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Radio Naturopath
Well hello there!
In honor of the coming Senate Judiciary Hearings on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, which begin Monday, June 28, this week's topic on The Politics of Singing is Feminism!
If confirmed, Kagan would be the third female on the current Supreme Court. This is somewhat exciting for any feminist-minded person, but also somewhat sad, due to the fact that women make up more than 50% of the population but only 22% of the highest court in the nation. If Kagan is confirmed, she would bring that percentage up to 33%
Personally, I believe that it is only just and fair that such a powerful group be composed of 5 women and 4 men to better represent the nation as a whole. And don't get me started on the lack of ethnic diversity... we currently have 6 White men (5 of which are conservative Catholics), one Black man, one White woman and one Latina woman serving on the court. This just isn't right (though it is typical).
Official news on the confirmation hearing can be found at http://judiciary.senate.gov/
And now, enjoy the lyrics to fourteen feminist songs...
Helen Reddy: I am Woman
I am woman, hear me roar.
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an' pretend
'cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again
CHORUS
Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
You can bend but never break me
'cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
'cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul
CHORUS
I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin' arms across the land
But I'm still an embryo
With a long long way to go
Until I make my brother understand
Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to I can face anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
Oh, I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong
FADE
I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong
I am woman
Shannon Murray: Girl Enough: a Feminist Anthem
I am girl enough to go in the light with my naked face
I am girl enough to someday win the presidential race
I am girl enough to go in the light with my naked face
I am girl enough to run with you and set the face
I could have struck out the king of clout
If you'd just given me the ball
And I could have fought with caesius clay
You know I'm not really that small
And I could have trained to be a Nascar driver
Instead of learning to sew
You know there's a lot of things I think you should know
I am girl enough to go in the light with my naked face
I am girl enough to someday win the presidential race
I am girl enough to go in the light with my naked face
I am girl enough to run with you and set the face
I could have built the airplane
It couldn't have been that hard
And I could have traveled the world
If you've let me past the front yard
And I could have walked on the moon
But you wouldn't let me go
You know there's a lot of things I think you should know
I could have been on the highest court
And voted for Roe V. Wade
Instead of letting people without wombs decide my fate
And I could have found a cure for polio
But you'd rather I sew
Yeah, there's a lot of things I think you should know
I am girl enough to go in the light with my naked face
I am girl enough to someday win the presidential race
I am girl enough to go in the light with my naked face
I am girl enough to run with you and set the face
I don't live in a man's world anymore
But don't you think it's time we evened the score
Come on ladies, it's time to rise and shine
I don't live in a man's world they live in mine
The Distillers: Seneca Falls
Oh, it's set in 1848 in the crush of New York state
And the thing about destiny is it never ever makes mistakes
Susan B. Anthony
Forever haunting me
Owned raped sold and thrown
A woman was never her own
And they cried freedom, rise up for me
They cried freedom, rise up for me
Check it out
Yeah, I want I want I want I want I want
Yeah, I want I want I want I want I want
Yeah
Oh, it's set in 1848 in the crush of New York state
And the thing about destiny is it never ever sets you free
Elizabeth Cady
Forever reminding me
I don't steal the air I breathe
Freedom, rise up for me
Freedom, rise up for me
Yeah, I want I want I want I want I want
Yeah, I want I want I want I want I want
Freedom, rise up for me
Freedom, rise up for me
Le Tigre: FYR
Ten short years of progressive change,
Fifty fuckin years of calling us names.
Can we trade title nine for an end to hate crime?
RU-486 is we suck your fuckin dick?
One step forward, five steps back.
One cool record in the year of rock-rap.
Yeah we got all the power getting stabbed in the shower
And we got equal rights on ladies nite.
Feminists we're calling you.
Please report to the front desk.
Let's name this phenomenon.
It's too dumb to bring us down.
F.Y.R. Fifty years of ridicule. F.Y.R take another picture.....
Mrs. Doubtfire on mother's day.
On-the-job stalker for equal pay.
Toss us a few new AIDS drugs as national healthcare bites the dust.
While you were on vacation black people didn't get reparations.
You know these days no one's exploited.
Sorry dude can't hear ya with my head in the toilet.
Feminists we're calling you.
Please report to the front desk.
Let's name this phenomenon.
It's too dumb to bring us down.
F.Y.R Fifty years of ridicule. F.Y.R. take another picture......
