Earworm of the Day: TLC - Unpretty

TLC produced some of the stealthiest feminist pop of the 90s. The message in "Unpretty" is pretty straightforward, and its video pretty powerful considering it was all over MTV in the late-90s, though it's not completely without its problems. I'm not a big fan of "your beautiful inside/ just the way you are" trope (no one should be shamed for not liking their body either), but it's a little different when it comes from three women, particularly three women of color, who, like a lot of their fans, have grown up with the message that you can never be pretty enough, good, enough, or smart enough. It's a message song without really trying to be a message song.