Katy Perry was named Woman of the Year at Friday night’s Billboard Women in Music awards, and she made a pretty strong departure from her recent matronly turn in fashion with a lovely tomato-red Oscar de la Renta dress and silver, peep-toed heels. I’m guessing that, since Katy never mentioned feeling fat (her words, not mine) in her acceptance speech (and I wouldn’t put it past her to say that), Katy had tucked herself into her beloved Spanx, and she looks pretty good here. By that statement, I mean that she’s dressed respectfully for the occasion and neither her boobs nor her booty are hanging out all over the place. Katy wore her hair in an elaborate, braided updo, which was quite flattering, and I’ve included a rear view of the hairdo and dress as well as a photo with Carly Rae “Cinderella for Life” Jepsen, who was named Rising Star, at the bottom of this post.
In the meantime, we’ve already recently heard Carla Bruni’s negative opinion on feminism, and now Katy is chiming in as well. Here are some excerpts from her acceptance speech as (ahem) Woman of the Year:
On feminism: “I am not a feminist, but I do believe in the strength of women.”
Her relationship with fans: “I don’t really like to call myself a role model for my fans. I hope that I am an inspiration for them, especially young women. My mantra, especially for the [Part Of Me] film, was: If you believe in yourself, you can be anything. People don’t want to look up to someone. They want to look at across at someone and say, ‘That’s my girl. She’s singing something I don’t know how to put into words. She’s captured something and became the soundtrack of my life.’ And I know that if I get out of line, my sister back home will whack me across the face – and so will my management.”
On her mom, Mary Hudson: Katy thanked her mother “[f]or keeping my head above water throughout all the 124 shows of the tour and some of the hardest times of my life.”
[From Billboard]
Oh, Katy. I guess now we know why she’s hooked on a misogynist like John Mayer.
Katy’s makeup was relatively low-key compared to her usual look. She’s still wearing a pancake layer, but she’s downplayed the colors, so she looks relatively mature instead of gaudy. A definite step in the right direction.
Carly Rae Jepsen wore a bright blue Rachel Zoe dress with a youngish-looking ruffle detail at the hem. Her gold pumps are Brian Atwood. This girl just doesn’t stand out from the crowd, does she?
Photos courtesy of WENN
There’s that great quote: “Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.” Why is feminism STILL such a dirty word?
Exactly!
+1
Evidently, it’s still a brand new concept the way some women talk.
Because girls think boys won’t like them if they say they are. I’m pretty sure that’s it.
If you understand anything about the history of gender roles and, y’know, society at all, you’d never be so vapid, superficial, and weak-minded as to avoid the label.
To all the women saying “I’m not a feminist?” Pick up some books and have some self respect.
I agree 100%.
Me too. Since so much of this post-feminist “empowerment” seems to be about manipulating men through sexuality, threatening them with “feminism” is a no no. It’s the 21st Century’s answer to playing dumb so the boys will let you wear their letter sweaters and go steady! 🙂
Hell yes this comment. <3
One of the best comments I’ve read on CB. Thank you for stating it so well 🙂
I think it’s because for years feminists were portraied like histerical women with no tolerance for anyone’s opinion.
Agree. The media portrayed feminism to be a bunch if ugly women burning their bras and hating men. Umm, no. Feminism, to me anyway, is about not being treated like shit because if what’s between your legs.
In a class at university once a remember a girl said “I hate feminism.” We’ll, lucky for her that there was feminism so she could go to University and express her opinions in it like that.
Unfortunately, it has been my experience that often, self identified feminists can be quite intolerant toward others who don’t happen to share their viewpoint. For instance, a long time friend (upon finding out that I happened to believe that abortion is wrong) said ‘Well, I just can’t be friends with you anymore’. And so she wasn’t. It hurt. To be truthful I still see quite a bit of that.
“I think it’s because for years feminists were
portraiedportrayed likehistericalhysterical women with no tolerance for anyone’s opinion.”Oh, irony.
All these hateful comments by self-proclaimed feminists ridiculing and deriding Katy Perry’s opinion (one she’s entitled to, regardless of whether you agree with it…kinda the point of feminism) are decidedly anti-woman. How very tolerant of you all.
Jen,
F that. I dislike stupidity and ignorance. If someone uses a word in a speech and they don’t know the meaning of said word, yes I will call them out. Nobody is being “hateful” towards Katy. It’s a call out. Like I said, I don’t like ignorance and I like people to actually be informed on what they talk about. As someone else pointed out, Katy IS a feminist, she is just too damn stupid to realize it. Because she probably thinks, like, the boys might not, like, want to watch her, like, shake her whipped cream titties, like, you know?
Jen, a comment doesn’t became “anti-woman” just because it disagrees with something a woman said. Nice try, though.
Where’s the irony in that, Jen? She misspelled so she can’t be a feminist?
And again, expressing an opinion about someone’s opinion is also expressing an opinion.
