During the panel discussion on Feminism and Women Under 40 held at Pace Law School on March 21, 2006, one of the speakers touted the new Pink video, “Stupid Girls,” as an example of how feminists can harness the media to distribute their messages. During the Q&A, audience members then raised some interesting questions about whether Pink is reinforcing stereotypes of the fashion-averse, tomboy feminist on the one hand and a vapid, image-conscious “stupid girl” on the other. No matter how one comes out on that question, the video is thought-provoking and worth the watch (after the obligatory commercial that seems to come with all internet-available copies of the video). As a law professor, my main question about the emphasis on pop culture is whether young feminists have given up on the law as an agent of social change. Perhaps young feminists look to pop culture to distribute feminist messages because they think the law’s work is “done.” Or perhaps feminist lawyers and feminist law professors — myself included — have not done a good enough job articulating what work still needs to be done.
— Bridget Crawford
I had just seen Pink’s”Stupid Girls”video a couple days before Bridget Crawford submitted her post and was trying to make sense of the video myself. On the one hand, Pink criticizes the hypersexualized imperative of female entertainers, yet she’s in many ways dependent on the fact that she happens to fit that desired norm – perhaps not as grotesquely as others, but certainly to some extent. Would she have the same platform to make her statement if she didn’t? Probably not. Not too many Missy Elliot’s make it to the top of their field, but there are more than a few”Big Punns”and”Biggie Smalls”– portrayed always alongside women who look more like Pink than Ms. Elliot. Pink makes a powerful statement that needs to be heard – and I’ve no reason to doubt the authenticity of her conviction. I question, though, how many young women are listening, and whether her message is overshadowed by the image she herself portrays.