Note: This is the third part in a five part series on Feminism and Gender Roles
By Soven Bery ’15, Feature Editor
Beyoncé Knowles’ surprise self-titled album, released on December 13, featured one song that differed from her usual slew of up-tempo dance hits and sappy pop ballads. While her new collection of work did explore different, darker themed songs, it was “Pretty Hurts” that ventured the farthest into uncharted territory for the “Queen of Pop.”
With lyrics like “perfection is a disease,” “what’s in your head, it doesn’t matter” and “it’s the soul that needs the surgery”, Beyoncé takes a piercing stab at the beauty industry and the stereotypes it supports. Her words are haunting and her voice is even more poignant. “Pretty Hurts” is a song that is hard to forget and is accompanied by an equally touching music video. If you haven’t seen it you can check it out below.
The video caused quite a stir in the Newark Academy community as both Ms. Schottland and Ms. Powell showed it to their classes. The two teachers teamed up with Ms. Galvin to hold a discussion about the video and the onus for perfection placed on young girls. I attended as an interested party and the conversation that followed proved to be fruitful and enlightening.
Beyoncé is portrayed as a beauty queen in the video, but that term in and of itself comes with its own set of problems. She’s extremely sad, obsessed with her image, addicted to diet pills and afflicted by an eating disorder. The video uses the pageant world as a microcosm for society at large. It shows the unrealistic expectation of beauty that girls are forced to live up to because of societal pressures.However the video concludes with the message that loving yourself for who you are inside will make you happy. Girls shouldn’t let society define their self worth. It hits the nail on the head as many girls in the room vehemently agreed with the message Beyoncé sent out.
It is no doubt a powerful message, but is Beyoncé really the best person to deliver it? She sings about how one shouldn’t strive for perfection, while looking close to perfect herself. She sings about how a girl’s body doesn’t matter, but shows off her body throughout the video. If anything, she perpetuates the societal pressures that she claims to hate.
As a guy, the video left a different impact on me. I immediately recalled stories of male athletes injecting themselves with steroids, much like the diet pills in the video, and harming their bodies in a similar ways to reach a different form of perfection. While discussed less, societal pressures placed on males do exist. They lurk beneath the surface and aren’t as publicized. However one would be remiss to think that guys don’t look at Abercrombie models and feel the same level of unattainable perfection that girls do when they look at Beyoncé or the like. In that vein I would like to amend her message and expand it to everyone, not just girls. While girls may feel the brunt of societal pressures, those same pressures exist for everyone, including guys who struggle to look like models, actors or athletes. It may be expressed differently, but that onus for perfection isn’t something special to one gender group. It is universal.
Beyoncé began to tackle many difficult questions in her song, but it appears that this problem is much deeper than it initially appears. Don’t agree with my opinion or have a different view? Weigh in on the comments section below to keep the conversation going. Also stay tuned for updates on a possible second “Pretty Hurts” discussion.
The Feature Section Explores Feminism and Gender Roles
Part 3: The “Pretty Hurts” Video
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