Not so difficult, I would think. Nobody told her to not have an opinion. But you act like people tried to silence her. I find that a very insidious tactic that is often used on this site by people with conservative opinions.
Jen’s comment is annoying, non sequitur and self-righteous. We feminists have the right to point out Katy’s public dumbassery but we’re not “hating” or spiteful as implied. And it is hilarious, Jen, that you try to smugly call someone out for a misspelling but you clearly don’t understand what irony means.
Jen’s irony, if I may, comes from the term “hysterical” – (quoting from wikipedia because it’s faster) “For at least two thousand years of European history until the late nineteenth century hysteria referred to a medical condition thought to be particular to women and caused by disturbances of the uterus ”
Basically any female could be marginalized on the basis of her biology and genetic predisposition to mental illness.
I think that is the irony to which jen was referring…
I was coming on to say this exact same thing.
Agree with all above. Where are the young feminists? Are they too afraid because boys won’t like them? So pathetic!
how annoying that she would disassociate herself from basic notions of gender equality.
Lame.
I think these women that deny being feminists need to pick up a dictionary.
right on, ladies!
Oh people please…. People understand what the word means.. however i myself do not identify with the word because I do not like the feminist crazy folks i have run into over the years and the way the media portrays them ….
If i am married I expect my man to take care of me ( even though the idea of being bare foot and pregnant is like a bad nightmare)
I expect him to take out the trash and lift heavy items… I expect him to take my car to get serviced and oil changed ( even thought i could change break pads if I needed to … ) and a lot of women who boast about being Feminist have this ” I do not need a man .. kind of attitude … and that is why I do not chose to associate with that …
I do not need a speech or lesson on the word… Obviously I agree with equal right and a woman’s right at choice ( even though i am against abortion) …
I embrace that men and women serve different role in life and i am ok with that … it does not make one above and the other beneath … stop assuming that people do not understand the phrase … they do … but the wacky way these feminist are portrayed is a turn off …
Gender roles in romantic relationships can be a separate issue from social equality for men and women on the whole. If you expect your significant other to pick up heavy things and be a provider, then that is your personal relationship. But if both of you are working the same job, and you find out that you are only making 77c for every dollar he makes SOLELY because he is a man and you are a woman, wouldn’t that upset you?
oh Katy, shut up..
Right. When is wanting an equal playing field wrong ?
…precisely..thank you…
Just shut up and sit in the corner.
Just – just go.
NOW.
Why is feminism such a dirty word? It’s ridiculous.
It’s obviously SO offensive to be able to have the right to vote, have the right to control our reproductive system, to not be blamed for rape and to not have a laughably large discrepancy in our pay packet just because we have two ‘X’ chromosomes and our reproductive organs don’t hang out everywhere.
*phew* Rant over.
This. Katy & Swifty need to go back in time a hundred years or so, and then get back to us.
Whateves. I’m a feminist. And why so much foundation Katy?
Maybe the Proactiv stopped working? 😉
She is too a feminist, she’s just too dumb to know what the word means.
Carly Rae REALLY has to learn how to not look like a dude. Sometimes she looks really cute. Here, like a dude.
I don’t understand how women say in one breath they are a feminist and in another breath are attacking a woman because of her appearance??? I am a feminist too. I just say live and let live. For goodness sake she is an entertainer. She is “expected” to be wearing makeup. Why is that a surprise that she is wearing so much?
The reason why these women keep decrying feminism is because mainstream media usually protarys feminism in one light.
These women probably don’t see themselves as second wave feminist and since there is no clear goal or identification of current feminism many woman feel out of step.
I used to have same out look as Katy, prior to taking a Women Studies course and understanding various layers and groups that make up feminism.
High five for Women Studies!! I double majored in that and Political Science.
Same, Nola. I took a sociology course taught by an amazing woman. I learned about the different forms of feminism, and realized I was more of one than I had ever thought.
The reason it’s such a dirty word is because of the women who declare men as lesser beings constantly. I don’t think of myself as greater than all men. I think of myself as equal to men as a whole, and I’m not trying to put them down. I just expect equal opportunities, equal pay, and to be taken seriously.
Unfortunately, it’s the radicals of every group that ruin it for everyone else.
Wow, jealous of you ladies, we were never offered a course like that at Uni. I think we briefly brushed over gender studies, and I remember a lecturer theorising that it was the term ‘feminism’ that put people off because they misinterpreted it as ‘women are THE BEST’ rather than ‘women deserve the same rights as men’.
Although ‘equalism’ doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.
@Amelia,
I just lucked out. Mine was a general sociology class, but the prof had done a lot of work in women’s studies and knew it was an important topic. I remember one of my exams having a lot of feminism questions on it to do with the different kinds of feminism.
It’s generally the Radical Feminism that deals with blaming the men and patriarchy for all of women’s problems. I think most women don’t want to be associated with that because of the exaggerated focus on how men cause all problems and things like that. It makes them sound like man-haters (and some are).
