NY Times: I think of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” as the first feminist-backlash song. It came out in the 80′s and goes against the preachy and high-minded tone of 70′s feminism.
Cyndi: That’s not true! It’s totally feminist. It’s a song about entitlement. Why can’t women have fun?
Wow–I had to click that just to see who the moron was interviewing Cyndi. “Against the preachy and high-minded tone . . . ?” A thump on the head to you, Solomon.
Well, I guess you’d have to ask Robert Hazard who wrote the song whether either take on it is true. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think it’s pro or anti-feminist, but I seem to recall that the original version (done by Robert Hazard and the Heroes did it the song was pretty dirty.
Actually, I’d thump Solomon on the head for her last question. You’re 52. What is your philosophy on aging? Would you be willing to have plastic surgery?
Pfft. Nothing like a leading question.
That woman interviewing poor Cyndi is incredibly snide and hateful. The Times is truly on a mission to smack down uppity females. I bet Lauper will be outstanding in Threepenny Opera, I would love to hear her belting out “Pirate Jenny”!
Eh, merteuil, I don’t know that I ‘d use this particular example to point out a more general trend at the NYT. Solomon’s columns frequently read like this. Truthfully, I sort of find it unlikely that she asks such questions without considerable context. If I were Cyndi, I would have stared agape by question 4 (Were you a cross dresser in elementary school?) and walking out the door by question 7 (why can’t you sell records since your debut?).
Regardless, as the column appears, it’s stupid.
Ol’ Cranky: actually, you’re right about the songwriter’s original intentions for the song. If the stories I read at the time Lauper had her hit with it, his intentions were anything but feminist.
However, when Lauper did her version, her conscious intention was to give it a feminist interpretation, and IIRC she made some changes to the lyrics. I still remember her saying something along the lines of, “If some little girls are out there singing ‘I want to be the one who walks in the sun,’ I’ll have achieved my goal” (or words to that effect).
It’s one of my fondest memories from that particular time.
But that’s not possible! Everyone knows that feminists are dour and hairy and totally devoid of joy and humor, and thus are incapable of fun. It’s been scientifically proven it has.
I feel the need to quote one of my all-time favourite essays:
“If you believe in, support, look fondly on, hope for, and/or work towards equality of the sexes, you are a feminist. Yes, you are.”
–Sarah D. Bunting, “Yes, You Are”
Nothing more, nothing less.
BTW, Cyndi rocks! I’ve been a fan since the beginning.
I have always loved me some Cyndi.
When “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” was on the radio, I recall realizing (and saying, over and over…because they didn’t have blogs then and it was the only way to get the word out), that this was probably the first ever hit by a woman that wasn’t about a man.
Maybe some folky thing, but never a pop hit. Totally feminist.
It was certainly the first hit for a long time by a woman that wasn’t about a man. Suzi Quatro had “Devilgate Drive”. There were a few in the 60′s like Little Patti in Oz who had a series of songs about doing “The Stomp” which had youngsters dancing with each other but only the dance got mentioned. Lulu’s “Shout” is similiar.
And now that I write them out, even these songs are still all about dancing as part of the route to a pairbond, even if there’s no particular man being sung about. Lauper’s reworking of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” truly is the first song I recall about just hanging out having fun without caring about the boys.
So, given that most pop music by men is also about heterosex display, what followups have we had since?
tigtog, I guess it depends on how you define “hit.” I mean, Suzi Quatro? I loved Rock Hard but she was pretty fringe.
Dances may be an exception, but like you say, it’s pairbonding. GJWHF is just about girls being girls.
Followups? Meredith Brooks’s “Bitch” or Sheryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do (Is Have Some Fun)” come to mind.
I think that while “Girls just want to have fun” was much more popular, Lauper’s song “she-bop’ was much more of an anthem of liberation since it blew the cover off of female masturbation. Let’s face it, sexual repression being what it is, if you can’t get yourself off, who can? Not to mention the idea that women are free to actually … you know … like sex for its own sake.
I was a bit late for Cyndi Lauper (although I remember listening to her albums as a kid and loving “She-Bop” without knowing what it was about) — but I will say this: seeing Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock n’ Roll” was a mini-feminist awakening for me. At that time, there were no women who simply rocked who weren’t video babes and sex objects.
Thinking about it a bit, I think I thought “She-Bop” was an homage to women in rock, and not about the little man in the boat.
[...] Amanda Marcotte April 17th, 2006 in Gender Issues Gotta love the smackdown Cyndi Lauper delivers when an interviewer tries to us [...]
I thought of some other hits by women that weren’t about men, or at least weren’t primarily about men (now, they didn’t necessarily write these, and some of them were in bands with men, but still):
“Iko, Iko,” The Dixie Cups
“The Name Game,” can’t remember
“Love Child,” Diana Ross & The Supremes
“Dancing In The Streets,” Martha & The Vandellas
“Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves” and “Half-Breed,” Cher
“Proud Mary,” Ike & Tina Turner
Various works by Carole King, Janis Ian, Fleetwood Mac (Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie did a lot of the songwriting), Linda Rondstat, etc.
“One Tin Soldier”
“White Rabbit,” Jefferson Airplane (just because it’s so identified with Grace Slick’s voice)
“Mercedes Benz,” Janis Joplin
And more. If I were an IMS, I’m sure I could catalogue lots more.
Great list, zuzu. I’ve been proven wrong with style!
It’s still pivotal for me. ;)
Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Pirate Jenny — two ways of saying the same thing.
A few days late and the thread’s moved on, but I’m interested that Quatro was considered “fringe”. She had several big hits here in Oz back when I was a gel, so I guess I always just assumed she was pretty big back in the States as well.