencio
J+M+J
“If we start out with an imbalance in our natures, it would be an honorable quest to spend our lives balancing it”
Why? I have a very unbalanced nature which makes me good at art and horrible at math. Should I really expend a lot of energy trying to “balance” this, or should I try and be the best artist I can (which is just going with my gifts)? This whole fake-zen balance thing is a sham.
“The real cliche is holding to the same old gender roles that have been unquestionable creed for thousands of years.”
The thing is that these roles have not been “assigned” by anybody, but have come about simply by people following their own God-given nature. The main reason there are not more women CEOs is that hardly any women are really interested in BEING a CEO.
IN GENERAL, women are more nurturing and supportive (they just are), while men are more assertive and goal-oriented (by nature). Again, why should we all expend a lot of energy trying to reach for this ideal state of mediocrity that feminism posits?
Men and women are not the same and are not meant to be the same. TRUE balance is to be found in the interaction and complementarity of men and women, at all levels, not just that of sex.
I’m for people doing whatever job they are gifted for (I was a stay-at-home dad for years, on top of my freelance art jobs), but I think it is silly and counterproductive for men and women to act as if they need to conform to the false social construct of modern “feminism” (in quotes because there is nothing less feminine) rather than to their own God-given natures.
“religions who are completely male-dominated in term of positions of power, preach male-supremacy in the name of love…”
If you believe that the male priesthood comes about because the Church teaches that men are superior, you have not studied your catechism. God is trying to TEACH us something about himself through male-ness and female-ness (study JPII’s Theology of the Body), and we keep erasing the blackboard, trying to artificially feminize men and masculinize women.
“true freedom calls for equality so we can all be free, not just a select few.”
Sheesh… will you please give me an example of how YOU are not free, and are being held down by this male-dominated society you have imagined?