Stupid Girls

I just love the lyrics to Pink's new song, Stupid Girls.

Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading People magazine and watching Entertainment Tonight sometimes, but it bothers me that we live in a world in which women are progressively being dumbed down and objectified.

Not that I think the women in question actually are dumb (well, not most of them), but I think that playing down one's intelligence can do a lot to heighten a female celebrity's popularity, and that reality bothers me. Are people scared of smart, powerful women? I'm not sure; maybe. I think that some men can be threatened by confident women, and that gender roles and the glass ceiling are still very much a part of Western society, as much as we might like to think that they aren't. But women also support stereotypes and 'stupid' girls too, so men as a gender can't be blamed. It just worries me that so many young girls have body image issues, and feel that they need to be thin, wear brand name labels, or become sexually active to be popular (speaking of, I saw a CBC -or was it CTV?- news report about 'lipstick parties' recently, and it literally made me feel ill to know that pre-teen girls think they have to participate in group oral sex in order to get boys to like them. Granted, these parties may not be a widespread trend, but it's disturbing nonetheless).

It must be hard growing up in a world where Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson and Lindsay Lohan are splashed all across TV and magazines. We hear more about celebrities' sex lives, eating disorders and shopping trips than we do about the charity work that they (and 'regular' people) are involved in.

Go to Fred Segal, you'll find them there
Laughing loud so all the little people stare
Looking for a daddy to pay for the champagne
Drop a name

What happened to the dream of a girl president?
She's dancing in the video next to 50 Cent
They travel in packs of two or three
With their itsy bitsy doggies and their teeny-weeny tees

Where, oh where, have the smart people gone?
Oh where, oh where could they be?

Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl - I don't wanna be a stupid girl
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that - I don't wanna be a stupid girl

Disease's growing, it's epidemic
I'm scared that there ain't a cure
The world believes it and I'm going crazy
I cannot take any more!

I'm so glad that I'll never fit in
That will never be me
Outcasts and girls with ambition
That's what I wanna see!

Disasters all around
World despaired
Their only concern
Will they fuck up my hair?!

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5 comments:

  1. It is distressing what pre-teens subject themselves to nowadays. When you see some of the clothing they sell, it's not hard to wonder "What is this world coming to?" And it's not just the old fogey in us talking either, things have really changed for the worse. Kids run around acting sexual, but they don't get any sex education at all until grade 9 because their parents are too paralyzed with fear to talk to their kids or set rules.

     
  2. I agree that those things don't make you dumb, and that the women who dumb themselves down for the media may be keen marketers. For instance, I think Jessica Simpson is much smarter than she'd like us to believe (sorry, I'm not so sure about Paris).

    But I think it's sad that we live in a world where dumbing yourself down can make you so rich and popular.

     
  3. lol - glad to know that I'm not just an old fogey at 26. ;)

    It baffles me that so many adults are afraid of sex education. There was a survey in NB a few years ago of teachers, parents and jr. high and high school students. Some parents got really vocal about not wanting their kids to learn about some subjects in school. Kids see so much on TV, movies and in books/magazines, that it seems to me that they should at least have accurate information in school, and well before grade 9. It's not like hearing about these topics from their 40 year old health teacher is all that racy; kids just want the facts.

    I know I can be seen as a little too liberal about this topic, but for heaven's sake, many girls are reaching puberty at 10 or 11 these days, and they have to start getting the facts of life by then.

    I'm curious to know more about sex ed/family life/health classes across the country. When do they start in each province? In other countries? Anyone here from Alberta? I seem to remember my brother's 'birds & bees' class starting around grade 4 in Calgary, but perhaps my memory is fuzzy..

     
  4. Well I'm an old fogey at 26, and my younger brother uses oldishman as his blogger handle. We're both pretty liberal in many ways regarding society, although me more than him, but our peers generally view us as stodgy ornery coots because we ask questions and don't think other people learn enough in school.

    In SK, I think grade 9 is the first sex ed dedicated class, although health class might cover it in grade 3 even to some extent. I've met Americans and Canadians online who've said they never learned in school, or were at least 16 before they knew what sex meant and its implications. There's no need for that kind of ignorance in a developed society.

     
  5. you're not the only one who likes this song...apparently j.k. rowling author of harry potter likes it too...

    Here's a link to a post I did on it, I think you'll like it.

    Strange Culture: Rowling's Rant
    Let me know what you think!

    --RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com