Women's Empowerment Playlist

These are some songs that I listen to frequently that I believe empower women to know their worth, fight for their position in society, and prove that women can do anything a man can do.

Little Me - Little Mix
This songs is about the girls wanting to go back and tell themselves to that they are beautiful and they can be anything they want to be. This song implies that girls when they are young are not told to be proud and confident in themselves the way that men are and these girls want to be able to go back and tell themselves to speak up, shout out, and not live in anyone's shadow.

Salute - Little Mix
Another song by Little Mix telling women to come together whether in their sneakers, heels, pumps or laced up boots and represent all their women and their strength.

Can't Hold Us Down - Christina Aguilera
This song by Christina Aguilera and Lil Kim back in 2003 captures women standing up to men that are insulting them and putting them down because they will not sleep with them. The song talks about how women should not have to be quiet and sit down because they are female. Also, it talks about a guy having three girls then he's considered "the man" but if a women does then she's a whore. This problem is still around today and these double standards have not let up and, if anything, have gotten worse and more severe since then.

Independent Women - Destiny's Child
This song is still so popular and so relevant as it tells women that they should be independent and buy their own rings, shoes, bags, etc and not to rely on a man to give them any of that. If a woman works hard in her life then she can buy herself all these riches and not get them from a man.

Run the World (Girls) - Beyonce
The name of the song pretty much speaks for itself. Beyonce is always looking for women to feel empowered and beautiful. But this song in particular talks about how the world is nothing without women. Women are strong enough to make money, raise the children and then get back to business. Also, that women have endless and undeniable power.

Ain't Your Mama - Jennifer Lopez
This song that came out about a year or so ago is JLo saying that she won't be cooking or doing a man's laundry for him because she isn't his mother. Instead, she would rather be going to work and making a life for herself rather than staying at home and cooking and cleaning for some man. A lot of men expect women to be housewives and this is exactly the type of men that women need to sing this song to.

Who U R - Jessie J
This song is so beautiful and is telling women that they need to be proud of themselves and love themselves no matter what they look like.

Born This Way - Lady GaGa
It's hard not to know this song and know that GaGa wants everyone regardless of their sexual orientation, race,  or anything else to know that their lives are worth living and that they are not a mistake as God doesn't make mistakes. I believe that this song is so empowering to people that feel different than others or feel as if they are an outcast because they are beautiful the way they are.

There are countless other Women's Empoewrment Songs that I could include on this list, such as Girl on Fire and Superwomen by 'Alicia Keys and also Scars to your Beautiful by Alessia Cara

Women's History on Magazine Covers

This article that I found from The Huffington Post shows magazine covers of Women's History of the past 100 years. I love how the covers go from Marilyn Monroe and other sex symbols to more prominent issues of lesbian women (Ellen DeGeneres) transgender women (Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner), to women in politics (Hillary Clinton), Muslin women, black women (Michelle Obama) and women that were victims of sexual assault.
These issues for women on covers of magazines show that women and media are refusing for women to be on the underhand of society. Also, it is normalizing what is said to be 'unusual' such as being transgender or lesbian.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/100-years-of-womens-history-in-27-magazine-covers_us_58b49026e4b060480e0afc6d?section=us_women&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000046

Women in the Boston Marathon

50 years ago women were unable to participate in the Boston Marathon as it was for men only. At that time, 20-year-old Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to enter the race. Now, in 2017, Kathrine ran again in the Boston Marathon along with 13,712 other women that participated.
I love that Kathrine changed the norm of the Boston Marathon being for men only and broke down the wall that had been present.

http://abc7ny.com/sports/the-first-female-boston-marathon-runner-50-years-later/1883412/

A Handmaid's Tale: One Month into the Trump Era

Being about half way through The Handmaid's Tale and reading this article really made me excited to finish the book! As well as watch the Hulu series that comes out tomorrow!!

It frightens me that the author of the article finds much similarities and relevancy to the Trump Era.

http://nymag.com/thecut/2017/02/rereading-margaret-atwoods-the-handmaids-tale.html?mid=huffpost_women-pubexchange_facebook

Unneccesary Excessive Photoshop

When I first saw this video, I was at a loss for words. I know that there is an inexcusable amount of Photoshop of pictures for magazines, billboards, advertisements, etc. However, Photoshop and airbrush to this degree truly shocked me. It angers me that some find it necessary to make a female "Barbie-looking". She had so much natural beauty that did not need to be altered. First, by altering her this way, you are telling her that her body is not good enough for these photos. This woman is being taught that her body is flawed and that it needs to be fixed electronically. Second, young girls are going to see this picture of this woman with the big blue eyes, big blonde hair, light skin, super skinny body, long skinny arms and legs and begin to feel poorly about themselves if they do not fit the mold. This is beyond unfair as every woman is beautiful and unique in their own way. It frustrates me that thousands of women have self-esteem issues, eating disorders, self-harm and self-hatred for their bodies because they do not look the way the media expects them to be. I believe watching this video is important for girls as it shows what the media does in order for women to feel less about themselves. It is very rare that a woman looks like that. The woman that they are taking a picture of doesn't even look like that because the amount of Photoshop and retouching they did on her - on top of all the makeup and fake hair - is insane.

I hope that one day young girls will learn that the images that they see in the media are not real and they should not be held to the standard of a retouched image. Girls should be happy in their bodies and should be comfortable in their own skin. No one deserves to be put down for their physical appearance - beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKlVyUJw3TM

Women in Space

While I was wrong, I was always led to believe that men were the only people who had jobs in space or even with NASA and that a women in this field were few and far between. Personally, I truly loved the movie, Hidden Figures, that came out a few months ago about women who worked with space crafts. When I found this article, it really stuck out to me as I love seeing women make huge accomplishments in a field that is "meant for men".

This article is about Peggy Whitson breaking a record among the International Space Station on her third long-duration mission to the International Space Station.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/astronaut-peggy-whitson-just-smashed-another-spacewalking-record_us_58dddb88e4b08194e3b8cb8f?

Doulas and Mothers

After talking a little about doulas in class, I found this article that shows 20 pictures doulas and women during childbirth. These pictures are very powerful and show the aid that a doula provides to women giving birth. Also, I love how these pictures are not all in the 'standard' childbirth position that women would be forced to be in a hospital.
I believe that more women need to learn the importance of a doula and how they are beneficial to a woman and her childbirth experience.


Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/20-breathtaking-birth-photos-that-highlight-the-strength-of-doulas_us_58d57450e4b03692bea5cc80

"Abnormal Fetuses"

I found this photo on a Feminist News Page on Facebook. Relating to our discussions in class, the government is making laws against women and giving them fewer rights to their own bodies. This, in a way, reminds me of the bill that was passed in Texas that allows Doctors to lie to their pregnant patients about the health of their baby to avoid her needing/getting an abortion.

Laws like this are what is wrong with this country. I believe women should have full rights to make her own decisions when it comes to her fetus and her life. 

It is amazing to me that a legislature would try to force women into having an "abnormal fetus" yet not be willing to provide assistance to that child that they are forcing her to have. So much work needs to be done for the rights of women especially in terms of her body, her desires, and her own children.

It is shocking to me that our government only cares about people when they are a fetus. Once a person is brought into this world the government no longer cares about them and makes legislations against them.