I’m in the mindset, that I don’t blame men for any of this. I don’t place blame. I think women should be able to make their own choices regarding lifestyle, and reproduction, and things of that nature. But I don’t promote the kinds of women who feel like they have to tear men down just to gain ‘equality’- we should be able to get to that without having to put the other sex down.
There are actually not that many women who declare men to be lesser beings. It happens the other way around at least 100 times as much.
But then it’s funny and we shouldn’t complain because we don’t have a sense of humor.
Those few times women say something like that, men will cry about it for years.
I agree. I feel like a lot of young women say they aren’t feminists because the only feminism they’ve been exposed to is the radical feminism.
I was the same way. The only type of feminism I knew about was the radical and thought “I’m not like that, so I guess I’m not a feminist”. Until I studied up a bit more and realized that I was a feminist, just not radical.
Hear, hear. I’ve also taken a sociology course on feminism and I think it’s a bit of an ignorant statement to declare yourself as so not a feminist. Feminism first wave was all about equality, equal pay, voting rights, inheritance, equal laws with marriage, and not having to go back to the kitchen. What is so wrong with that?
Second wave feminism is abit more complex, the need for liberation of women from gender, which again is not a terrible concept nor is it radical. In fact it is common among marginalized groups to seek liberation and empowerment; it was the case with black South Africans with their black consciousness movement.
I wonder if any woman out there would say that feminism doesn’t apply to them. Women have all these choices BECAUSE of feminism. So please have some respect and stop treating it like a dirty word.
I never heard her say feminism was a dirty word… why are you all assuming that is what she meant … ????? She just said she is not a feminist… relax people …
ha, I used to have the same outlook as Katy as well, then I went to college and started paying attention to things.
True, there is no clear goal, and there is no clear voice. I want someone to stand up for little girls as well as women. I want someone to call out every instance of “you’re acting like an 8 year old girl” “quit being such a little girl” etc etc etc etc. I hear that crap almost every day. Hell, I want someone to point out that those cute Verizon commercials with the little kids at the round table with the dry wit business man are focused on a boy’s opinion, not a girl’s opinion. Girls are funny too, world! We’ve been over this! I want respect to start when we are in our littlest single digits, not when we turn 18.
Translation: I am a feminist and do want people to look up to me but I don’t want the responsibility or be held accountable. Her comments are what weasels say.
I’d like to know if someone asked her that or she just volunteered that comment. Like WTF? Who is that for the benefit of? Why even say that.
I’d like to see her live somewhere in the world that didn’t have a feminist movement for the last hundred years like the U.S. where thousands of women made sacrifices so that she could live with the privileges she just assumes were always there, and see how she likes it. No vote, no reproductive rights, no right to basic health care, no property rights, no right to drive a car without her husband’s permission, no right to choose who she married, no right to file for divorce, no right to an education. And certainly no right to be seen in public in those trashy outfits. Well, that would actually be a wonderful thing. Wait, yeah, FU feminism! You made this vicious hag possible!
Katy isn’t the brightest bulb in the factory…It’s not like she’s ever done anything that indicates she understands what feminism is about.
I hope her Valtrex is as strong as her stance on “the strength of women”
I don’t believe in Katy Perry, but I believe in feminism.
Well said.
The last year has proved what happens when women smile and remain quiet too much.
There are people who would gladly take every right from us and if we act too compliant, they would do so.
That’s why I’m so glad Romney did not win. It would have signalled not just to Americans, but all over the world, that you can win an election while your party craps all over women.
Now this has taught the normal conservatives, who threw us as a bone to the nutties, a good lesson.
I give up.
Well Katy, glad you’re not a feminist. Except were it not for feminists, your break with your religious family, not to mention your divorce from Russell Brand, well…ummm…might night have worked out the same.
And “I kissed a girl” well…good luck getting airplay for that prefeminism.
Exactly! Well-said.
Haha!!
Oh, and Katy dear, except for those women who were “strong” enough to take on that oh so awful feminist label…you would not likely be considered worthy of asking your opinion on anything more than a dress style or color of a hat…then again…
I am not sure what all these celebrities think feminism actually is?
Do they believe it means not shaving your legs and being a violent lesbian?
Being a feminist means believing in EQUAL rights for men and women. Men can be feminists.
If you are NOT a feminist, you are in favour of women being sold and traded as property of their husbands and fathers, no equal pay (if they are able to work at all), women being second class citizens etc as is the case in many backwards middle eastern countries.
Is that what you believe Katy? Because in a world without feminism, there is no way anyone would allow you to do what you do, wearing what you do. Noone would even hear your stupid inane chatter.
…ummmm…no…feminism is for females… BUT, one may also be a HUMANIST… which is the basis of equality…and is what the late 19th century/early 20th century intellectuals and those who supported equal rights actually espouced…it’s why they call it HUMANITIES… feminism is about the superiority of the female sex… which one may believe… but its NOT about equality…
What are you talking about?