You've really come a long way baby.
It's you, not the world, that's totally crazy.
Cuz we rocked the f***in vote with election fraud in poor zip codes.
Celebrate gay marriage in Vermont by enforcing those old sodomy laws.
One step forward five steps back.
We tell the truth they turn up the laugh track.
Feminists we're calling you.
Please report to the front desk.
Let's name this phenomenon.
It's too dumb to bring us down.
Anti-Flag: Feminism is for Everybody (with a Beating Heart and a
Functioning Brain)
"man hating, job stealing, god defying lesbians" ???
there is no truth to your f***ing ignorance!
so fuck the kings men
we're all the peoples feminists
we won't put your patriarchal
systems back together again
this is what a feminist looks like!
this is what a feminist sounds like!
so you sit back counting all
your pain staking loses
you grovel, you’re as backwards as the
thoughts in your head..
this is what a feminist looks like!
this is what a feminist sounds like!
refuse to be a victim of this gender warfare
don't even get us started on assholes
who still think it's ok to call
inanimate objects gay
and are quick to call you a fag...
homophobes F*** Off!
Propaghandi: Refusing to be a Man
I'm not going to try to tell you that I'm different from all the rest.
I've been subject to the same de-structure of desire and I've felt the same effects;
I'm a hetero-sexist tragedy.
And potential rapists all are we.
But don't tell me this is natural.
This is nurturing.
And there's a difference between sexism and sexuality.
I had different desires prior to my role-remodelling.
And at six years of age you don't challenge their claims.
You become the same.
(Or withdraw from the game and hang your head in shame).
I think that's exactly what I did.
I tried to sever the connections between me and them.
I fought against their further attempts to convince a kid
that birthright can bestow the power to yield the subordination
of women and do you know what patricentricity means?
I found out just a couple of days/months/years/minutes ago.
It means male values uber alles and hey!
Whaddaya know... sex has been distorted and vilified.
I'm scared of my attraction to body types.
If everything desired is objectified then maybe eroticism needs to be redefined.
And I refuse to be a "man".
Contravene:Traditions
Traditions ring hollow, traditions ring true
Billions still following but they haven't got a clue
Turn a blind eye to the origins Another time and place
Where meanings changed with religious trends and fucked up social ways
Indoctrination Your path has been chosen Indoctrination Don't just blindly accept it
The need for power and the privilege to own another human being
A lifetime of holy matrimony
Symbolized by a ring
Prearranged and re-arranged
Prepare for life in these chains
Do you take this man to be your master?
"I don't" is not the answer
Reproductive slave machine is all this ritual was meant to mean
Do you take this woman to be your wife?
"I do", now sentence her to f***ing life
Tradition hides lies, traditions hold truth
Do we really need this paper to show us the proof?
Do we really want to continue to give our daughters away?
In a stupid game that used to mean rape, torture and slavery
Rituals created for us in a day and a time
When we had no choice what we did with our bodies or lives
Bought and sold, they robbed us of all our pride
From birth they owned us until we died.
All or Nothing H.C.: The F Word
According to Webster,
“feminism is the theory of the political, economic and
social equality of the sexes
organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests”
Stand together in sisterhood
This is for the daughters, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, wives and girlfriends
Since in the U.S. a woman is raped every six minutes
And 1 in 3 women have been raped;
Since 1 in 4 women experience domestic abuse in their lifetime
Stand together in sisterhood
If you believe in human rights then you believe in women’s rights
Stand together in sisterhood
Male, female doesn’t matter Stand together in sisterhood
This is for the daughters, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, wives and girlfriends
Since 2 million girls and women are subjected to genital mutilation each year
Since some 120,000 women and girls are trafficked into W. Europe every year
Stand together in sisterhood
If you believe in human rights then you believe in women’s rights
Stand together in sisterhood
Male, female doesn’t matter Stand together in sisterhood
This is for the daughters, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, wives and girlfriends
Bruise Violet: Man’s World
Is this a life worth living?
When will inferiority come straight to a stop and reach true equality?
Even from before birth
With color-coded genders we are all divided
Tell them that it’s not a male dominated world
We are not made for cooking and housekeeping
Rosie wouldn’t stand for Sh*t 50 years and we’re still in debt
And fighting for our equal rights so why do we fall down
Into these corporate binds that make up our minds to keep us blind
And fighting for our equal rights so why do we fall down
In a man’s world, women are subordinate
So break the chains It’s not his f***ing choice
Is this a life worth living?
