Recently I watched Beyoncé's film "Life is but a dream" and to be completely honest I found it quite inspiring. With a string of award winning albums, songs, music videos and other enterprises she has embarked upon, it really is not surprising that millions of people around the world look up to Queen Bey with awe and worship her. Having reflected upon the film, I don't think that she is the best role model we can aspire to. Yes: she sings about female empowerment, inspires women to be sexier and more confident, introduced Sugar Mama (an all-female band) which some might say makes Beyoncé the perfect candidate for modern young females to look up to. She has done extraordinarily well for an African-American woman and some say that she is an inspiration for women of colour to be brave in whatever industry they go into.
This led me to think of the types of women we seek inspiration from. It ranges from mothers, grandmothers, aunts, religious leaders to musicians, singers and celebrities.So why do we end up looking up to people we barely know? We do so because there is something about that individual which we can relate to, which stirs us and speaks to us: this inspires us and we want to emulate them.
I am a firm believer in that actions always speak louder than words. Queen Bey sings about female empowerment but does so whilst prancing about on stage in skimpy outfits, shaking her impressive booty and gyrating - it's a huge contradiction and sends out mixed messages. Yet this is what makes her one of the most exposed celebrities in the world: she is dubbed as being "bootylicious" and having a major influence on popular culture. It is quite sad that someone's ample backside has enough power to enter the Oxford English Dictionary and everyone celebrates it.
The slogan: "sex sells" cannot be more clear when we see the infamous booty shake and it is not just Beyoncé who is milking this cash cow. Think of today's prominent female musicians (Rihanna, Nicki Minaj etc): there is more attention paid to their bodies, clothing and sex appeal than their voice. And what disappoints me is the number of young girls wanting to be like these women. We are still being led to think that: "I can't be famous or popular unless I get my kit off" or "I have to show a bit of flesh if I want to be taken seriously."
What happened to educating ourselves as much as we can and working our way to the top? It is an odd way of thinking: we feel a sense of disgust at women who enter politics, business, economics yet applaud women who prance about in barely there clothing.
Food for thought: Why don't women like Michelle Obama, Hilary Clinton, Cristina Kirchner de Fernandez, Maya Angelou (the list could go on seriously) get the same level of recognition, fame and adoration from millions of young girls worldwide in the same way that Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé do?
Time Magazine's 25 Most Powerful Women
2 comments:
I agree, women of substance, like Jane Austen! Sex does not sell....not forever. A brain however does! Well said =)
I personally aspire to be more than what my physical appearance can get me but sadly that isn't true for everyone. I think that the reason that many musicians are emulated is because many of them (including those 3 ladies) have no tertiary education and seem to live a life of parties, fashion and luxury. To many that might be seen as a dream as they get to live 'the life' and it came easily, but we know that they work their asses off; often ending up hospitalised for exhaustion, being frequently ill and possibly causing miscarriages.
The wild life with no rules and record breaking captures the media's attention and that might be all young girls and ladies want, attention
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