Since women are not equal yet, it IS about equality between genders.
If it ever becomes equal, we can be humanists.
If women ever get more power, we can all be masculinists (or something).
“So here is the quick way of working out if you’re a feminist. Put your hand in your pants.
a) Do you have a vagina? and
b) Do you want to be in charge of it?
If you said ‘yes’ to both, then congratulations! You’re a feminist.”
― Caitlin Moran, How to Be a Woman (I love that book!)
The Dalai Lama has been very vocal about he considers himself a feminist . . . so I guess there’s something he isn’t telling us 😉
haha, good point. But Moran never said ‘you are ONLY a feminist if…’
For me feminism in a man is a definite turn on. Nothing hotter than a man who is not afraid of women being equal to men and empowered to claim their rights.
(However, I’d like to issue an official statement that I am not in the least attracted to the Dalai Lama, even though he is a feminist.)
I now have a girl crush on Missy Mara. Great freaking quote, I’ll have to read the book!
*sigh* Honestly what do these girls think feminism is? I hate to break it to them but if you want to be able to vote, if you want to have autonomy over your own body and be treated with the same humanity and equality as men then YOU ARE A FEMINIST. I don’t understand how that’s so hard to grasp?
What an idiot.
As we learned in the recent election, feminism is more important right now in the US than it has been in 20 years.
Yes. The crazy rhetoric of some on the right have really woken up lots of women.
We should always be vigilant, since there ARE men who want to take every right from us. Some who even believe that any right we share with them is an infringment on their rights
I don’t think men are out to take rights away from women. I think its mostly women who put other women down. I’ve been helped more in the workplace by men, than I have by other women.
I think the word itself is defined diffrently depending on who you ask. And if she’s speaking in the sense of what feminism has come to be portrayed as of late(not so much what it really means in the general sense), then I don’t blame her one bit.
Personally, I don’t care to have a label define what I stand for and belive in as a woman. To ‘thumbs down’ her based on what YOUR personal belief/definition is, is pretty unfeminine.
Why does Katy even use the label at all then? It’s one thing to not label yourself, which yeah, I totally get, but by bringing it up at all, she’s actually just reinforcing the negative connotations of the label and putting down women that do believe in ‘feminism’ as in gender equality in the broadest sense. That’s really what she’s doing.
PS what does “unfeminine” mean exactly?
I think what Katy is saying here is she’s happy being one of Romney’s ‘binder’ women.
She didn’t put down women who believe in it, she spoke about herself and how that did/didn’t apply to her. When I said “unfeminine”, I meant that the women who want to put her down for stating how she feels on the subject are giving credence to why many feel negatively about it.
That’s not why they’re putting her down. They’re pissed off because she just said something that is hypocritical and uninformed, as per usual. And sorry but she IS reinforcing the negative association with the concept otherwise she wouldn’t bring the word up at all. The reality is is that the simplest little thing that she does every day like those little pills that she pops to not get pregnant so she can have her career=result of the feminist movement. Period. Her whole career is based on selling the idea that a women’s “strength” is all about how attractive they are to men. If you ask me that’s pretty unfeminine.
Ultimately I feel sorry for her. She keeps on choosing men who are disgusting towards women. Her inability to understand what feminism truly means will ultimately be her downfall in life. I hope she learns before it’s too late for her.
Exactly. People’s intolerance for her viewpoint is based on the fact that she seems wholly uninformed about the topic. I think if she had presented an educated, well-rounded explanation as to why she doesn’t want to be labeled as a feminist, people would be more open to accepting her stance.
So it’s unfeminine to disagree with someone and point out the flaw in their argument? That’s a masculine trait? Then I am decidedly unfeminine, regardless of the fact that I’m feeding a dying neighbour, have breastfed two children, volunteer with my church and like to wear pretty things.
Where did I say any of that? And I explained how I meant the context of “unfeminine” in my previous reply…
What’s your distinction between “putting her down” and disagreeing with her? Is the line name-calling? (Some have called her an idiot). Is it pointing out that feminists fought for her rights?
I think the point I was trying to make is that if “putting her down” (which I’ll interpret to mean name calling in this case) is not feminine, what you really mean is ‘disrespectful’. But why do women have to be respectful to be considered feminine? Do men not need to be respectful as well? If I disagree with her perspective and say I think she’s wrong, that does not threaten my femininity.
Well said, Wif.
We can have an opinion about her opinion.
“Feminism has come to be portrayed as of late”… in a certain way – why the passive voice here? Who exactly does this portrayal? And why do you buy into it?
@wif, I wasn’t implying that one’s feminity is wrapped up in being respectful (some would argue otherwise, but not what *I* was saying), I meant the name calling and simply comparing one’s opinion to hers and qualifying hers as invalid just because you personally disagree with it in of itself is contradictary
@Videli
I don’t buy into it, that’s the point of what I said, that I don’t need a label such as “feminist” to define what I believe and stand for
Okay Aubra, I think I’m getting what you mean now. You mean that “putting her down” for stating her opinion is anti-femininist (because feminism is about the right to personal choice), not unfeminine (which means the qualities that are traditionally associated with women.)
