Pop Girls

If you are into pop music, it's impossible that you haven't listened to at least one of these singers!

 

Sabrina Carpenter

So you may wonder, why are they so famous?

Lana del Rey:

A singer born in New York. Her career started in 2003 and after having many different seudonims (such as the well-known Lizzy Grant) she chose her current seudonim. Her career began with Video Games, a single that presents a relationship in which the woman takes a more traditional role, with lyrics such as "It's you, it's you, it's all for you / Everything I do / They say that the world was built for two / Only worth living if somebody is loving you". In contrast with some of her songs, such as Young and Beautiful, Lana del Rey takes a different topic and POV, now presenting how the worth of women is often based on their external appearance, becoming worthless and unlovable according to the standards. 

With this message in mind, it is quite apparent why would we choose this song as a feminist song, who hasn’t heard people bashing famous women for being less “attractive” when in reality they have simply grown older?

The narrative of women becoming old and undesirable is nothing new, with people often trying to scare women with the idea that they will end up alone if they refuse to settle for someone, always using the image of an “old cat lady”. Another song that deals with Feminist topics is Fucked My Way Up to the Top, a song published in 2014. In this song, Lana staters that she reached where she is thanks to her sleeping with people in power, which of course brings us to the idea that many people share. One in which the only way women are able to reach positions of power is by sleeping with those in higher positions, as they believe there’s no other way for them to become relevant.

Sabrina Carpenter:

Sabrina Carpenter, born in Quakertown, in Pennsylvania 1999 quickly became known, becoming an actress for Disney at a young age. After that, she became a singer, rising to the stage in 2011 with her song Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying. This song deals with the topic of young love, one that makes Sabrina make stupid mistakes but not regretting them, as she is ready to try once more. After that, Sabrina kept publishing different songs until she reached her last album Short n’ Sweet, an album that explores different female topics, that includes of course Feminist topics. Take for example Juno, a song that has become known all around the globe due to her bold choice of making different positions after her iconic line "have you ever tried this one?" Sabrina has been criticised by the more conservative people who have made comments such as "how am I supposed to bring my child to her concerts?" And, who knows? Maybe Sabrina Carpenter isn't catering to children but grown adults? Hope that helps!

Olivia Rodrigo:

Olivia Rodrigo, born in Murrieta, California in 2003. Similarly to Sabrina, Olivia's public image started on 2010 as an actress, first appearing onscreen in an Old Navy commercial. Her music career skyrocketed in 2021 with her viral song drivers license, more specifically, with her whole album Sour, which tried to present the "sour" emotions that young people experience but are often shamed for it, with emotions such as anger, jealousy or heartache. This album obviously included songs that presented Feminist themes, such as jealousy, jealousy, which presented the struggles of young women created due to social media and the pressure set on women to stick to certain beauty standards. In this song, Olivia expresses all the damage caused by the female beauty standards, which not only affects in a personal level, but it even gets to the point of "poisoning" the relationship among other women, as they may end up comparing to the women arround her, spoiling the relationship between them out of pure jealousy.

This is not her only single with this theme in mind, take for example, pretty isn't pretty. In this song, Olivia once again speaks openly about how women are often forced to buy "useless" products such as makeup in order to feel accepted and even worth of being loved solely based on their appearance, realising that no matter how much a woman tries to fit into the standards it will never be enough for society, as they will always find a flaw on them, seeing this pursue for beauty as a kind of war.

Author: Norai Benito Morán