When will inferiority come straight to a stop and reach true equality?
Even from before birth, with color-coded genders we are all divided
don't you know a change is needed now
Naked Aggression: Killing Floor
There’s a group around that call themselves “pro-life”
Well instead, they should call themselves “pro-death”!
Because by trying to take away our freedom of choice
They’re gonna force many women who don’t want to bear children into the back alley
And many women are gonna DIE from these back-alley abortions
But these people don’t seem to care
“operation rescue” what do you want me to do, shove a coat hanger up my c***?
I got an abortion, in a back alley
And now I’m bleeding to death on the killing floor
Salt 'N Pepa: Independent
When duty call, the leader Pep come hard
Try to dis my girl Salt, up goes my guard
Still feminine, feminine still, yes
But then next pump a hundred weight bench press
So what it mean, Pep? I'm not impressed
Cuz I wear the pants, and you wear the dress
Punk, you're lovin' stunk, you're not a hunk
This is independent funk
And I'm gettin' ready for the year 2000
Independent - yes, I'm housin'
Independent - yeah, now watch me
Independent - no one can stop me
Woman and I am independent
I make my own money so don't tell me how to spend it
Cuz you need me, and I don't need you
So listen close, boy, to my independent funk
Yeah, can you feel it?
Yes, it's my, it's my independent funk
(Yawn) You're sleepy, go to bed
Wanna step? Go ahead and jet
Now wake up from your dreamin' cuz you're dealin' with the Pep
Like Oakley from the Knicks, yes, I'm havin' a ball
You think because you're leaving that I'm gonna take a fall?
It was small thing, oooo, it was really too small
Livin' large, boy, standing ten feet tall
Now my heart won't dent, keep the money I lent
And don't forget I pay the rent, this is my apartment
I'm independent
I am independent
That's right I said it, and be damn sure I meant it
Cuz a girl like me can have anybody
So give my love, boy, to my independent funk
Hey...
Salty the V.I.P., you should have stuck with me
What are you stupid? Huh, my pockets run deep
So flex the Rolex and the sex that I gave ya
In jail with no bail and now nothin' can save ya
You want me to visit? I ain't with it lizard
We had magic now ya lost without the love wizard
Ya had to cross me, and now you lost me
Get off me softy, I'm the boss, see?
You can't disguise the lies in your eyes - you're not a heartbreaker
You're a fraud, and I'm bored - you're a fake faker
It's too late to debate with the moneymaker
After while, crackhead - see ya later, gator
Woman and I am independent
I make my own money so don't tell me how to spend it
Cuz you need me, and I don't need you
So listen close, boy, to my independent funk
Yeah, so funky, so funky
No, no, no more nookie for you cuz I gave ya the boot
Go ahead and go in your Yugo, gonna miss the Benz Coupe, hometroop
Who's supportin' ya now?
Got a job or do ya rob? I heard you're sellin' drugs - wow
Big man, huh? But just understand Uncle Sam know the scam
You'll end up in the can
Singin' a sad song cuz you did me wrong
Couldn't fool me for long, I got it goin' on
I'm independent
Yes, I am independent
That's right I said it, and be damn sure I meant it
Cuz a girl like me can have anybody
So give my love, boy, to my independent funk
Hey yeah...my independent funk
It's just an independent funk
Get with this independent funk
You're a baby so maybe you just needed a babysitter
Bitter? I figure I'm rid of a piece of litter
Tiger, tigger, I bounce back, and you're a quitter
Your girl is gone for good so just forget her
You're blind, you'll never find another better
Your mind stays on a behind in a tight sweater
Burned your flowers and your love letters
Never a tear will I shed
I'm independent
Yes, I am independent
I make my own money so don't tell me how to spend it
Cuz you need me, and I don't need you
So listen close, boy, to my independent funk
Yeah...
Salt 'N Pepa: Ain’t Nuthin But a She Thang
It ain't a man's world (You go, girl!)