No, the word itself has a specific definition. The only reason to give the “i dont use it on myself because it describes something totally different (equal rights?) than what i think” argument is so you can avoid the big scary feminist label.
Well, Aubra, regardless of how you might feel about labels, there are plenty of people sticking them on you and other women on any given day, might as well pick a good one-
I used to think I wasn’t a feminist, when I was 15 (and hadn’t had enough experience to realize that it did NOT mean hating men.) My thinking abruptly changed when a group of spindly geek guys who were my friends (and these were nice respectful clever boys) and I had a fight over the fact that they thought no woman could kick their ass in a fight. Didn’t matter if she was a world class weight lifter or 3rd degree black belt. They said the reason was because they were men, and it was just common knowledge that women can not beat men. The light bulb when on in my head and I thought, “Wait, reason is thrown out the window because of the lies society tells us.” I became a feminist at that moment.
I used to think I wasn’t a feminist too, until one time I was having a discussion with a bunch of guys about something in the news and my opinions were idle because of their counterargument ‘you have hormones’.
Why would anyone give this twit an award for anything? She’s stupid, uneducated and talentless. She also has horrible taste in men and fashion as John Mayer, Russel Brand and this orange, ruffled, nightmarish, mess of a dress clearly indicate.
How can you be a woman and not be feminist? I don’t get it:(. Sadly, I know a lot of women who think feminism is a dirty word. I agree with the above posters asking “do these girls know what feminism means?”. I think some women think a feminist won’t let a man open a door for her or let him buy her dinner. It’s much more serious than that!
As someone who is passionate about women’s rights and pursued her masters in women’s studies I have to begrudgingly agree with Katy. Sadly, “feminism” is really no longer about women’s equality. I never understood why any woman wouldn’t self-identify as a feminist until I was in the underbelly of the movement in graduate school. The movement has been radicalized, and I personally don’t want to be associated with that label anymore. For me, the peek behind the curtain was heartbreaking, and I now understand why feminism has become a dirty word. However, my decision to no longer describe myself as a feminist has everything to do with the movement and nothing to do with my beliefs in women’s equality, etc.
Would you be willing to elaborate further, I found your statement very intriguing.
+1 to everything you said Natace
I think it depends on your individual context. Yours definitely sounds unique with the Oz analogy. What ‘curtain’ is there to feminism pray tell?
More generally, feminism now is extremely diffuse, has been absorbed for years into broader queer and LGBT ‘movements’ — but at its core, what feminism means is to pursue autonomy and reproductive rights, equal treatment under the law, equal pay, equal respect, etc. There seems to be a lot of blame assigned to ‘radicalism,’ but everyone who’s mentioned it has given a college or graduate school context, which is conflating radicalism with immaturity and inexperience — and the purely academic. Did you have a bunch of classmates who hero-worshipped Valerie Solanas or something? At any rate, I don’t think there is anything like a clearly definable ‘feminist movement’ now to point fingers at.
This is exactly right, and eloquently put.
How would you equate a self-professed feminist from a snotty graduate program, by definition a tiny, claustrophobic, and self-serving environment, with a feminist from Rwanda or China?
Oh please. To use a religious analogy, that’s like saying you aren’t a muslim because Al Quaeda exists!
Show me any ideology in the world across history that doesn’t have wierd and or radical adherents who try to redefine it in their own thinking. The trick is not to let them.
The very fact that you can enjoy an education by right and not permission of the males in your life is the very basis of feminism.
THANK YOU
LAK, as usual, you nailed it.
Exactly. Feminism according to Webster’s:
Definition of FEMINISM
1: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.
That’s the definition I prescribe to. I think it’s gotten twisted into something of an ‘us vs. them’ mentality that has gotten ugly by the radicalization of the movement. And who is the ‘them’ in this movement? Women who don’t feel the same!
At the risk of sounding redundant-I’ll just echo what others above have stated. I don’t understand why the feminist label would be abhorrent to anyone and my guess is that a lot of people just don’t understand what it means. Hell, my brother considers himself a feminist as do most of my male friends…
“My mantra, especially for the [Part Of Me] film, was: If you believe in yourself, you can be anything.”
Honey, that makes you a feminist though, if it wasn´t for equal rights you couldn´t be anything you want to be, you could only be housewife and mother.
Could someone give them a dictionary, first Cameron Diaz misinterpretation of objectified, now this airhead.
Why do some chicks absolutely HATE being called a feminist? It’s not the same word as c-nt or bitch or slut or trollop, so i don’t get it.
