Could Ke$ha possibly be helping feminism?
When most people think of Ke$ha, feminism is not the first word that comes to mind. But I think her music does have some vaguely feminist merits.
I remember some time before I even discovered the FBomb (my life must have been so meaningless…) I was thinking about sexism in music. I remember thinking, “I wonder why most music by women is all about how much they love their guys, and men’s music is all about hooking up with random, personality-less girls at parties? Women almost never treat men like meaningless objects in music, but men do all the time.”
I tried to think of a song where women treat men like men treat them. The only one I could come up with was a little-known song from Ke$ha’s debut album, Animal: Boots and Boys. In it, Ke$ha sings about how she only wants two things—boots and boys (obviously). Basically she equates boys to boots, valuing them equally.
I want to make it clear that women objectifying men the same way men objectify women DEFINITELY isn’t feminist. Feminism is about equality. But it’s definitely interesting to see the tables turned. It’s also interesting to see how people react to both – when men objectify women it’s normal and accepted, but when women do it they’re considered trashy or slutty (like Ke$ha is by many people).
I also wonder if more guys realized what it felt like to be compared to objects if they would stop doing it to women. No doubt, being objectified would make them uncomfortable. Is that why “Boots and Boys” isn’t more popular?
Again, I don’t believe that women should treat men like objects any more than I believe that men should treat women like objects. But I definitely think that Ke$ha’s songs are interesting in that they turn the tables, and they make you—and, hopefully, all the writers and producers of all the sexist music out there—think long and hard about how women are treated in music.
Maybe, just maybe, with a little help from Ke$ha, the music industry will stop objectifying women so much.
