Turn on the radio any day of the week, and you will mainly hear songs about love, lust, and having a good time. From Taylor Swift to Rihanna, Shawn Mendes to Drake, and every "popular" artist in between, the themes and lyrics can definitely get a bit repetitive at times. While the messages are relatable, the lyrics are decent, and, let's face it, the tunes get stuck in our heads, what is considered the Top 40 Chart has little depth.
However, underlying the general music culture with artists telling us to "put our hands up" and "live like we are young" is a type of music that has sneakily been on our radar for decades: women-forward music. Independent of genre or artist, women-forward music includes songs that promote the love and empowerment of womankind. With themes of female sexuality, independence, and self-love, women-forward music is something that is often ignored but is nonetheless impacting the music industry in a major way.
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Take Beyoncé and Meghan Trainor as examples. Upon release of Beyoncé's famous "Lemonade" album, critics everywhere were struck by the strength behind her songs. In "Don't Hurt Yourself," Bey sings about how she is a unique, beautiful woman who should be treated with respect. "And keep your money, I've got my own," she sings, "Keep a bigger smile on my face, being alone." She has also had many other songs throughout the years that hold similar messages, including "***Flawless," "Who Run the World (Girls)," "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)," and "Diva" to name a few. Members of the BeyHive bow down to her infectious beats and amazing music videos, but most notably they follow her for her down-to-earth personality and ability to relate to the general public. Women identify with themes of female strength and equality to the status of men, which has made her an artist-- perhaps even the artist-- to look out for in the past few years.
In perhaps a less popular but nonetheless significant example is Meghan Trainor. A Nantucket, Massachusetts native, Trainor grew up in a very musical family. With Caribbean and doo-wop influences in her music, she provides a fun, nostalgic vibe without sacrificing the quality or intensity of her work. Her first single "All About That Bass," with its punny lines and sass, automatically rose in American charts because of its body-positive message and critique of mainstream media and society. On the same album, Trainor sings of breaking traditional marriage dynamics in "Future Husband," addressing cheaters in relationships in "Lips Are Movin'," and being sexually liberated in "Walkashame." Two years later she puts out another album telling women to stay away from possessive, manipulative men ("NO"), love every facet of yourself ("Me Too" and "I Love Me"), and be a fabulous woman who does not need a man to know her worth ("Woman Up"). Although a fairly new artist, Meghan Trainor produces music that is an important example of what it means to sing about being a woman and how all listeners can benefit from a little love and self-confidence.
But just because artists like Beyoncé and Meghan Trainor have been putting out this type of music in the last few years does not mean that it is a new concept by any means. Loretta Lynn's controversial song "The Pill" from 1975 is a celebration of female sexuality and the idea that women should be in control of their reproductive abilities and health. Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer teamed up in 1979 in their song "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)" to tell women in abusive relationships everywhere, "Don't put up with this stuff...Just look him in the eye and shout: enough is enough!" Then there was a period of time in the '90s where it seemed every artist was getting in on the woman-forward tracks, ranging from "No Scrubs" by TLC to "Just a Girl" by No Doubt to "None of Your Business" by Salt-N-Pepa.
Then you have a mix between old and new. A few weeks ago, artist Grace put out the song "You Don't Own Me." With lyrics like, "Don't tell me what to do/ And don't tell me what to say/ Please, when I go out with you/ Don't put me on display," the song embodies female pride and emancipation from male dominance. However, this song is actually a remake of the popular 1963 Lesley Gore song by the same title. In fact, the song was produced by legend Quincy Jones both times; Grace chose to put out her version because of her ties to the producer and her connection to the themes of feminism and inspiration that come from Gore and her lyrics. The song is a perfect example of how these ideas are still very much alive and thriving, and women-forward music can only gain popularity from here.
Females should feel empowered in their everyday lives, and this music showcases that we as women do have a voice, do matter, and do deserve to be free and happy with ourselves and the world at large. So, next time you listen to the radio, try to dig through all of the songs about loneliness and getting drunk and see if you can hear one of these anthems. You just might like what you hear.
For those interested in listening to more, here are some of my favorite songs on my current female-forward playlist:
1. Confident by Demi Lovato
2. Love Myself by Hailee Steinfeld
3. Ain't Your Mama by Jennifer Lopez
4. Salute by Little Mix
5. M.I.L.F.$ by Fergie
6. Man! I Feel Like A Woman by Shania Twain
7. Unpretty by TLC
8. Try by Colby Caillat
9. Side to Side by Ariana Grande
10. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
...or look here for more suggestions!
#FemalePower
