Pink "Stupid Girls" - Elena Funk

Pink – Stupid Girls
Stupid girl / Stupid girls / Stupid girl / Maybe if I act like that / That guy will call me back / Porno paparazzi girls / I don’t wanna be a stupid girl / Go to Fred Segal, you’ll find them there / Laughin’ loud so all the little people stare / Lookin’ for a daddy to pay for the champagne / Droppin’ names / 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? / Chorus: Maybe if I act like that / That guy will call me back / Porno paparazzi girls / I don’t wanna be a stupid girl / Maybe if I act like that / Flippin’ my blonde hair back / Push up my bra like that / I don’t wanna be a stupid girl / The disease is growing, it’s epidemic / I’m scared that there ain’t a cure / The believes it and I’m going crazy / I cannot take anymore!!!!!! / 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 / A world of despair / Your only concern – will it fuck up my hair??? / Chorus / (Do ya think? Do ya think? Do ya think?) / Pretty will you fuck me girl / Silly I’m so lucky girl / Pull my hair I’ll suck it girl / Stupid girls 2x / Maybe if I act like that / Flippin’ my blonde hair back / Push up my bra like that / Stupid girl / Chorus / Maybe if I act like that / Flippin’ my blonde hair back / Push up my bra like that / Stupid girl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oGBvN3rAi0

I was not difficult to find a song to use to discuss feminism. I began listening to the artist Pink many years ago and bought her newest album, I’m Not Dead, during this fall semester. I have always enjoyed her songs proclaiming empowerment for women and issues that many young women face so I chose the song I thought best represented an issue within feminism: body image.

In the music video for “Stupid Girls” Pink does a parody on celebrities Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson, Mary Kate Olsen, and Paris Hilton. However, the music speaks overall about the lack of good role models for young girls. Lyrics such as “what happened to the dream of a girl president” or “where have the smart people gone” are Pink’s cry to young women that there are better things in store for the future than becoming pop icons with an aura of sexuality about them, like being a dancer in “the video next to 50 Cent.” Pink has been quoted saying, “Women have fought so long and hard for our rights and equality, and now all our attention is put on being a size 0", as well as that some women are "living vicariously through these people who seem to shop all day" rather than focusing on real-world issues like war and poverty.

This song directly addresses the issue of “stupid girls” that is too often ignored in society. There is more news coverage now-a-days of a female celebrity’s break-up than there is on lack of funding for the arts or the injustices on women in Nigeria. American media is so obsessed with the things and people that are considered “perfect” that we are forgetting the bigger picture: the future. How are we to build a better future when we do not provide good examples for the new generation?

While I do feel very empowered as a woman through this song, it does not offer a clear-cut method of improving the “stupid” conditions Pink sings about. I do think that she is helping bring awareness to the issue and through that the media at large can take notice and adjust the images it is giving young girls to base their judgments from. Were there more songs like this circulating television and the radio awareness for the issue of body image for young girls would grow, thus improving respect for feminism. Though body image is but one small aspect of feminism I believe Pink has taken a step in the right direction to help shine a positive light on feminism.

Were I to contact Pink I would commend her on her ability to tackle controversial issues within today’s society. Another one of Pink’s songs titled “Dear Mr. President” addresses the war, the homeless, No Child Left Behind, and homophobia. I agree with all the topics she has presented in her songs and the emotion she pours into each is breathtaking. Her musical style has changed a lot since I started listening to her, but I believe she still promotes empowerment among women and uses strong lyrics to help prove her point.