As you know, I've been thinking about Gaga's Good Girl transgressiveness a lot since Lilly blogged about it. I got a whole new surge of "totally!" when I read your comparison to Michaelson, Callait (sp?). I especially have listened to ingrid for a long time (did you know she hails from Staten Island?) and, yeah, she really, really can be that Good Girl. The argument becomes ever stronger in a comparative light. Nice work, FL.

 "Real" isn't a stamp that anyone can put on anyone else.   Are these artists authentic?  There's a lot of musing out there that Ke$ha and Megan Fox, in particular, play up a sexy party girl persona even though it's little more than an act.  Some say they do it because it brings them all kinds of attention and sells their products.  That might or might not be true, but really it doesn't matter.  Ke$ha might be faking her bravado and attitude, her "swagger," as you put it Fiona, but that doesn't mean that girls can't have swagger.  Performers often fake things.  In fact, that's part of the job description.  All of us should be a bit weary of holding them up for too much admiration or emulation.

Your title is interesting, the suggestion that these girls are "manning up" by acting sexually empowered or dirty.  I've heard people talk about successful women in a variety of fields as if they somehow are making it in a man's territory.  Some people have the notion that a woman must act like a man in order to be professionally successful.  Rather than frame our discussion as though women naturally reside in one state of being, and then a few foray into men's territory, I hope we women can start to take ownership of every permutation and variation of choice and lifestyle.  Ke$ha and Gaga and Fox aren't acting like men.  No more than Caillat is acting like a woman.  They're doing their thing, they're making their choices.  They're showing us the wide spectrum of lives that women can, and do, embrace.

I was laughing as I read Stacy's comment because I so vividly remember being in middle school and belting out the hit pop song, "I Touch Myself" along to the radio.  My mother heard me and got very upset.  She told me she'd better not ever hear me singing along with that song again, and gave me the firm impression that the topic of the song was dirty and disgusting.  I understand, especially now that I'm a mom, wanting to raise children with certain values.  But, I think you're right, Lauren, about acknowledging and celebrating young girls' sexuality.  Parents have a right to say that certain music (or movies, or video games, etc) is off-limits.  I know that I will exercise that right, and try to keep Winnie from experiencing portrayals of sex or violence before she's old enough.  But, when she does come across such portrayals, I hope I will not miss out on the opportunity to have a thoughtful conversation about such behaviors, rather than have the knee-jerk reaction that my mother did.

 I agree with you about the sexuality piece Lauren, but I just wanted to bring another factor into the equation. I just read this post on The F Bomb about Taylor Swift. The author basically criticizes Taylor for not being a good feminist role model, because she is too normal and puts too much emphasis on innocence and virginity. The post rubbed me a little bit the wrong way, just because I feel that it's important to recognize that you can be "normal"--which Taylor apparently is because of her sexuality, race, and socio-economic background--and have values like abstinence, while still being a feminist. It's important to have balance in the world, which is why I am happy Lady Gaga and Ke$ha have arrived as contrast to Taylor in her white dress. I'm curious to think what you all think.

Am I the only one who doesn't really see a problem with women being sexual here?  Why shouldn't young women talk about hooking up and having sex?  I agree that it's a shame if popular songs written/produced/performed by women only discuss sex and sexuality, especially heterosexuality, and/or always encourage alcohol+drinking. Those representation limit the possibilities for what women can be and perhaps promote unhealthy decision-making. But I don't necessarily think that's going on here (at least and especially not with Lady Gaga). These songs explore a sexual side of women that reminds me of some Salt n Pepa songs ("I Wanna Shoop" anyone?)--their message is that people should play with their sexuality and honestly discuss it.  I do have some issues with Ke$ha's song "Blah Blah Blah"--namely that she seems to advocate hooking up with someone who's drunk, which seems to promote nonconsensual sex. On the other hand, I think it's awesome that, in that song, she also tells the guy she's interested in exactly what she wants. How many women are uncomfortable asserting their sexual desires?

On another note, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing if an 11 yr old girl knows the lyrics to these songs. Children, pre-teens, and teens are sexual beings and I think it's important to allow them to explore the different ways their sexualities can manifest or at least open the topic for discussion.  If a parent is umcomfortable with a song their child is singing, why not start a conversation about it and listen to what the child has to say?

As long as presentations of sexuality in the media don't promote violence, assault, or excessively unhealthy behavior, I don't see what there is to protest. Young people are sexual. Let's support, discuss, and celebrate that.

Thanks so much for your comment Stacy; it was very interesting to hear your perspective.

I agree, and mention in my blog, that I feel like their songs are often over-sexualized or put too much emphasis on partying, drinking, and drugs. However, I think it's unrealistic to think that the absence of these women will keep young girls from receiving these messages. The culture of partying and hooking up is very prevalent, and that's where I think it becomes each girl's duty to make her own choice about how she will handle those things in her life. What I don't think gives girls much of a choice is when they are exposed to double standards that make them believe only men are allowed to have self confidence....or even that only men are allowed to seek attention. I think most girls do not have a balanced perspective on the roles women and men play in society, and so I would be upset if my daughter thought the only people who are allowed to brag about partying and hooking up are men. I would be upset if my daughter thought that the only people who robbed banks were men, or the only people who got into physical fights were men, or the only people who flunked out of school were men, or the only kids who don't do their homework are boys. I say this because I think it's the same mentality where girls think women can't be axe-murderers that causes them to think women can't be president. "Hey," they think, "I've never seen it."

 I think that sort of idea leads to a double standard that doesn't allow girls to make choice, because it so strongly affects the way they feel about all their actions and everything they say. While ideally, I don't think anyone should be exposed to this culture, because I don't think it should exist, that's not the case. I would rather women are portrayed brushing their teeth with Jack than see them portrayed basically naked, with their bare backs being used as tables for a man's drink, as I once saw in a rap video.

It was funny to read your post today Fiona because I just posted a piece decrying the commercialism of music aimed at kids (mostly girls) and what I think this generation is missing out on.  Your post is really well written and I agree with many points--I love the fact that young women in music are free to express themselves.

But as a mom I have a real issue with music that is so clearly marketed to girls--tweens, teens--and extols the "joys" of being wasted and hooking up with guys. It does not exactly warm my heart to see my 11-year old belting out every single one of Kesha's lyrics about brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack because she's not coming home tonight (especially at her age when she knows exactly what all these lyrics are about...).

Also--there is a relatively fine line between expressing yourself and acting out to get attention. I cannot find a more pathetic figure than Kesha in today's popular culture...check out her self-made videos on YouTube and you can't help but cringe. And while there's lots to like about Lady Gaga, she too is all "me-me-me-me"...not great role models in my opinion.