After much discussion of traditionally feminine passivity in ostensibly empowering lady-pop, I think it’s high time for a list. Ever since the Spice Girls made “Girl Power” cool, sexy, and (above all) lucrative for record producers, empowerment has been a convenient posture for pop music to assume—-lyrical cognitive dissonance be damned!
Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon put it best: “Once again, I feel that the music industry is cleverly positioning songs that kind of sort of sound powerful but reinscribe traditional female passivity as a substitute for songs that might actually give women ideas.”
Let’s see who did it best!