Happy International Women's Day!
One of the greatest annoyances in my life is that often when the topic of feminism comes up, people say to me "Feminism is all very well and good, but I hate it when "they" think they are superior to men". And I tend to nod along. Sometimes I venture that this isn't really the idea of feminism, but I tend to wilt under the glower that greets me. I am a feminist, but I am also hideously shy, and sometimes I don't stick up for my gender as I perhaps should.
For my eighth birthday, my mum took me to see S Club 7. They were possibly the worst "band" who ever existed, but I loved them as loyally as I now love Radiohead or The Cure. And they were so innocent. They sang about love and summer and lovely things, and they weren't remotely sexual. I was brought up on The Spice Girls who were much more sexcentric (Two Become One) but advocated girl power and taught girls to think for themselves (in their own little way).
About three years ago, I helped at Brownies for a bit. I only did this to get my Duke of Edinburgh award, and there was nothing altruistic in it at all. However, I did it. I was a Guide. It made sense. I don't really like children, but some of them were not that bad. I still remember my heart breaking however, when at the "Christmas Concert" (glorified karaoke session), a group of the girls decided to do a dance to "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls. It was horrific. They were about nine years old.
This was a few years ago. Things have changed a bit, possibly for the better, but now there are The Saturdays who whinge on all the time about unrequited love. Everyone wears so much make up. There are Bratz instead of Sylvanian Families, and Nicky Minaj says the word "hoe" an awful lot.
I really don't want to be too quick to condemn this new generation as doomed, and I'm sure that people thought the same about us when Blue (Dabadee) came out in 1998. I was seven. But the thing is, shitty Europop is inoffensive, and Nicole Sherzinger is anything but.
Happy Women's day everyone.
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