Pop culture is nothing more than the culmination of cultural artifacts. These cultural artifacts have a major influence on our daily lives, and have a profound effect on our self-confidence. There are many complex pieces of popular culture that, at first, seem to have a negative effect on self-confidence. However, in many cases, further analysis can reveal a very positive and valuable message. An example of one of these complex cases is girl power anthems. These songs are written with a young female audience in mind, and are intended to be empowering; however, they are often a source of controversy due to their provocative nature and controversial lyrics. This raises the question, will girl power anthems help young women develop self-confidence, or will it force them into destructive behaviors?

In his article “Harry Potter and the Functions of Popular Culture,” cultural analyst Dustin Kidd states that there are five functions of popular culture. One of these functions is ritual development. He describes ritual development as social cohesion that leads to personal and social change. This principle can easily be applied to girl power anthems because young women use them as a source of social cohesion, which is important for the development of self-confidence.

Pop culture is one of the few things that the majority of people find interesting. When people begin to talk about these interesting things, they begin to bond over it. Kidd states that “The kind of hysteria over popular culture produces emotional energy that unites the group” (Kidd, 85). Pop culture is the starting point for many relationships. These relationships will eventually lead to social unity that will help to create bonds among young women. The bonds created will help them learn more about themselves, other people, and the world around them.

In his article, Kidd quotes sociologists Randall Collins who once said “from the excitement of mass gatherings, crusades are born and revolutions are made.” But, is this true of all mass gatherings, regardless of the subject? Many wonder if they have the intended effect of inspiration and self-confidence on young women. There are some girl power anthems that include very controversial messages. They try to convey the message that males are actively opposing their goals. In many videos and anthems, males are portrayed as the “villains” who are trying to destroy all the progress females have made. While these may appear to be qualities that our society would not want put in the faces of young women, there are good qualities that can be teased out of these songs.

Under Dustin Kidd’s principle that says pop culture leads to social unity, we can deduce that young women unite under girl power anthems. This raises the question; do Girl Power Anthems serve to unite young women in a positive way, even if their message could be misconstrued? In her article “Behind every strong woman there is an even stronger Beyoncé” the author Samhita suggests that Beyoncé, who is a leading producer of girl power anthems, actually does not bolster “girl power” because her music and accompanying videos create a “quiet assumption about women’s role in society that feeds into the most tired of tropes that ‘behind every strong man, there is an even stronger woman’” (Samhita).While this may be true, Beyoncé’s music provides a source of unity for young women at a time in their lives when unity is needed in order to increase self-confidence.

See Samhita’s full article here: http://feministing.com/2011/05/24/behind-every-strong-man-there-is-an-even-stronger-beyonce/

Despite the fact that girl power anthems with a negative message can cause girls to unite and adopt destructive values, these anthems are is still a good thing. The anthems force young women to converse with one another and discuss their personal problems. This will never be a bad thing; anytime people can come together and discuss the problems they are facing in their lives, they will experience an increase in self-confidence. They will feel an increase in self confidence because they will realize they are not alone, and there are many others who are having the same personal problems and difficulties they are. Even if a group of girls starts to adopt some of the negative attributes of girl power anthems, they will at least be able to relate to one another. The reason girl take on these values is because they want to feel companionship. They think that if they become sexual and lewd, than they will “fit in” with a particular group. Because the girl power anthem unites them, they no longer need to try and fit into a group; they can simply find companionship and compassion. Over time, because they have found the companionship they are looking for, they will realize they do not have to have the negative qualities they see in a music video, and they will begin to grow out of them.

Although some girl power anthems incorporate lewd qualities that most in our society would consider undesirable, others have positive messages that serve to empower young women in a more straightforward way. Katy Perry’s “Firework” is a great example of this. This video displays examples of people who are courageous and exemplify what it means to be a strong and confident person. These types of girl power anthems are more beneficial to young women than anthems with negative messages. They allow for an increase in self-confidence, without the necessary steps of sharing problems that must take place first. A young woman can look at a girl power anthem with a positive message, and discover that the qualities that are being portrayed in the video by one of their favorite artists are good qualities, such as compassion, kindness, and confidence. This person will then realize that these are qualities they should adopt in their own personalities.

Perry’s video shows fireworks coming out of people who lack in self-confidence (Firework,1:20)

The video also shows people dancing in a group to show unity (Firework, 3:09).

Girl power anthems are a very controversial subject among our society. Most of them appear to have a sexual and lewd subject matter, and can be very arrogant. At first glance, this may seem like it would force young women to adopt these behaviors; however, upon closer examination it is easy to see that these songs provide young women with something that they are longing for at a very emotional time in their lives. All girl power anthems, weather they incorporate lewdness or self-confidence, can have a positive effect on young women. The Anthems that exhibit lewdness and sexuality do not directly help young women find self-confidence, but they do provide them with a unity and social cohesion that will eventually develop their self-confidence. Anthems that do not contain lewd lyrics and images will directly provide young women with a boost in self-confidence, without having to first find social cohesion and unity among their peers. This means that girl power anthems with positive messages towards young adults are more effective at increasing self confidence among women, but this doesn’t meant that anthems with a negative message are not helpful; they can provide young women with a social cohesion that they can use to further develop self-confidence. All girl power anthems can be used as a powerful tool to help young women through difficult times in their lives, and they should be considered valuable assets to our society.

James P. Sullivan

Works Cited

Firework. Dir. Dave Meyers. Perf. Katy Perry. Vevo, 2010. Online.

Kidd, Dustin. “Harry Potter and the Functions of Popular Culture.” The Journal of Popular Culture 40.1 (2007): 69–87. Print.

Samhita. “Behind Every Strong Man, There Is an Even Stronger Beyonce.” Behind Every Strong Man, There Is an Even Stronger Beyonce. Feministing, 24 May 2011. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.