Who run the world? Actually I think it's men...

Her heart is in the right place. I like what this song has to say but I think it follows a trend of women being represented in the media as more powerful than they are. I'm sorry but women do not run the world. And if we're being told we do then we're less likely to keep fighting to make it actually happen.

And her lyrics are really confusing. She talks about women graduating from college, making millions and still having babies but still hopes a boy like her?

"Boy you know you love it
How we're smart enough to make these millions
Strong enough to bare the children
Then get back to business
See, you better not play me
Don't come here baby
Hope you still like me
If you hate me!"

This is super heteronormitive and completely betrays what she just said. Now in her music video, the first time she says "hope you still like me" she flips off the camera so I thought initially that it was in jest but throughout the song she's crawling around like a stripper so I thinking maybe not...

And if women were really so powerful, why does she have two men in front of her at the beginning?

Also the end, they salute the men. The women in front salute and the women behind her (I mean hundreds of beautiful dancers) stand with their hands clasped as if to prey or at least very respectful and non threatening.

I just don't know what Beyonce hopes to prove with this song and video. I mean this is the woman who gave us Independent Women! I know she wants to support women. But then she does this, or Single Ladies (a song about needing to get married!)

Anyway I just hope she knows how far away from equality we are.

New obsession!

So Americans. We basically have no idea whats going on in the world. At least that's what the world thinks of us. I found this new comic that pokes fun at pretty much everyone and their stereotypes (including the US)

It's very very funny but now I'm completely in love with the artist. On her DeviantArt blog she made some excellent points about masculinity!

"A woman can feel like a woman if she is being the passive/submissive part, she can feel like a woman if she is being the active/dominant part, she can feel like a woman if she is with a man, and she can feel like a woman if she is with a woman.

Men however are not so lucky."

*Swoon*

inspiring

Great comic by XKCD!

Phenomenal Woman

A poem by Maya Angelou:

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

huh?

Dr. Seuss

I'm in crisis right now. I keep finding reasons to carry on but I'm so exhausted I don't know if I can. I thought this was a cool sign that I haven't decided if I'll ignore or not...

Give Me Everything

New song I heard on the radio tonight. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

There's not much to the lyrics and only about half of them are disturbing.

So lines like "for all we know we might not get tomorrow, lets do it tonight. I will love love you tonight" are really quite sweet. I like the idea that we should love now.

I think where it gets creepy is when he starts talking about loving as in have sex with, which starts with "grab somebody sexy, tell 'em hey, Give me everything tonight"

I don't like the idea that sex requires women to "give" everything. If we give everything, we are left with nothing. We constantly talk about sex in these terms. Women give it up, men get some. Men never give anything. I don't blame them so much for these lyrics though. It's a common way to talk about sex so I guess ignorance is not the worst crime.

But it gets even worse with "Excuse me but I might drink a little bit more than I should tonight and I might take you home with me tonight"

So hopefully he's not thinking he's going home with her no matter what she says, but I think it's a generally bad idea when anyone goes out thinking they'll get a little too drunk and then fall into bed with someone. I'm not saying I've never done that or that it's always going to result in date rape, but it's a distinct possibility. And glorifying it in song does not help anyone.

Also he says he's "desperate tonight." So not good... To me, a desperate man means a violent man. I guess that's because men have to continually prove their masculinity. I mean they are always in danger of being feminine (insults for men are "little bitch" "Fag" "pussy") So if a big way men can prove their manliness is sexual prowess, what do you think happens when they are desperate to do so? I don't know about you, but I won't go home with a man I don't know who is desperate to have sex. That's just such a turn off. So what happens to the man who can't prove his masculinity through sex? He seeks to prove it with physical strength.

(Obviously this is not true of ALL men. Of course I know plenty of good men who don't buy into this bullshit. This is just what I'm interpreting from this song)

So another line starts off really sweet, "Reach for the stars and if you don't grab 'em at least you're on top of the world" then gets creepy, "Think about it. Cause if you slip I'm gonna fall on top of you girl *haha*"

What? Not if you slip I'll catch you, if you slip I'll land on you. So I'm interpreting this in two ways. One men are always higher than women. They will always have more power and more money and more status than women. So even if women are on top of the world, men will still be one step higher. But I don't think this song is smart enough to make such a social statement.

The other way is if she slips up, he'll take advantage. I'm getting that more from the sinister sounding laugh at the end of the phrase.

Anyway. I don't think I like this song. Sucks too cause the melody is great and Ne-Yo has a lovely voice.