Recently I developed an appreciation for the fun, danceable music of Meghan Trainor. This year she won the Grammy for best new artist. (You go Girl!) Her lyrics and music are upbeat and sassy and I was compelled to buy one of her CDs. Most of her songs are empowering to women with a modern day slant encouraging women to be independent and defiant of societal constraints. Her "All about the Bass" extols the virtues of positive body images for women: "I ain't no size two....You know I won't be no stick figure, silicone Barbie doll. So if that's what you're into, then go 'head and move along." Love it. Thanks Meghan, it is great having that affirmation because I don't think I have been a size two since I was about 10 years old...if even then.
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| Meghan Trainor: Dear Future Husband |
Dear future husband
Here's a few things you need to know
If you want to be my one and only all my life
(Awwwww)
Take me on a date
I deserve it babe
And don't forget the flowers
Every anniversary
Cause if you treat me right
I'll be the perfect wife
Buyin groceries, buy, buying what you need
Source: http://www.directlyrics.com/meghan-trainor-dear-future-husband-lyrics.html
I know the song is tongue in cheek and meant to be all in fun, but sometimes it stirs up old feelings and the age-old battle of the sexes. Sometimes it is no wonder that men are perplexed on exactly how women want to be treated. From a woman's viewpoint, I myself am conflicted on relationship issues, but I do know certain things I do expect and hope for. Like equal opportunities for both men and women in the workplace and shared responsibilities on the domestic front. There exists that double standard that women are either sexy or intelligent but they certainly can't be both in the same person.
My first real exposure to the societal outcry to this conflicting standard and feminist ideologies in general was in a college classroom. I took a class entitled: Feminist Theory and really learned so much from the class, but there was an element that made me quite uncomfortable: I liked Men ( and still do!). The majority of the women in the class identified themselves as "radical, lesbian feminist". It was a shame that I almost felt apologetic that I was heterosexual and I had many men that I considered good friends. Yet this was in the early 1980's and I believe feminism has evolved in leaps and bounds. You can like men and still be a feminist. You can be Gay or Straight and be a feminist. And Yes, you can shave your legs and still be a feminist. Those old ideas of what it means to be a feminist have hopefully disappeared, and the basic belief that men and women should have equal opportunities is the defining factor of a feminist. I guess it saddens me when people categorize the concept of being a feminist and lose sight of the original premise of feminisim in the first place. Kate Nash said it well:
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