This study explored if female empowerment messages in song lyrics are truly becoming more feminist, through the lens of Ronen’s (2018) conceptual framework of gender essentialism and feminine devaluation, two discursive results of post-feminist (neoliberal) ideology. To conduct this study, I selected and examined 20 sets of female empowerment song lyrics of songs released by solo female artists between 2015 through 2018. I conducted a qualitative content analysis, using neoliberal feminist ideological principles to form a coding scheme to see if female empowerment song lyric messages are truly becoming more neoliberal, and, therefore, less critical of patriarchal gender ideology and lacking a structural analysis of sexism. Findings include nine emergent themes: negating female objectification from the male gaze; women asserting themselves and taking charge of their circumstances; pushing economic boundaries and breaking barriers; reversing gendered power dynamics; women as strong and powerful; rebranding beauty standards; encouraging women to practice self-confidence; celebrating the various qualities common to women; and, standing up to sexual assault.
Results indicated 80% of the sample of 20 song lyrics communicated neoliberal feminist messages, while only 20% communicated second-wave feminist messages, demonstrating that female empowerment song lyrics do not appear to be becoming more feminist, but instead more neoliberal.
0 Comments