No more sugar and spice (And everything nice)
(repeat)
CHORUS
It's a she thing, and it's all in me (It ain't nothin' but a she
thing,
I could be anything that I want to be baby
Don't consider me a minority Yeah, you know
Open up your eyes and maybe you'll see It's a she thing
It's a she thing, and it's all in me Strong, innocent, and
I could be anything that I want to be Intelligent lady
Don't consider me a minority Proud of who I am
Ladies help me out if you agree It's a she thing)
It ain't nothin' but a she thing (We are proud)
It ain't nothin' but a she thing (Say it loud)
It ain't nothin' but a she thing (On the rise)
It ain't nothin' but a she thing (Better recognize)
Now I can bring home the bacon (yeah), fry it in the pan (yeah)
Never let you forget that you're a man
Cuz I'm a W-O-M-A-N
That's what I am, doin' all I can
The thing that makes me mad and crazy, upset
Got to break my neck just to get my respect
Go to work and get paid less than a man
When I'm doin' the same damn thing that he can
When I'm aggressive then I'm a bitch
When I got attitude you call me a witch
Treat me like a sex-object (That ain't smooth)
Underestimate the mind, oh yeah, you're a fool
Weaker sex, yeah, right, that's the joke (ha!)
Have you ever been in labor? I don't think so, nope
I'm a genuine feminine female thang
Can you hang? Ain't nothin' but a she thang
CHORUS
On the real I'm a female doin' what I feel
Put me to the test, yes, I will get ill
Sensitive and sweet, yeah, all that good stuff
But when it's time to get rough, baby, I'm rough enough
Ain't afraid to show how I feel down deep
Compassisionate but don't underestimate me
I'm intelligent, wise, complicated being
With an instinct to dream and believe in the dreams
Family's first before anybody else (believe that)
Take care of them before I take care of self
I'm a genuine feminine female thang
Can you hang? Ain't nothin' but a she thang
It ain't nothin' but a she thing (We are proud)
It ain't nothin' but a she thing (Say it loud)
It ain't nothin' but a she thing (On the rise)
It ain't nothin' but a she thing (You better recognize)
You got to understand it's a she thang
We got the power, yeah, you know the deal
So you go, girl (You go, girl!), it ain't no man's world
You can do anything (You can do anything), do what you feel
Excuse me, hold up...(Pep got the floor!)
I'm givin' props to the strong women layin' down the law
Taking control of the wrongs in their life (hey)
Standing up and turning all the wrongs to the right (ho)
I'd like to give a shout out to the mamas out there (Shout it out)
Bringing up the babies with the tender loving care
You're in charge of the future of the nation
Do the right thing, lay the foundation
To all the single mothers Salt-N-Pepa said, "Keep your head up"
I know it gets hard sometimes but never let up
You're a genuine feminine female thang
Can you hang? Ain't nothin' but a she thang
CHORUS
Now let me break it down to the marrow of the bone
I'm a female (go!), and I got it goin' on (ya know)
Don't be fooled by my S-E-X
It ain't that simple, I'm more complex
We've come a long way, and, baby, that's a fact
Let's keep moving forward, girls, never look back
Fight for your rights, stand up and be heard
You're just as good as any man, believe that, word
CHORUS
Queen Latifah: U.N.I.T.Y.
Chorus:
U.N.I.T.Y., U.N.I.T.Y. that's a unity
U.N.I.T.Y., love a black man from infinity to infinity
(Who you calling a bitch?)
U.N.I.T.Y., U.N.I.T.Y. that's a unity (You gotta let him know)
(You go, come on here we go)
U.N.I.T.Y., Love a black woman from (You got to let him know)
infinity to infinity (You ain't a bitch or a ho)
U.N.I.T.Y., U.N.I.T.Y. that's a unity (You gotta let him know)
(You go, come on here we go)
U.N.I.T.Y., Love a black man from (You got to let him know)
infinity to infinity (You ain't a bitch or a ho)
Instinct leads me to another flow
Everytime I hear a brother call a girl a bitch or a ho
Trying to make a sister feel low
You know all of that gots to go
Now everybody knows there's exceptions to this rule
Now don't be getting mad, when we playing, it's cool
But don't you be calling out my name
I bring wrath to those who disrespect me like a dame
That's why I'm talking, one day I was walking down the block
I had my cutoff shorts on right cause it was crazy hot
I walked past these dudes when they passed me
One of 'em felt my booty, he was nasty
I turned around red, somebody was catching the wrath
Then the little one said (Yeah me bitch) and laughed
Since he was with his boys he tried to break fly
Huh, I punched him dead in his eye and said "Who you calling a bitch?"
