Aretha Franklin Analysis

Combining with the motif of protest was the issues of women rights. Women celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 19th amendment, and liberal abortion laws in the year of 1970. No longer merely entertainment, popular music became a powerful means of protest and an effective force for social change. The whole feeling of fighting for what is right was often found in lyrics and music of the time. Although women had been in the music industry for centuries the song of the seventies that backed the idea of woman’s push for power was “I Am Women,” by Helen Reddy. The first line simply stats the mood of the whole song by stating, “I am women, hear me roar.”

In 1997, Shania Twain released the song “Man I feel like a woman!”. The catchy melody immediately made this song a huge hit, but it’s the meaning of the lyrics that made it the feminist anthem that is still loved after so many years. The music video itself is empowering as it shows a confident Shania in the spotlight surrounded by her male musicians. However, the lyrics are what this analysis is more focused on. Twain sings about being her true self and letting loose. The song is an example of feminism, because it challenges gender stereotypes, the pressure put on girls to look a certain way and gender norms. The argument will be structured in three paragraphs, each developing on one of the ideas found in the thesis.

The chorus of the song repeats the verse “what’s wrong with being confident?” as the video shows Demi clearly kicking-butt. This breaks the stereotypical idea that women cannot be as confident, or as strong, as men can. Lyrics such as “you’ve had me underrated” (Lovato,2015) “I’m the boss right now” (Lovato, 2015) and “ ‘cause this is my ground, and I’m dangerous” (Lovato, 2015) also show the girl-power that Demi works to express in her music.

The World Peace Movement protested war, weapons and violence (PBS.org) and wanted safety for all, like the way the Women’s Music Movement wanted a safe place in music for women. Also, Holly Near came from that movement to the Women’s Music Movement after struggling to find songs to perform during peaceful protests that “felt right coming out of her mouth”, which she did not find with songs that were written by men (Mosbacher, 2002). The Labour Movement fought for fair pay, sensible hours and proper work conditions (History.com), something else feminists strived for. The Civil Rights Movement challenged racial equality and freedom (History.com), something also being challenged by women—especially black feminists—like Sweet Honey and the Rock (Mosbacher, 2002). These existing movements already faced struggles similar to those faced by Second Wave Feminists fighting for gender equality and equal rights for lesbians. These movements produce passionate emotional responses that can be expressed musically such as how lesbian women made desperate pleas for equality in their songs. For example, in Mary Watkins’ song “No Hiding Place” she softly croons “There’s no one else to judge when love is really love” (Mosbacher, 2002).

1. Early in the essay, Carl T. Rowan describes Miss Bessie as five feet tall and no more than 110 pounds. While explaining how she doesn’t seem physically threatening, Rowan notes she had a “towering presence in the classroom. She was the only woman tough enough to make me read Beowulf” (411). Rowan’s resistance towards reading Beowulf led to him learning about Miss Bessie’s large brown eyes, that resembled “daggerish slits” (411). Rowan describes his former teacher in a way that resembles someone who is looking up to an authoritative figure. Whenever he comments on her appearance or personality, it he does in a very respectful context. Just by the way Rowan often talks about Miss Bessie, it’s obvious the amount of respect and admiration he has

As hard as is it is today for women to succeed in the sciences, one must give kudos to those that came before us. These are the women that paved the way for today's generation of women scientists. One such woman is Rosalind Elsie Franklin, a chemist who had a great impact on the modern day field of genetics.

This song displays the traditional messages sent by male artists. What about female artists? What do their songs portray? Andsager and Roe’s findings give a good description. According to them, there are two kinds of female artists. The strong, more established female artists portray women as “fully equal.” These women are in their thirties at least, they are more established, and they dress in casual suits. They sang romance, female emancipation, and heartbreak like the rest, but they did not compromise their image in their videos. They use Trisha Yearwood as an example in her song Everybody Knows. The other type, were women who “fell into the lowest level on the consciousness scale.” They used Deana Carter’s song We Danced Anyway as an example. In this song she rolled on the beach in a wet t-shirt. Another one is Faith Hill’s song Breathe. In this song, Hill is seen rolling around in her bed sheets with no clothes on.