Come on, these people don’t know what feminism is! What a dumb comment she made. Hm, well I am a FEMINIST and proud. Does not mean that I walk around without a bra and stuff like that. But dammit, I want equality in pay, respect, and treated like a normal human being without being put in a box and coddled.
I’d be angry if gurlfriend labeled herself as a feminist–b*tch enjoys the benefits of women who have sought equality through the generations––but b*tch doesn’t model that fight in her own life. She a wh-re for the music industry and probably isn’t even allowed to say anything that hasn’t been approved by her manager/publicist/Daddypastor/bikini waxer/plastic surgeon/accountant/tour manager/costume designer/and a few dozen anonymous focus group members. Maybe that’s what she’s covering with all that clown makeup.
ANd ladies–BTW you are all too good to be reading about this skank. She does not deserve the energy.
I think this is a case of ultra-conservatives somehow re-defining the word “feminist” to mean “man-hater.” Who wants to be called a man-hater?
No other explanation makes any sense to me, altho it pisses me off no end, having lived through most of the 60s and remembering how we used to be treated. Argh.
I thought that the strand of feminism that declared that men were scum and women superior kind of died out in the 1970s. Even so, it is with their help and that of moderate feminist groups that rape is no longer treated as ‘boys will be boys’ issue, and I don’t have to give special notification that I indeed intend to vote.
I hear about this strand of feminism quite a lot, but so far have yet to see one single, lonely example of it.
Anyone care to give one?
I am similarly confused, as I have not either. I know that there are some women who hate men, often for very good, and very specific reasons (usually rape or other types of abuse), but all of the man haters I have met were anything but feminist. They were mostly disappointed traditionalists lamenting that Prince Charming never came, and they got Bubba the Beater instead. I have met a few angry feminists (and I think it’s okay to be angry for a little while–there’s a lot to be angry about–as long as you move past it to something constructive), but most of the feminists I know are smart, funny, and progressive. Feminists for the most part aren’t trying to dominate men, but to achieve social and political equality.
I think the perception of feminists as man-haters looking to overtake men is a reflection of a primal fear, like Birth of A Nation. What those with social power fear most is a reversal in which they are treated as poorly as they treat those without power. Even though they deny it, they must have at least some subconscious acknowledgement of their dominance, or they wouldn’t protest so much.
Maigirl; what a wonderful comment.
Love to read the replies to this article and ones like it.
I first came to CB for the latest gossip, but it has become so much more. Always something new to learn here.
@Flan, me too.
i can’t believe how much i have learnt from a gossip site!!!
A friend of mine, very sweet but EXTREMELY liberal and misguided, told me sadly that I can’t be a feminist because I like making my boyfriend dinner. She also told me that I don’t really get any fulfillment from it, I just think I do because I’ve been brainwashed by ‘the system’ (aside from loving to cook for my man, I live alone, have a BA, AND my boyfriend and I work at the same place and I have more power than he does).
I understand why some women avoid the label, but I would be proud to call myself one…too bad I can’t because I’m a slave to my boyfriend 😉
Banging. head. against. a. wall.
…But then again, the rest of her statements are pretty stupidly contradictory too so this girl needs to go get herself an education because she doesn’t have a clue about anything. She shouldn’t be allowed to speak in public until she gets a clue. Oh wait, that’s what feminism released us from. So we can give our opinion in public withour censure.
Exactly.
so true. Maybe we should go back to the days when wives were seen and not heard…ooops, no Katies not a wife any more. Does she have any idea what that would have rendered her in “pre feminist days”?
Personally, I would like to leave Katy Perry by the side of the road in Afghanistan and see how long it takes her to get over her whole “I’m not a feminist” ignorant attitude problem.
…
She’s also a “Christian” who parades around in bikinis with whipped cream coming out of her boobs. Katy Perry is not somebody I look to for either intellectual stimulation or as an example of talent.
I too believe that a large part of the population has misunderstood the real definition of feminism. Feminism is not synonymous with misandry, but I believe that’s what women like Bruno and Perry have in mind.
URGGGGH. She and T-Swizzle and everybody else! URGH! Either they’re willfully ignorant or being disingenuous so as not to alienate sexist consumers. EVERYONE NOT CRAZY IS A FEMINIST. I am a penis-owning feminist! It just means you believe in equality, you daft people.
Dictionary.com defines a feminist as: “advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men”.
Eww, gross, equal rights are SO unsexy.
Well, as I and the vast majority of young women in my life have never looked up to Katy Perry as a role model, let alone a strong feminist, I’m not too concerned about whether or not she chooses to be labeled as such. Move on, folks. No use in getting upset about such women and instead concentrate on teaching the younger women around you about what feminism truly stands for.
She’s too old to play this coy-bimbo card. It’s barely passable when some 15 year old doesn’t get why she should accept the feminist label. But she’s like 30 and is in the music industry and not unaware to that degree – she knows her bread and butter comes from guys who want to whack off to her. So she plays the bimbo role so as not to threaten any of the fragile menfolk. Gross.
