My first concert was the Christina Aguilera Sears & Levi’s Tour in 2000. Destiny’s Child was the opening act, performing as a trio for the first time after Michelle Williams replaced LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson. Now, this fact doesn’t really say much about the person I am today — though, I’ll admit, it certainly says something about the kid I was then.
The first album I ever owned was Spice Girls’ “Spice,” so I had come to expect “Girl Power!” proclamations in my all-girl pop. Aguilera seemed to subscribe more to this philosophy as well, especially compared to the shockingly un-political antics of peers like Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson. Unlike those artists, Aguilera’s sexuality always felt like more of a personal statement of independence than bait for media attention — plus, she was talented as hell, with the kind of big voice that says, “Fuck with me, and I will strangle you with my high octave range.”
On 2002’s monumental “Stripped” LP (a severely overlooked album due to the Christian horror at “Dirrty” and it’s sleazy music video), she revealed her past struggles with domestic violence and cemented her legacy with tracks like “Beautiful” and “Fighter,” which gave young girls like myself a model of strength in the face of uniquely female struggles.
By then, the “Girl Power” mantra had lost all meaning. It belonged on bumper stickers and midriff baring tees made by Limited Too. Yet the basic function existed in more subtle forms — in X-Tina’s almost riot-grrl battle cry, “can’t hold us down!”
Unfortunately, she’s put that feminist spirit on the backburner as of late — a fact made more apparent by the challenge I created with my friends earlier this month, Ovaries October, in which we only listen to music made by women for the entire month of October. The challenge is now over, and it’s making me think about whether female artists are still fighting the good fight for the rest of us.
Earlier this month, bedroom white-girl rapper Kitty Pryde took to her Tumblr to rant about how much she hates singer-songwriter Tori Amos. Her argument was this: Tori Amos’ “Unlock the Silence” campaign through her Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network does nothing to help women who are victims of sexual abuse, but is merely “all about who has the saddest story, [or] who has the most signatures on their electronic petition to ‘avenge’ their rape.”
Both women are entitled to their own opinions, but such Tumblr rants contend that artists like Kitty Pryde and Tori Amos have nothing in common. Depending on your stance, one is a selfless defender of women’s rights and one is a petulant child, or one is self-righteous defender of women’s rights and one is a square-faced realist. Either way, it’s clear that the lore of “Girl Power” isn’t so straightforward. We can’t expect every woman to be an advocate, though I hope all of them are. If I’ve learned anything from Ovaries October, it’s that one month couldn’t possibly make me an expert on the complexity involved in being a female artist. I don’t regret this challenge, but I feel like a fool for thinking it was a challenge I could overcome.
