It's not shocking when I state that women have struggled in the history of our civilization to compete with men. That's quite the understatement, actually.

With the recent Weinstein scandal shaking things up in Hollywood and spreading awareness with the #metoo movement, it seems that we have finally reached a place where victims no longer have a stigma against them. It seems as if we are finally making progress in 2017.

Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go. Perhaps we will never reach our final destination. That's not to say that we haven't made progress over the years. Particularly in music, where there are female artists who cater to the masses and make money for themselves and the industry, there is always the alternative.

Growing up in the early 2000's, it was an interesting era, to say the least. The '90's were over, 9/11 defined a generation and we were all waiting to see where the world was going to take us next. It turned out that pop-punk was going to be a 2000's trend and it remained for quite some time.

If you ask a kid about growing up in the early 2000's, you might hear about bands such as Fall Out Boy, Blink-182, and My Chemical Romance. All good choices in my book, but what about the women?

The 2000's were revolutionary for female artists, particularly in the pop genre. This was an era where you saw women singing about relatable circumstances and putting their heart and soul into their music. In mainstream pop music especially, that isn't always common.

When grunge began to lose momentum in mainstream youth culture, the late 90's saw a change of pace with the music scene. Alternative rock became punkier. You had new faces in rap culture such as Eminem. Then, of course, you saw the emergence of the boy bands such as N*SYNC and Backstreet Boys.

Let's not forget the early ladies of pop music. Before her tragic plane crash, Aaliyah was on her way to stardom. We were re-introduced to former Mickey Mouse Club member Britney Spears and she was a child no more. Christina Aguilera was telling us what girls really wanted. Jessica Simpson was an absolutely beautiful pop artist who was marketable.

Here, you had a group of women who weren't necessarily singing about deep issues but they were simply selling records and making money. When people in the industry realized what was working, they decided to use every last bit of this idea until it faded away from popular culture.

I will say that I believe Britney is an exception in this group of ladies. While some of her hits such as "...Baby One More Time" and "Toxic" are infectious pop hits, a lot of her hit singles are about what it means to be a successful woman in society and in the pop music industry. "Stronger" and "Overprotected" reflect her breaking free and being her own person who makes her own decisions. "Lucky" is perhaps one of her most thought-provoking songs, a commentary on why someone with her fame and stardom should feel like the happiest person in the world, and yet that doesn't solve all of your problems. These songs and her ability to captivate an audience were what truly made her unique in the industry.

In the early 2000's, strong, independent female artists were emerging from every direction and creating competition with the established female artists of the industry.

Michelle Branch almost represents a 2000's version of Alanis Morissette, with her hit "Are You Happy Now?" being a less extreme version of "You Oughta Know," which expresses her rage towards a former lover. PInk changed a lot when she emerged into the scene because no one had seen a female pop artist like her before. Her hit, "Don't Let Me Get Me" especially states how she is not your typical prototype singer that Hollywood markets and that she is told to be more like Britney Spears, a perfect reference for that era of pop music.

Kelly Clarkson mesmerized audiences during the first season of American Idol and went on to become one of the most successful contestants in the industry. Her hit "Since U Been Gone" is another hardcore break-up song, reminding women that they can be whoever they want to be and shouldn't let a man weigh them down. By contrast, Avril Lavigne was everything Clarkson wasn't and sang more about what bands in the pop-punk genre sang about, such as rebelling against society and living outside the norm.

By the late 2000's, it appeared that there was more of a shift towards making money again, with artists such as Katy Perry and Taylor Swift churning out hit single after hit single, all about the same concept. While this era also saw Beyonce's rising popularity and the numerous publicity stunts by Lady Gaga, it appeared that this unique era of female pop artists was fading away from the spotlight.

Call me biased, but I'll take Vanessa Carton's "A Thousand Miles" over a Taylor Swift single any day. A song like that with an artist's raw emotions and all of the walls coming down is one that never gets old.