The other day, a friend of mine sent me this video. I\’ll give you a couple minutes to watch as much as you can.
Okay, all done?
Yes, that is the new Avril Lavigne video for her song \”Girlfriend.\” I found this all disturbing on many levels, not the least of which is the fact that my friend is an Avril Lavigne fan. (In fact, see my previous posts for proof that Canada is secretly taking over our country.)
First of all, from what I could tell by looking her up, Avril Lavigne is 23 years old. In this video, however, she looks like she could be 15. I feel like after watching it, I am now going to have to report my new address to the Department of Corrections every time I move.
But what\’s really odd about it is how it reflects the new ethos among American teenage girls. This makes me seem really old, but I actually remember the days where boys were the ones that actually did the chasing and the girls were the ones who showed some sort of discretion in picking who to \”date\” (if that term still even exists).
Back in my high school years, it was the days of girls wearing big sweaters and stirrup pants. Modesty actually was still considered somewhat of a virtue. The drill was pretty well set: I asked girls out, and they said no. Girls as aggressors didn\’t really happen. It was the natural balance of the universe. (I am, of course, blaming the fact that I could never get a date on cultural factors, rather than the fact that I was a zitty geek. In fact, I asked the same girl to the homecoming dance for four straight years – she said no the first three, then finally relented our senior year.)
This even leads to a broader point about \”female empowerment,\” even if it is at the high school level. Why does \”feminism\” usually mean \”women being as boorish as men?\” If we\’re truly after equality between the sexes, why does that necessarily mean we need to accept women doing all the obnoxious stuff men do? Couldn\’t we also attain some level of egalitarianism by expecting better behavior by men?
It just seems that if we\’re looking to level the playing field, we should be expecting more of people, not less. I don\’t know of anybody who would look at the problems of the world and decide that what we need is more people acting like frat guys.
And…. scene.
June 6, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Great post. I don’t get why modern feminism expects me to deny the fact that I’m a woman – a woman with unique, inherent traits and strengths – for the sake of “equality.” And that somehow embracing those traits makes me…less of a woman.
Last I checked, I’m not a man. Never will be.
The desire to “empower” girls in this fashion has created a confused generation of women, not a level playing field.
June 6, 2007 at 1:55 pm
The funniest part of the whole video for me is the fact that I’ve been to that Golf and Stuff in Ventura, CA!
How cool is that? OK, maybe not that cool in the grand scheme of things… and actually a little scary because that might mean I have something in common with Avril Lavigne.
June 7, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Following up on Amy’s comment, girls are growing up to compete with each other on every level, typically in unhealthy ways. Think “Mean Girls” the movie. Where guys compete with guys outwardly, i.e. in sports, etc., girls compete with girls inwardly, i.e. we pick on each other’s physical appearance or emotions, like calling each other sluts.
“Girl power” has turned overly aggressive and overly sexual. And what kind of loser guy lets his current girlfriend be picked on by others?