Things That Bothered Me About Pink's "Stupid Girls"
This is THEE anthem for “I’m Not Like Other Girls” Girls btw.
I feel like Pink has always been held up as a hero to women, and I never really agreed with that. Back in 2006, I remember watching the music video for “Stupid Girls” as a 13-year-old and thinking, “This is kind of mean.”
Recently, while on Facebook, I noticed a Buzzfeed article titled “Pink Built Her Entire Career On Tearing Down Other Women” and thought, “Yes, finally someone who agrees with me”. The article got more into instances where Pink made unkind remarks and took some really low blows. I’m talking about as low as making fun of Britney Spears’ mental health issues, and publicly calling her a “puppet on a string” - a week after sending her flowers, mind you. #TwoFaced
But I actually just want to focus on “Stupid Girls” because I’ve had all this on my chest since I was 13.
First and foremost, give it a watch if you haven’t seen the music video already:
But, anyway, here are my thoughts on the music video and the lyrics:
The title of the song. First and foremost, the “stupid girl(s)’ the song is about and portrayed as in the video is any woman who is tan, pretty, has friends, has a small dog, wears a small t-shirt, has sex, and/or a host of other traits. Basically, the archetype of the early 2000s Hot Girl: Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, etc. This always made me mad because WTF does what you wear or the size of your dog have to do with intellect?? But I guess if you don’t possess it, you wouldn’t have the capacity to recognize who has it.
The bowling alley scene. If you didn’t see the video, here’s the scene: some woman is bowling, unaware and uninterested in Pink and her boyfriend. But her breasts are visible, so I guess that makes her the villain. And even though the boyfriend is openly staring at this woman’s breasts, Pink does not get mad at him. Instead, she’s mad at the woman and then pulls a secret tag to enlarge her own breasts to redirect the boyfriend’s focus back onto her. Like…what? Why are you dating a guy who is so predictably and openly a pervert that you leave the house with a Plan B in place, just in case a woman with bigger breasts walks by?? Also, why does he not seem fazed by your boobs just suddenly being massive??
“What happened to the dream of the girl president? She’s dancing in the video next to 50 Cent”. Is she the one and only woman we can run for president? Why is she disqualified for dancing in a music video? I’ll be sensitive to the era this video was released in, and it’s understood as a low bar for US presidents at the time, so I won’t mention that the current US president is a child molester. But, even in 2006, the most recent presidents were George W. Bush (committed war crimes) and Bill Clinton (cheated on his wife in office with a 22-year-old intern). But a woman being the president is unlikely because she dances next to 50 Cent? Y’all, I’m tired.
This is THEE “I’m Not Like Other Girls” Anthem. Affirmed by the fact that all the positive portrayals of women are when Pink is doing something typically associated with a man: running for president, playing football. And then re-affirmed by the little girl picking up a football in the end, instead of a doll, and getting a thumbs up from the “good” angel on her shoulder.
Taking her top off on the treadmill because a gym worker talked to another girl. Like, I guess she’s trying to say that the guy is only talking to the girl because she’s pretty. But, like, the guy came over with fucking paperwork. This is clearly a procedural matter of some kind, and you’re angrily whipping your top off in a fit to try to “compete” with this woman. Like… that’s actually unhinged.
Mocking Paris Hilton about her sex tape. Love Paris Hilton or not, but having a private and intimate video of you, released without your consent fucking sucks. That would be an incredibly low moment in anyone’s life, and now here goes Pink mocking you and calling you a “stupid girl”.
The narrative that a woman is less than for being feminine is not feminism, yet that is exactly the narrative being pushed here. This was not a new narrative at the time, of course, but it was still gross to see it from a woman. A woman should not have to conform to bigger things and/or male-dominated things to be worthy of respect. She is worthy of respect just for existing, and that entitlement to respect is not diminished because of how her hair looks or because she likes Chihuahuas.
The woman most worthy of respect actually was the woman in the music video who casually runs pedestrians over, then immediately fixes her lip gloss. The streets are too congested, and I appreciate anyone who’s shortening my commute. Especially if they look good doing it.