Popular British singer, Lily Allen, is back and with a vengeance. As a fan of her previous music before her hiatus from the music industry, I was ecstatic to hear her new song “Hard Out Here.”
Although her video has received criticism for her mocking of Miley Cyrus’ twerking and her black back-up dancers, and I can see the critics’ points, I think the song should be appreciated for the aspects of feminism that it promotes, not simply the few flaws of the video.
Allen’s previous songs, “The Fear” and “22,” were both controversial singles. In “The Fear,” she critiques the life of celebrities selling their bodies and the mass consumption of society while in “22,” she depicts the cruel way in which society decides a female’s worth in accordance with her marital status and age.
With both of these songs, and with the addition of her new song, it is clear to me that Lily Allen is making a feminist statement about society and I love it.
We should be applauding her for saying things that subvert the patriarchy and challenge traditional gender roles dictated by our society today.
Her obvious play on the song, “Hard out Here for Pimp” by Three 6 Mafia is a battle cry for women to not be afraid to stand up against sexist stereotypes even if they will be considered a ‘beeyotch’.
I think Allen shows in her video that women can do whatever they want and no one in society has the right to judge them.
The music video starts out with Allen on an operating table receiving liposuction with a man in a suit wondering out loud how a woman could let herself “get like this” implying that she is overweight.
Allen says quietly that she had two babies but this is obviously no excuse for her weight and is dismissed.
Later in the song, Allen touches on the double standards of sexually promiscuous women being considered ‘sluts’ while men are considering players and critiques the idea that if a woman is not skinny or attractive, she better have something else going for her like being a cook.
The whole song and video is very tongue-in-cheek and I think it does its job beautifully.
It is a risky move for a female singer to create such an obvious critique of society and its patriarchal ways and she definitely received backlash for her troubles.
I personally find her songs thought-provoking, unique, and simultaneously catchy.