(Here we go)
CHORUS
I hit the bottom, there ain't nowhere else to go but up
Bad days at work, give you an attitude then you were rough
And take it out on me but that's about enough
You put your hands on me again I'll put your ass in handcuffs
I guess I fell so deep in love I grew dependency
I was too blind to see just how it was affecting me
All I knew was you, you was all the man I had
And I was scared to let you go, even though you treated me bad
But I don't want my kids to see me getting beat down
By daddy smacking mommy all around
You say I'm nothing without ya, but I'm nothing with ya
A man don't really love you if he hits ya
This is my notice to the door, I'm not taking it no more
I'm not your personal whore, that's not what I'm here for
And nothing good gonna come to ya til you do right by me
Brother you wait and see (Who you calling a bitch?)
CHORUS
What's going on in your mind is what I ask ya
But like Yo-Yo, you don't hear me though
You wear a rag around your head and you call yourself
a "Gangsta Bitch" now that you saw Apache's video
I saw you wilding, acting like a fool
I peeped you out the window jumping girls after school
But where did all of this come from?
A minute ago, you was a nerd and nobody ever heard of ya
Now you a wannabe... hard
You barely know your ABC's, please
There's plenty of people out there with triggers ready to pull it
Why you trying to jump in front of the bullet (Young lady)
Uh, and real bad girls are the silent type
Ain't none of this work getting your face sliced
Cause that's what happened to your homegirl, right? Bucking with nobody
She got to wear that for life (Who you calling a bitch?)
(Here we go)
CHORUS
Queen Latifah featuring Monie Love: Ladies First
[Queen Latifah]
The ladies will kick it, the rhyme that is wicked
Those that don't know how to be pros get evicted
A woman can bear you, break you, take you
Now it's time to rhyme, can you relate to
A sister dope enough to make you holler and scream
[Monie Love]
Ayo, let me take it from here, Queen...
Excuse me but I think I'm about do
To get into precisely what I am about to do
I'm conversating to the folks that have no whatsoever clue
So listen very carefully as I break it down for you
Merrily merrily merrily merrily hyper happy overjoyed
Pleased with all the beats and rhymes my sisters have employed
Slick and smooth throwing down the sound totally a yes
Let me state the position: Ladies first, yes? (Yes)
(Yeah, there's going to be some changes in here)
[Monie Love]
Believe me when I say being a woman is great, you see
I know all the fellas out there will agree with me
Not for being one but for being with one
Because when it's time for loving it's the woman that gets some
Strong, stepping, strutting, moving on
Rhyming, cutting, and not forgetting
We are the ones that give birth
To the new generation of prophets because it's Ladies First
[Queen Latifah]
I break into a lyrical freestyle
Grab the mic, look into the crowd and see smiles
Cause they see a woman standing up on her own two
Sloppy slouching is something I won't do
Some think that we can't flow (can't flow)
Stereotypes, they got to go (got to go)
I'm a mess around and flip the scene into reverse
(With what?) With a little touch of "Ladies First"
Who said the ladies couldn't make it, you must be blind
If you don't believe, well here, listen to this rhyme
Ladies first, there's no time to rehearse
I'm divine and my mind expands throughout the universe
A female rapper with the message to send the
Queen Latifah is a perfect specimen
[Monie Love]
My sister, can I get some?
[Queen Latifah]
Sure, Monie Love, grab the mic and get dumb
[Monie Lovie]
Yo, praise me not for simply being what I am
Born in L-O-N-D-O-N and sound American
You dig exactly where I'm coming from
You want righteous rhyming, Imma give you some
To enable you to aid yourself and get paid
And the material that has no meaning I wish to slay
Pay me every bit of your attention
Like mother, like daughter, I would also like to mention
I wish for you to bring me to, bring me to the rhythm
Of which is now systematically given
Desperately stressing I'm the daughter of a sister
Who's the mother of a brother who's the brother of another
Plus one more; all four
Have a job to do, we doing it
Respect due, to the mother who's the root of it
And next up is me, the M-O-N-I-E L-O-V-E
And I'm first cause I'm a L-A-D-I-E
[Queen Latifah]
Contact and in fact, the style, it gets harder
Cooling on the scene with my European partner
Laying down track after track, waiting for the climax
When I get there, that's when I tax
The next man, or the next woman
It doesn't make a difference, keep the competition coming
And I'll recite the chapter in verse
The title of this recital is "Ladies First"