Ain’t Your Mama Joins the List of Feminist Anthems

A post by student Manisha Jose

On May 6^th of this year, Jennifer Lopez dropped her video for her song, Ain’t Your Mama. Not only is this a great song to dance to but it contains a truthful message about the treatment of women in the past and the present. Ain’t Your Mama added on to the growing list of empowering songs that all women should listen to.

There have been many songs I have heard that make me proud to be women. This song not only reaches my feminist side but also makes me want to play it out loud for everyone in the world to hear.

It starts out with Jennifer Lopez talking to her male partner on the phone. He seems to be a bit of loser and she is tired of always having to deal with him. It then continues with her character getting ready to do a news cast. As this is happening, famous lines from feminists, such as Patricia Arquette, are being read out loud. As the video continues, Jennifer Lopez plays many different female characters, from decades past and future. Each character demonstrates the poor treatment that they have received either at home or at work. At the end of the video, Jennifer Lopez leads women in an empowerment walk and dance through the city.  It’s so amazing to watch, it’ll make you jealous that you weren’t part of this great feminist movement (even though it was just a scene shot for the music video).

Not only does this video send a powerful message, but the lyrics do as well. The title itself, Ain’t Your Mama, sends a strong idea to many people. That we, as women, should not be treated the same way as your mother is. Why should we have to do all the household chores? Are guys not capable of cleaning around the house as well? The title also points out that often times the work women do is taken for granted. Guys will just assume that everything will get done and don’t appreciate the work we do.

Jennifer Lopez has provided a message for the world and that message is that women will no longer stand behind men but beside them instead.

If you like this song, you should check out these other feminist anthems as well:

Christina Aguilera feat. Lil’ Kim - “Can’t Hold Us Down”

Best Line: Letting them know we're gonna stand our ground/Lift your hands high and wave them proud

Lily Allen - “Hard Out Here”

Best Line: There's a glass ceiling to break, uh-huh, there's money to make/And now it's time to speed it up 'cause I can't move at this pace

Selena Gomez & The Scene - “Who Says”

Best Line: But when it comes to me/I wouldn't want to be anybody else.

P!nk- “Stupid Girls”

Best Line: I'm so glad that I'll never fit in/That will never be me/Outcasts and girls with ambition/That's what I wanna see

Colbie Caillat- “Try”

Best Line: You don’t have to change a single thing

The Double Standards Need to Stop

A post by student Rushika Khatkar

In my English class this year, I had an assignment called a "rant." I had to perform a rant to the class about any topic I wanted. There were many ideas I played around with. Should I rant about loud people on the buses or the really cold weather. I wanted to stay away from controversial topics. I was too afraid to perform something for my class that would make them remember me but there was also a part of me that wanted to use this opportunity to send the class a message. This struggle was so strong that I actually wrote two different pieces. On the day of my presentation to the class, I finally decided. I gathered up the courage to talk about a topic I am most passionate about, the double standards surrounding the treatment of women.

So here is my rant that I performed to my class! I hope you receive the message I was trying to convey.

The Double Standards Need to Stop

Every time I watch a music video, I can’t help but look at the comments. Sometimes they are hilarious and sometimes they just show the double standards of the world.

This is the 21^st century, a time where demeaning comments about women should not exist. Yet, every time in the comment section, there are always people commenting on the singers looks and body. Yeah, Adele is not what we think of being skinny, but I can guarantee the person behind the keyboard isn’t looking so great either and he sure doesn’t have her voice.

When there is a music video with a shirtless guy, he is never said to be slutty. Actually he’s usually pretty hot. But the moment a women, no matter how beautiful, decides to break the rules of society and show a little skin, she’s labeled a skank. 

Singers like Lilly Allen and Ciara tried pointing out the double standard with songs such as “Its Hard out Here” and “Like a Boy”.

Christina Aguilera best summarized it when she sang the line “the guy gets all the glory the more he can score, while the girl can do the same yet you call her a whore”. Sex has a much more negative connotation for women than men. If a photo of a couple in bed gets leaked, it’s always the girl who gets the backlash. The woman is instantly labelled as slut or easy. I can’t remember an instance where a man got in trouble if he wasn’t married. In fact, he probably gets a pat on the back from this friends.

I know I sound like I’m raging on all men but really I am raging on society. That includes girls like me. I can tell you that girls can be just as demeaning as men. In fact it’s worse because they should know better. I know I’m guilty of judging a girl before I get the whole story and it’s not something I’m proud of. But I know it’s something wrong. 

That’s the first step in fixing this problem. We have to acknowledge that something is wrong before we go forward.

A high school student in South Carolina was sent home to change her clothes. She was being a distraction to other males. She was a wearing a muscle tee, a type of t-shirt that 3 of her male classmates were wearing yet not one of them was asked to leave. Standards like that just demonstrates how women’s bodies are thought to be inherently sexual and less important than a man’s education.

What happened next was something we should try to emulate. This provoked an outcry from the girls at that school that spread throughout the world. #IAmMoreThanADistraction generated thousands of posts. Events such a Crop Top Day and protests need to continue so we can show the world the double standards they impose on women. Women should not be taught to dress more appropriately but rather men should be taught not to disrespect them.

So the next time you are about to like, share or post something that could be demeaning, just don’t. Because if the tables were turned, men wouldn’t want to be called sluts either.