This song “Respect” by Aretha Franklin relates to the book “Their Eyes Were Watching God” in that it reflects Janie’s relationship with Joe Starks. In Janie’s relationship with Joe there has always been a sense of dominance from Joe. From the start, Joe begins conversing with Janie when they first meet by jumping into action in a matter which that was uncalled for. After that he is quick to make the judgment that he alone can give Janie a live better than the one she has as the wife of Logan. When Jaine agrees to go and becomes Joe's wife, she ultimately earns the reputation of being the “mayor’s wife”.

Audre Lorde was a famous African American essayist and poet. From reading Poetry Make Something Happen, it is evident that she had a powerful voice and was passionate about the work she published. Her work is stylistically refreshing and motivational, making it relevant for years to come.

During the 1970s many groups were dealing with the fact of fighting for equality such as African-Americans, Native Americans, and other marginalized people. This era had inspired some artists to produce songs on the revolution. One artist being Gil Scott-Heron who wrote the song “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” which is about how what is televised on television is not the revolution but they are only the symptoms and how society needs to have their own mind. In addition, not be followers to those who are being ignorant and turning to violence. He explains, how for you to change the way you live you have to possess the right mind. It will only be something people see, but eventually they will begin to realize that they are on the wrong

In an article called ‘ladies first’: Queen Latifah’s Afrocentric feminist music, it talks about issues raised by feminist rap; rap that focuses on women’s importance, and the demand for equal treatment, and for the need to encourage each other. “Queen Latifah's feminism draws on the patterns of rap to assert the importance of women promoting themselves and other women. Rap, like all other forms of popular music, is not inherently feminist, but in this genre, as in other popular genres, female performers use specific generic qualities to promote a feminist message. Rap is noted for its emphasis on lyrics, and through the lyrics, female rappers make explicit assertions of female strength and autonomy.” Women talk about how they need to be seen as equal to a man through their lyrics and for women to encourage other women. That will push back the negativity from the male rappers toward the female rappers. For an example in a song called U.N.I.T.Y by Queen Latifah she said “Every time I hear a brother call a girl a b*** or a h*, trying to make a sister feel low, you know all of that got to go” Throughout her song she is letting male rappers know that they can’t be calling women those types of names, no matter what. Through time, the hip hop community is and will keep pushing back the misogyny and violence that rap

James has indeed been through a rough life, let’s take a short break, now playing is her record breaking song, ‘At Last’.

to her career in the future since it was the technique used to get a

“Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” by Pete Seeger became a popular anti-war protest song during the 1960s. This song did not only protest against the Vietnam War but also made their generation more aware about the global problems. Songs like “Not Ready to Make Nice” by Dixie chicks about freedom of speech was written after they received death threats for singing against the Iraq war, protests against the violation of human rights. But music is not only used to protest, it is also used to give hope and optimism. “We Shall Overcome”, a song sung by Guy Carawan together with the Montgomery Gospel Trio and the Nashville Quartet, is perhaps the best known example of civil rights song. Instead of blaming the government, this song registered a feeling of hope and faith among African-Americans during the civil rights movement.

In the words of pop singer and ardent feminist P!nk, “Women have fought so long and hard for our rights and equality, and now all our attention is put on being a size 0.” P!nk’s hit song “Stupid Girls”, released with her 2006 album I’m Not Dead, provides a commentary on society’s perception of a woman’s role and how women respond to that perception. She rejects the foundations of the stereotype that women exist as subordinate to men, while challenging the behavior of women who conform to these societal expectations in order to please men. Although she composed the piece to encourage women to take pride in intelligence, the song has come under critique for “slut-shaming” by stereotyping women who focus on external appearance, labeling them as “stupid”. The piece simultaneously demeans and empowers women, demonstrating just one of the many flaws in the feminist movement that exist today.