Katy Perry: Feminist or Faux-Feminist
Pop culture is a cultural artifact, which uncovers valuable information about our society. It causes a chain reaction where it can have such a huge influence on people of all ages because it affects society differently either in a negative or positive way. For instance, Katy Perry’s pop song “Firework” has been known as an influential song to different groups of people. Some believe it to be a girl power anthem while others may argue it is just another pop song you dance around to that sends a positive message. Feminist blogger Samhita, would argue that Perry’s song does send empowering messages but it is no feminist anthem. This controversy causes you to think, is Katy Perry a feminist or a “faux-feminist,” as Samhita would say. (Para. 1) This brings me to believing that Perry creates a song that sends great messages but it is not enough for a complete feminist take over. In “Harry Potter and the Functions of Popular Culture,” Dustin Kidd describes the many forms of Popular culture in his article. He writes about the five functions of popular culture that can be found in today’s society. By using Kidd’s idea that popular culture establishes social boundaries, we can conclude that “Firework” helps send empowering messages for social cohesion in a society full of segregated groups.
Kidd says, “The exact norms that any particular culture consumer will internalize will depend on the consumer’s social location and social roles, which is why popular culture is an important dynamic in the creation and maintenance of social boundaries.” (76) Kidd believes that popular culture helps to create different stratifications based on what different groups like and do not like. Certain trends like “Firework” have a tendency of bringing people together. Perry’s audiences may argue that the song makes a great girl power anthem, while Samhita and myself may believe it to be a false attempt at girl power. As Dustin Kidd describes, all of the events help categorize people by “what they like” thus constructing a system of identity creation and separation from other identity categories. The way we express our beliefs through the example of Perry’s song creates the formation of individual identity classifications, which is very significant for the foundation of social boundaries. Katy Perry’s song “Firework” may not be a girl power anthem but it illustrates breaking free of those social boundaries to form social cohesion in today’s society.
Girl power anthems play a huge role when it comes to popular culture in today’s society. They create empowering messages to women by portraying them as strong willed, independent human beings rather than the stereotypical portrayal of women who depend on men. Kidd explains, “The clothing we wear, the music we listen to, and the television we watch not only constitute our identities, but also help to separate our identity categories from others’.” This quote by Kidd brings us to conclude that music such as “Firework” creates a separation by identifying ourselves as a fan or critic of Perry. This idea of categorizing is what creates separation in today’s society. The people who fall into the different categories create the different social boundaries in society.
Perry’s girl power anthem “Firework” provides her listeners with a visually and lyrically empowering video but it may only appeal to certain groups such as people who are into pop songs that send a message of embracing your flaws. When listening to the song it creates a message for people to expand their beliefs and ideas for social cohesion to take place. Katy Perry starts her song over looking a city from the top of a building. One of the most important parts in this video is shown right from the start. The image shows Perry, who has already found her inner firework.
Katy Perry on top of a building when her inner fireworks begin to burst from inside of her. This firework represents Perry’s closure towards her flaws. She has finally come to realization that her imperfections don’t define her in society. She uses her fireworks as inspiration for others to find their firework as well. She says, “Cause, baby, you’re a firework come on, show ‘em what you’re worth make ‘em go, “Aah, aah, aah” as you shoot across the sky-y-y.” (1 minute) These specific lyrics are repeated throughout the song for the purpose of their meaning. By saying “you’re a firework,” she sends a message of empowerment. This is meant for people to realize that they are perfect the way they are therefore they belong in this world, all they have to do is go out and show everyone exactly what they were meant for. Perry’s lyrics provide the listener with the sense of empowerment to let the world see them for who they really are. In the case of the video it has to do with sexuality, body image, and confidence to stand up to others.
Katy Perry’s song shows different examples of people who are afraid to be themselves because they are scared of what people may think. The one that stands out the most is a teenage girl at a pool party. She is so insecure about her body image that she refuses to go into the pool in her undergarments. The insecure teen builds up the confidence and embraces her inner fireworks after she decides to let go of the fear of not being accepted. Throughout the video we watch as she gains confidence, which leads to her jumping into the pool with her undergarments on thus her inner fireworks begin to shoot out.
This message being portrayed is very inspirational but in at a typical high school party, this situation is very unrealistic. Not many people will look at a pool filled with half naked skinny teens and suddenly gain the confidence to jump in half naked as well. Typically people will be intimidated which would cause their self-confidence to go down rather than go up especially if you are already insecure with how you look.
