Check out Pink's latest video, "Stupid Girls," a not-so-nice homage (a no-mage?) to performers like Jessica Simpson who Pink clearly thinks are sending the wrong message to young girls.
Some of the lyrics:
What happened to the dreams 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?
I'm a little torn on the video--it's really strong, but I don't know how useful it is to call other girls stupid.
A warning before you watch: it's a bit graphic. There's even a bulimia interlude with puking and all.
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I interpreted "stupid girl" to mean literally a "stupid" girl -- like not knowing anything.
You're probably right though, she may mean that it's stupid to be one of those girls who wears lots of make-up.
Generally, I think this video is a good thing. There are enough videos saying that playing sports and looking like the person you were born as is stupid, so a counter argument is a good thing.
I did a google image search for "Pink". This is the first image that came up:
http://www.new-dream.de/image/wallpaper/musik/pink/pink-05.jpg
i dig... nuff respect for the bulemia bit, too, 'cos it's damn nasty. and the end... that's hot...
on the real, though, i don't think she's straight up calling other women stupid as much as framing feminine stupidity as a choice - one she sees being advocated left and right... and one she, at least in the context of this track, finds fucked up...
starting writing this before i read your post, noname; thanks for putting that up, mad thought provoking... is this just marketing to a more conscious audience? is it representative of a genuine shift in her own attitude toward her self-promotion?
that made me think a lot about artists like common and kanye west, who talk up positive messages on enough tracks and in enough spaces to create a buzz but aren't willing to let go of the success (in its many forms) that catering to reactionary elements affords them.
peace and blessings
As much as one can discuss in a music video, I think she actually "discusses" her own choices to buy into what girls should be and look like. There are images that make it pretty clear, to me at least, that she doesn't think she's above falling for lookist expectations.
pink is saying that you can be both smart and pretty/sexy etc., the two qualities are not mutually exclusive
but i get what is being said about pandering to the lookist expectation of pop culture
unfortunately tho, that's what pop culture is always gonna be. so we're back at the problem all over again, valuing looks first and foremost..
So good for Pink.
I blogged about this yesterday, too. I'm wondering why it took so long? It's like Ebony mag coming out against misogenist rap, LAST YEAR. Also, I'm also wondering, why not take on that as well? Or what about riffing on the profound stupidity of the Black-Eyed Peas "My Humps"?
On the whole, I like -- she assigns a lot of agency to different "categories" of women that are generally depicted as re-actors rather than actors. BUT, what was up with the girl turning away from the fem. completely, in favor of the masc. at the end? Definite sour taste.
Actually, I saw the end as the kid just deciding to ignore the concept of "what she was supposed to play with" and going with what she wanted to do. If she had discarded the fem. stuff, that would have been one thing, but IMHO she just decided not to play with it right now.
And aside from the football, the rest of the stuff I saw was techy. How is that masculine?
I love the premise of the song. I'm completely with pink on that one... I'm actually cursed because I can only fall for strong, independent girls. Alas, I'm in academia and can't just pick where to work to stay with my sweetie. But of course, a strong, independent woman can't just follow me around... feels a bit like a Greek curse.
But I digress. I'm all with pink on this one. I take
issue with the video, however, which I just caught on
Vh1 (insomnia today). The message of the song is
great... but wouldn't it be a stupid girl trying
to get the attention of these cute little model-like
boys? I'm pretty athletic for a "nerd" and I do just fine in terms of attracting women, but I will never have the time to look like the guys
pink's supposedly-not-stupid girl is going for...
I obviously don't attract (not interested in doing it at least) big-breasted fake blondes with chewing gum for brains...
So close but yet so far? and no, I never thought I'd be posting in a feminist site, but hey, I'm obviously closer to that than to the other side. So girls, keep kicking ass... some of us will actually love you that way instead of stupid-girl style.