A hundred years of struggle and progress in the western world and KP and others who are now living the benefits are putting it down? Really.
When you consider the inequality, lack of personal rights and outright slavery of women going on in parts of the world right now, disavowing feminism from the comfort of your upper class privilege is not pretty.
Yep. The status of women in our society isn’t even approaching equal, but we’re hugely privileged, historically and by comparison with much of the world. And to simper and decry that fact strikes me as either dense or culpable, really.
“I’m not a feminist, but…”
I can’t really trust women who claim not to be feminists. Either they’re dishonest, or they just aren’t very smart.
As the quote goes: I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute.
Word! I am always put off by girls who say they aren’t feminists. Brainwashed by patriarchy, uniformed and ignorant. Such a shame really.
Let me take you back to the dark ages, come travel with me: I’m entering my first year of college. I go to get a new bank account in my college town. The banker asks the other college freshman ahead of me what she wants on her mailing address: “will that be Miss, or Ms.?”.
Reply, “Oh: Miss, I’m not THAT liberated!”.
1978. The memory of it still makes me groan.
I’m wondering if she said it because (some) people tend to conflate ‘feminist’ with ‘lesbian’ and she doesn’t want to be identified as the latter. Because of “I kissed a girl,” her piss poor taste in men, and how tom-boyish she looks in her teen school photos, I have assumed she is a lesbian who is in denial, or just doesn’t want to be out.
(And I mean that as someone who had piss poor taste in men and looked/dressed tom-boyish as a teen and lived in denial for a very long time, lol).
Hinting at possible faux-lesbianic tendendencies(of course for the sole purpose to turn on male consumers, her and rihanna play that game a lot together) is actually part of her schtick.
If anything, she has a reputation for being a sexy girl that boys like and god forbid she do anything to turn them off. Like declare women equal to men apparently.
Pretty girl, but cowardly.
Katy looks so different lately. If I wasn’t told that that was Katy Perry I don’t think that I would know it was her. Is it her new way of doing her makeup or is something else going on?
As for her comments, I’m choosing to ignore the constantly dumb sh*t that pours out of her mouth.
I just think she’s becoming more womanly, not talking about her body, but her face has filled out, a little more mature face.
She really bugs me.
Second your thoughts, Delia – Oh, for God’s sake, this cartoon is an illiterate uneducated idiot; that anyone takes her seriously they shouldn’t leave the house without a chaperone – here’s a thought, try to make better music than that crappy autotuned drivel unleashed, through payola, on the radio – Just another example of why celebutards show concentrate on being better at their job, leave the real world to real human beings, go back to Candycane Land KP.
“I’m not a feminist, but I do believe in the strength in women.”
So you’re not a feminist, so much as a cheesy Hallmark card writer. WTF is wrong with her talking about strength of women, but apparently not thinking they are strong enough to be equal men?
UGH. Post – feminism at it’s finest, and by finest of course I mean worst.
There isn’t one neat definition of feminism. It means different things to different people.
A vast majority of women totally take for granted the everyday rights they have. I wouldn’t want to go back 100 years and be considered a man’s property, not be able to vote or speak up for myself. I wouldn’t want to go back 70 years and be told by my husband that my only place is in the home, that domestic violence is to be kept behind closed doors, that I cannot make decisions affecting myself or my family or even go to work.
There are lots of cultures where women are still disrespected, oppressed and treated as second-class. A lot of work still to be done.
I wonder what she thinks of her friend Rihanna going back to Chris Brown ?
psh even my boyfriend proudly calls himself a feminist.
Katy is a moron. It is very possible that she has no idea what feminism means and that it was feminists who put her where she stands today.
The radical right has had one hell of a PR machine for the past few decades now. They’ve managed to claim Jesus/God, patriotism, and to convince insecure females that if they claim to be a feminist then that means they are ugly hairy man-haters and no man will want you. Of course, what so many young women seem to want most of all is male attention, so anything that threatens to make you not desirable to the opposite sex is like kryptonite. It works. I wish all these ‘I’m not a feminist, but…..’ bitches would turn in their voting cards, burn their college diplomas,close their own credit card accounts, and quit their jobs. I wish they’d back it up with actions, but they won’t because they want the benefits of feminism without scaring off da menz.
You’re 100% right, the only reason that the Katy Perry’s of this world don’t understand feminism is that the only people publicly (and endlessly) defining feminism are the ones labeling us feminazis. And they’ve got a big platform. I think more of us need to be out there wearing that label…and we need a few high profile women as well. In the meantime, Katy can go back to playing with Super Duper….
yep yep, exactly THIS
Katy Perry is a dumb slut. She needs to get back in the kitchen where she belongs.
Didn’t think I could like her any less
What a jackass. She couldn’t even be doing what she does for a living if it weren’t for feminism. How can any woman that wants to go to school, work, vote, wear their choice of clothing, own property and on and on be anything but a feminist? Geez I hate stupid.
