I really didn't think I'd be able to draw an important insight into the faux-female attitude from listening to the goddamn Pussycat Dolls on the radio, but here it is:
Ladies, you scare me.
It's not a new phenomenon among female pop artists, but it's one we can see very clearly with the PCDs: On the one hand, you sing about your great love, how nothing better could ever possibly happen to you, and how no matter what, you have to hang in there ("Stikwitu" - gah, somebody shoot the songwriter!). Then you go to full-on Barbie feminism mode and sing about how you're so independant that it hurts ("I don't need a man"). Now, I'm probably overanalyzing this, but does this sound like a breakup to you?
So what's the game here?
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My larger issue with "I don't need a man" and every other last fucking song about the same damn thing is the aforementioned Barbie feminism at display here. I can't even begin to count the number of pop songs extolling the virtues of being an independant woman, taken to the logical extreme of being proud about it. So you don't need anyone, fine, we get it. This does not require reiteration. Moreover, most of those songs seem to admit that it's you who's the problem in the relationship. The songs don't even mention the lovers, who are formless, shapeless entities who can be told to go away or be invited in as you please. You may say that you are "celebrating your independance", while I may say that you are "being a bitch". What you're singing about is no less than the total sanction of doing whatever the hell you want in a relationship, with your partners forever doomed to be good little boys, yearning for a piece of your attention while you dismiss their feelings. Oh, and here's a PCD-specific complaint: is "I don't need a man" about masturbation? Sure sounds like it. Classy stuff, really.
Imagine a guy singing about how he's all independant, dumping his partners at will and using them for his own personal gratification. Does that sound like something you hear in the radio? Ladies, you are the female counterparts to Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent. Feel proud.
Oh, and dressing up like an extra in said rap videos to (presumably) tiltilate the viewers in that uniquely American, family-friendly way: fuck you. Really. There's a line between "I like to look sexy" and "I make all the little boys pop boners", and you're waaaay on the wrong side of that to advocate anything even remotely resembling female empowerment. Which you're not actually doing, one may say: what you are advocating appears to be the total breakdown of a meaningful emotional relationship in favor of a sex-only, no strings attached "fuckbuddy" thing that nobody in the real world has gotten to work, ever.
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The other side stinks, too. I already mentioned "Stikwitu", which is probably the worst offender, because I can read it two ways and both suck. On the one hand, it's almost got a "battered wife" thing going on, self-hypnosis to convince yourself that the asshole you're with is actually the best thing that could possibly happen to you. Are you really that blind that you can't even conceive of a better partner? Either you married Jesus or you're in heavy denial. On the other hand, there's an undercurrent of "Well, you're the best thing I can get right now, I'll hang onto you" opportunism. The song doesn't even mention "love", except in the most ackward ways possible: Everybody else is throwing their love away, eh? What does that have to do with you? Clinginess, much? Then there's making love in there. Can we hold a vote to have this phrase expelled from the English language, please? You're having sex, presumably good sex. Thanks for sharing. And this is your great "eternal love" shtick thing, then? Nope, failure. Nobody's going to listen to this in ten years and say "Honey, that's our song, remember?". And the worst thing is that you know this. You're not even trying. It just looks like a real love song, if you squint and hold your head sideways, and don't look at the goddamn lyrics, either.
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The sad thing? Either you really think you're saying something, or you know you're not yet keep doing it. I can't decide which I find more disgusting.
(Oh, and you're ugly, too.)
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