When the all-female pop vocal group Fifth Harmony took the X Factor by storm in 2012, they were the definition of girl power. The members radiated confidence and style, which left young girls with new role models to look up to. Originally, this was a great thing. The women of Fifth Harmony were the epitome of female independence. "Miss Movin' On" showed us that even after heartbreak, women are strong enough to recover and learn to love themselves. "Reflection" taught us that women can feel confident in doing things for themselves instead of boys.
But with the release of the group's newest single, "Work From Home," it seems that Fifth Harmony has taken a different stance on female empowerment.
Chances are, you've heard the song, considering it's played on every major radio station at least twice an hour. If not, here's a quick summary: Girl is in a relationship. Significant other has to go to work. Girl gets jealous of the significant other's work and bargains that if he doesn't go, she'll put out for him.
As a working girl all for female empowerment, I decided to dissect these lyrics for myself. Let's start from the beginning:
"I ain't worried 'bout nothin'
I ain't wearin' na nada
I'm sittin' pretty, impatient, but I know you gotta
Put in them hours, I'mma make it harder
I'm sending pic after picture, I'mma get you fired"
So... Let me get this straight: you know your boyfriend has to put in hours, but you're intentionally trying to get him fired by sending him pictures of your body "wearin' na nada?"
"I know you're always on the night shift
But I can't stand these nights alone
And I don't need no explanation
'Cause baby, you're the boss at home"
How can he be the boss if you just got him fired?
"You don't gotta go to work, work, work, work, work, work, work
But you gotta put in work, work, work, work, work, work, work
You don't gotta go to work, work, work, work, work, work, work
Let my body do the work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work
We can work from home, oh, oh, oh-oh
We can work from home, oh, oh, oh-oh"
First of all, that's a whole lot of work to even read. Second, I don't think having sex with your boyfriend is going to replace his income.
"Let's put it into motion
I'mma give you a promotion
I'll make it feel like a vacay, turn the bed into an ocean
We don't need nobody, I just need your body
Nothin' but sheets in between us, ain't no getting off early"
Yeah, unemployment is like one long "vacay."
And we certainly can't forget the featured verse by Ty Dolla $ign:
"Girl, go to work for me
Can you make it clap, no hands for me?
Take it to the ground, pick it up for me
Look back at it all over me
Put in work like my timesheet
She ride it like a '63
I'mma buy her no Celine
Let her ride in a foreign with me
Oh, she the bae, I'm her boo
And she down to break the rules
Ride or die, she gon' go
I won't judge, she finesse
I pipe up, she take that
Putting overtime on your body"
I don't think anyone's going to be able to afford a foreign car or Celiene handbags with no job.
All jokes aside, this new hit is insulting to everything female. Pop and rap music have been famous for degrading women in the past. So is Fifth Harmony selling out to mainstream music to make a quick buck, abandoning everything they previously believed in? Or is the group victims of a society that firmly believes in the subordination and sexualizing of women in relationships?
In all seriousness, lyrics like this are a problem. Songs like "Work From Home" tell young impressionable minds that the only acceptable relationship dynamic is female inferiority. Young girls growing up in the most sexualized generation of all time need to learn that it's okay to be independent. They deserve role models that are going to show them that they are capable of more than just "backing it up."
