Beyond I Am Woman: Why Are There No Contemporary Feminist Anthems?

It started with a post on The A.V. Club: 17 Well-Intended Yet Misguided Feminist Anthems. Authors Jason Heller, Genevieve Koski, Leonard Pierce, Tasha Robinson, Kyle Ryan, Emily Withrow, And Claire Zulkey derided Pink's "Stupid Girls," Shania Twain's "Man! I Feel Like A Woman," and Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman" (and others) as feminist anthems that just missed the mark. (The last one having been written by a man might have something to do with that.) Jezebel and Feministe , along with their readers, counter with their own lists. Says Jezebel's Anna N:

"...many songs have both feminist and anti-feminist readings, and ultimately a song's message is probably less important than whether it's awesome or not. This is not to say that girls and women can't be inspired and empowered by music — just that we shouldn't necessarily restrict ourselves to music that directly expresses our politics."

I tried to come up with a few songs whose lyrics felt all "woman empower-y" (despite my tendency toward mondegreens of epic proportion), and the exercise proved more difficult that I had anticipated. Several songs from Lucinda Williams's self-titled album -- my first choice in strong female musical role models -- have a certain "Thelma and Louise" quality, but when examined further, also fall short. Take "Changed The Locks." (Because I am listening to it now.) How empowering is it to squirrel yourself away behind your "changed locks," or in the new used car you just bought so your ex won't recognize you driving down the street? Not very. (Note: never underestimate the power of a restraining order.) My other choices were Sleater-Kinney's "Anonymous," and Salt -n- Pepa's "None Of Your Business," and "Let's Talk About Sex." Both are good, if somewhat tethered to the early 90s.

I'm going to agree with Anna on this one. I grew up listening to dreck of the Poison/Warrant/Winger variety, and I still became a card-carrying feminist.