Samhita writes in her article, “Empowerment, choice and girls “ruling the world” are all awesome, but they are impossible to really grasp without recognizing how larger power structures create choices for us.” Similar to Samhita’s argument, I believe that people, including Perry aren’t paying close enough attention to the larger picture; the larger power structures. Many television shows, certain advertisements, and magazines have the power to expose the ideal body image for women. Rather than portraying a realistic body, they show off an image of girl that is typically unrealistic for most and if you don’t meet those standards then you’re not good enough for society. Katy I believe is included in the portrayal of unrealistic body images, which is shown through her magazine covers and other videos as well. She is portrayed as a sex object, wearing little clothing, which shows off a lot of skin and highlights elements of her body that are typically impractical for the average female. The idea of having the perfect body image has taken over today’s culture and caused so many issues in the younger generation. They feel as if they must attain the perfect body image even though they will never achieve a level where they feel content with their body. Perry’s video reaches out to those with self confidence issues and tells them it is okay to be who you are because no matter what insecurity you are dealing with it is okay to be yourself, yet she is contradicting herself through her other videos and covers on magazines.
Another great point Samhita makes in her blog is “This contradiction is a very real one for young women managing mixed messages between traditional feminism being cast as unsexy and new grrrl power as all things sexy and thong-like.” Katy Perry says it is okay to be who you are, but Samhita says to be a feminist you have to act a certain way, as well as dress a certain way or else you are sending the wrong message to women, suggesting that females are only empowered when they play the traditional ideas of femininity which are love and romance. (Para. 13) If Perry believes that it is okay to be who you are, why does the young girl at the party have to prove that she is conformable with herself by taking all of her clothing off to almost nothing? Samhita believes that being too sexy sends the wrong message of exploiting women, which is in the opposite of feminism. Perry is sending the wrong message to girls by telling them to strip down to their undergarments to prove your confidence. Perry’s song contradicts with Samhita’s argument by saying that it is okay to wear your undergarments if that is how you portray your confidence. Many feminists will argue that this isn’t empowering it is just another sorry attempt to try and inspire women even though it actually just portrays the stereotypical image of women as objects.
Towards the end of the song, Katy Perry has inspired many people to find their inner firework as they all come together in a courtyard. They all dance around as Katy Perry sings, releasing their fear of what they think of themselves and in order to accept each other for who they are. Katy Perry’s fireworks along with many others are bursting into the sky showing the sense of self-worth they have gained once the social boundaries have been knocked down.
This scene is significant for Perry’s video because her message in this song was to reach out to those who were afraid to embrace who they were.
I believe just like the people Perry has inspired shown in the courtyard, she wants her audience watching this video to do the same in the hopes that they will be able to spread her message of empowerment from person to person. Although Katy Perry’s video reaches out to many that it is okay to be yourself, vlogger and feminist nineteen percent in her video “Beyonce- Run the World (LIES)” talks about how female singers should not be promoting that they run the world thus creating the idea of a “false sense of achievement and distracting them from doing the work it takes to actually run the world.” (18–22 seconds) I believe that nineteen percent would say that Katy Perry is falsely promoting equality because in reality guys are still the more dominant sex and just because they are dancing and singing like equals, doesn’t mean that this is going to create a change in the real world. Perry’s audience may argue that her song is a great attempt at gender equality, but I don’t believe Perry is trying to promote that girls run the world. I believe what she is suggesting in the screenshot shown above is that guys and girls can unite and dance around because they have accepted each other’s flaws, not because they are equal.
Katy Perry’s song “Firework” is nowhere near the standard qualifications for a girl power anthem. This can be proven through her risqué outfit choices on magazine covers and in other music videos. Although this song does voice that it is okay express ourselves, whether it is through the way we look or our sexuality, “Firework” as well as Perry are not yet at the stage where it will create a worldwide phenomenon of gender equality. Perry does however encourage others to create their own identity by using her song to touch upon the negatives of society throughout her video. Her song “Firework” is an example of how people should break free from the social boundaries society creates for us in order to be yourself rather than trying to become what society expects you to be. Just like pop culture, girl power anthems will constantly be changing in society. “Firework” sends a positive message to her viewers because it sends the message that they are not alone. These songs give them a sense of empowerment and will inspire others to be themselves and embrace their insecurities. In the case of this video and Perry herself, feminist Nineteen Percent and Samhita will disagree with any belief that this is an attempt at feminism. Certain people will approach pop culture in different ways; it all depends on how you look at it. Katy Perry’s song “Firework” is not considered by many to be a girl power anthem but what you can take from the song is breaking free of those social boundaries to form social cohesion in today’s society through the use of her empowering lyrics of self-acceptance.