She’s despicable.
We wouldn’t even know her name if it weren’t for feminists, she’s just too ignorant to know that. Or worse, she’s just a greedy assh0le willing to sell out other women to make money and then piss on them for the privilege they afforded her through their sacrifice.
Rush Limbaugh and his fellow racist/homophobic/misogynists must be laughing their asses off at this vacuous moron.
I think she mean today’s feminism which is confused with male bashing. I am not calling her dumb by any means but at least know what your are talking about. Feminism is not about hating men or female superiority. It is about women being equals not chattel and seen as other like some women are still treated in certain parts of the world.
Most women and men don’t know what feminism really is, and bashing them doesn’t really help. It’s social stereotyping and that’s hard to break. Eventually everyone will get it.
Well no, people won’t just “get it” as long as morons like Katy Perry propagate the idea that identifying as a feminist is shameful and uncool. You are right that she is spouting this due to social conditioning, but social change isn’t made by coddling people who say stupid and harmful shit.
Exactly! I find it so curious that she chose to phrase things the way she did. Wish females in the public eye weren’t constantly marginalizing themselves. 🙁 I’ve felt strongly towards women’s equality since I was a child when my grandmother told me in her life time a husband was allowed to beat his wife as long as the object or bruises weren’t larger than his hand ? That stuck with me since I was a child. My grandmother was a forward thinking amazing woman who was proudly a feminist, a health nut, an intellectual, ahead of her time 🙂
A typical comment from a not very well-read twenty-something. Katy, read a newspaper, watch 60 Minutes every Sunday (it should be required viewing for everyone. I learn so much), watch the History Channel, Time Magazine, Newsweek, anything to expand your knowledge past your pop business. Read a book every now and then past a romance novel or self-help book or the Bible.
I’m not a feminist, and I stand by that. The feminist movement has been for white women to the exclusion of others. There’s entire discourses about this. I’ll be a feminist when it recognizes what my particular womanhood means.
So what is your particular womanhood?? you obviously want to discuss it. why the tease?
Yes, the feminist movement could be accused of that.
But does it have to be? Colonialists conquered lands by making the people they suppressed fight each other.
http://loop21.com/content/five-most-high-profile-black-feminist-leaders
I’m not a feminist, and I stand by that. The feminist movement has been for Caucasian women to the exclusion of others. There’s entire discourses about this. I’ll be a feminist when it recognizes what my particular womanhood means.
Audre Lorde is smiling down at you from somewhere in the universe…
Not touching the feminist comment, because everyone else has covered all the angles, but I find that I’m shockingly not bothered by Katy lately. She looks so much better than she used to and is projecting a more grown up look overall. I also get the sense she’s spending a lot more time doing charity functions and trying to contribute something rather than just being a vapid pop star.
I must be going soft, because I generally feel like she honestly means well. If only she would do a bit more reading and educating herself and not be afraid to identify with feminism, and also if she shows some evolution in the music of her next album, she wouldn’t be half bad.
I am heartened by a lot of the well-reasoned, thoughtful comments on this thread.
To reiterate what so many have said so eloquently.
1. Feminism is about equal rights for all.
2. A man can be a feminist.
Lastly, I am proud to be a feminist.
Sorry Katy, you are a feminist. You proved it by choosing to serve yourself rather than your self-indulgent(ex)husband. The right to make that choice was hard-fought by …… FEMINISTS!
Late post past probable relevance, but right now I’m going to kiss good night my favorite feminist – my husband.
Well ladies if you want someone as wonderful as Mr. John Mayer then give up your feminists ways. You too can date jerks and have them dump you later for a hotter newer version. Why would any woman listen to Katie or even care what she has to say about feminism when she is dating the king of douche-bags John Mayer.
“I’m not a feminist, I am just capitalizing on all the things they have made possible for me”. Ingrate.
Yet another example of a woman who has benefited immeasurably from feminism yet has no problem pissing all over it.
I like some.pop music but I wouldn’t buy these young uneducated musicians manifestos. Most wealthy young celebrities will never have a proper education. It’s sad they.get more press than humans who could improve our species. Sad. Sigh.
Yet another plastic doll…Here it’s like with Ms Universe talking about environment not having a clue about it. Sam case here..Show me the power of women without wearing 2 tons of ugly makeup woman. OK!!
After reading some fun comments my opinion of my own comments as “possibly too harsh” was totally misplaced.
WHAT A MORON.
A lot of women believe that being identified as a feminist will cause people to think they are inherently unfair, as in reverse-sexist. Also, young women seem prone to a genuine but incorrect belief that “feminism” means one has a problem with men.
Katy’s talented and fun to watch, and seems to have strong personal character (due, I believe, to surviving both her weird upbringing and a disaster marriage). But one of these mistaken viewpoints is probably to blame for her disavowing feminism; she has never been the brightest crayon in the box. Sometimes her hair is, of course. 😉