Can I just ask this: Why do we listen to songs that honestly just take away our power and basically regress in the empowerment of women that we have achieved? Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not an extreme feminist who stopped shaving her armpits to prove a point, I just will never understand why we will continue to produce and applaud songs that negate everything that has been done. Songs that are about looking good for a guy—sorry for the namedrop Selena—or to establish the life goals of Meghan Trainor and be the perfect wife for our future husband.
Okay, good, you're cleaning just like women are supposed to. Good job MT.
But I mean seriously, why can’t I look good for myself, because it makes me feel better about myself, makes me feel sexy and not for this “pageant” of a world we live in. I don’t need to parade the bar in my 3 (but actually feels like 50) inch heels and be hit on by scumbags to know I look good; I definitely don’t need this same validation from the music I listen to that tells me I have to degrade myself for the entertainment and viewing pleasure of boys—I say boys because men don’t expect that from us. Are we that brainwashed to abide by a catchy beat and completely disregard the lyrics like mindless robots in our age of millennials?
Before you think I’ve gotten so off topic amidst my rage, I can assure you I was going somewhere with this:
So I heard this song about a week ago in my car, and yes I know it came out much earlier than that but I’m not so proficient with America’s Top 20. For once, since I don’t even know when, I was listening to a song that convinced me to love myself and do what I need for my own sake and not for others. To look hot for myself and not for a guy, to take pride in myself and not for a boy I might be seeing. Thank you Hailee Steinfeld, I will applaud you for doing something that everyone else forgot how to do, and on top of that you even achieved a catchy backbeat—even though I’m sure you’re not entirely responsible #sorrynotsorry. Who knew upon her debut in Pitch Perfect 2 and her fresh out of puberty persona that she would rise to be one of my top five favorite Americans, right up there with Ellen Degeneres and Queen Latifah.
Here’s my ode to you Hailee Steinfeld, as I thank you on behalf of female 20-somethings in this generation. Thank you for gracing our ears with a song that would encourage us to brag about our love for ourselves and scream it at the top of our lungs when your billboard hit comes on the radio.
