riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (01/10/85)
In his article on Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," Jim Dyer
says that a reviewer in "Ms." calls the tune "a 'feminist version' of a
man's song". Jim has some doubts as to whether or not Lauper's song
qualifies, but the category is an interesting one. Can any of you think of
other (1) feminist versions of sexist songs or (2) feminist songs belonging
to a usually sexist sub-(sub-sub)-genre of music?
My favorite example of the latter is "Love Me Like a Man" by Bonnie Raitt.
Raitt is, in my opinion, a truly great blueswoman, and the song is a
down-dirty blues tune with echoes of all sorts of classic but unfortunately
sexist numbers that everybody's heard ("I'm a Man", for instance). Raitt's
song, though, turns around the usual blues equation of masculinity with
machismo; the singer first complains about the treatment she receives from
her usual lovers then call (I'm quoting from memory here), "I just want a
man to love me / who won't put himself above me / but will love me like a
man." (I don't have the record with me, and I'm not sure that Raitt wrote
it.)
I suppose that Maria Muldaur's "I'm a Woman (W-O-M-A-N)," an outright spoof
of "I'm a Man," could fit into category 1 above.
Considering how many of the great early blues artists were women (especially
in the line of the blues that developed into jazz), I wouldn't be surprised
if some digging wouldn't turn up a number of blues songs that could be
called feminist. Anyone know of any? And what about other styles of music?
--- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,harvard,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle
--- riddle@ut-sally.UUCP, riddle@ut-sally.ARPA, riddle@zotz.ARPAmfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON) (01/15/85)
> Can any of you think of > other (1) feminist versions of sexist songs or (2) feminist songs belonging > to a usually sexist sub-(sub-sub)-genre of music? > How about most of Patti Smith's oeuvre, especially her covers of Van Morrison's "Gloria" and Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe". Her kicker is that she adopts the same macho attitude, but continues to aim it at women. Another possibility is Alberta Hunter's "My Handy Man ain't handy no more" a fantastic example of blues sexual braggadocio. That she sang it when she was 79 only makes it more delicious. Marcel Simon ..!mhuxr!mfs
carson@homxa.UUCP (P.CARSTENSEN) (01/15/85)
Some newer folk songs express very feminist viewpts., for example there is one about the IPD (answer to the IUD) and a version of "who's gonna shoe your pretty little foot" that answers basically "I can take care of that quite well by myself, thank you..." (Sorry, can't tell you who sings them ...) P.