Week 6: All I'm Asking Is For a Little Respect

In my opinion, music is a subversive and effective method of getting your point across. Music can hide propaganda and complex political opinions within a catchy tune. This course about women and minorities discussing issues and difficult realities with humor has made me think about the power of a song, and how anyone can use music to raise awareness of a subject and express their true opinions. In this way, music is similar to humor. Both mediums of expression are tremendous platforms that can be used to bring awareness to problems within society in a non-threatening, communal way. This blog post will highlight songs from the 1960s to the 21^st century that promote feminist ideals, for that’s what this course is all about: celebrating the messages of women who seek to subvert the institution that kept them down for so long.

1967 – “Respect” by Aretha Franklin: This iconic song wasn’t originally recorded by Aretha Franklin. Otis Redding wrote and recorded the song that would become Aretha’s classic in 1965. Redding’s song told the story of a man who felt he deserved more good old-fashioned obedience and respect from his girlfriend because he works hard, while Aretha’s version of “Respect” is about a confident woman commanding respect from her lackadaisical boyfriend. Aretha’s “Respect” was released in the middle of the civil rights and gender equality movements, and it came to be an anthem for both of these movements. With respect between genders comes equality, and when Aretha asked for respect in song, the world listened by spurring on the second wave of feminism in the 1960s and 1970s.

1978 – “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor: Gloria Gaynor discussed the revolutionary idea that a woman doesn’t need a man to be whole in an innocuous disco song. Though “I Will Survive” is primarily a TikTok song today, the message behind it is still as important as it was in 1978. An infectious disco rhythm belies themes of independence, self-acceptance, and personal strength in Gaynor’s hit. Gaynor asks her ex, “Weren’t you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye? Did you think I’d crumble? Did you think I’d lay down and die?”, and feminist listeners everywhere celebrated the way she abandoned the patriarchal rule that a woman must rely on a man.

1986 – “Nasty” by Janet Jackson: A couple of people have already discussed the empowering duality third-wave feminists brought to the insult “nasty woman” on their blogs. In an attempt to degrade Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump called her a “nasty woman” in a 2016 presidential debate. After Trump insulted Clinton, the response from women everywhere was to proclaim themselves nasty women as well, and use the phrase as a call for solidarity. Decades before this “nasty woman” movement, Janet Jackson released a song called “Nasty”, “and the lyrics of "Nasty" show a woman demanding gender equality and control over her own romantic decisions from the men who might pursue her” (npr.org). This gendered insult has essentially been flipped on its head, and feminists today reference Jackson’s song to call attention to the movement.

1995 – “Not the Doctor” by Alanis Morissette: In “Not the Doctor”, Morissette complains about boyfriends who treat their girlfriends as though she is their doctor, caregiver and mother all rolled into one. Girls are often expected to be everything to their significant other, and this is a lot of pressure for someone who thought they were entering a reciprocal relationship, not a relationship where one person ensures functionality and the other is helpless. Morissette’s lyrics perfectly describe the frustration that comes from a dysfunctional relationship: “I don’t want to be adored for what I merely represent to you. I don’t want to be your babysitter, you’re a very big boy now.”

2011 – “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga: “Born This Way” is a song about self-love and self-acceptance. Lady Gaga praises people of all races and sexual orientations in this song. A large part of feminism is embracing all women no matter what, so Lady Gaga made a huge feminist statement with “Born This Way”. There are no hidden messages in this song; it is very clear that Lady Gaga wanted to express her opinions and bring attention to inequalities in the world. “Born This Way” empowers women as well as members of the LGBT+ community in a way that is unapologetically proud and supportive.

            These are just a couple of examples of songs with feminist messages. These five songs are fun to sing along to, catchy, and groundbreaking.
EDIT: I forgot to embed links to the songs when I posted this. Fixed now!

Work Cited

Sanders, Sam. “#MemeOfTheWeek: Nasty Woman, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton And Janet Jackson.” NPR, NPR, 20 Oct. 2016, www.npr.org/2016/10/20/498729702/-memeoftheweek-nasty-woman-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-and-janet-jackson