Feminism & That Spice Girls Thing On Sky One

(At least from my point of view!)

Loved, loved, loved that they had Ariel Levy on! :) Made Amy happy! :)
Because, her book - Female Chauvinist Pigs - was the first piece of feminist work I'd ever read.

I must admit I was a Spice fan; I was about 7 or 8 years old when they emerged. I think it was the first CD I ever got, I remember getting it for Christmas. I even saw 'em at Earls Court, although that said, I was beginning to become less enamoured with them. I liked the whole "Girl Power" thing, though. I liked the idea for years after, even though it was still pretty much as basic. I liked the idea of girls having power. I don't remember ever being too sure what that "power" was for, but it, and the fact that each Spice Girl had her own individual identity - gave me a strong sense of individualism, free choice for myself, and all women, sisterhood, and an unwillingness to conform (Despite the fact that the Spice Girls were manufactured- ah! Irony!) which I still have today.

Yes, there were many flaws in the Spice Girls; lack of genuine talent (although bloody good marketing skills!), they didn't really express any deep, intellectual ideas, and their brand of feminism - ie "Girl Power" - was basic and "first base", and some people would argue it wasn't even feminism; too hollow, perhaps. But, the truth is, it did give thousands, millions of young girls a simple glimpse into feminism, into being liberated women - and whether or not they interpreted that later into just being a "ladette" or to delve a little deeper - surely this re-branding of feminism does have some positivies: feminism had had such negative connotations (and true, the stereotypes do still exist, sadly), the Spice brand of "Girl Power" was at least represented in a bright, positive, colourful way - as perhaps suitable for something which is, admittedly, somewhat shallow.

But, the "Girl Power" message seemed to cover the following areas of feminism:
1) Sisterhood/Female Solidarity
2) Women speaking up. And loud.
3) Women having fun together.

There wasn't any mention (as far as I'm aware) of more serious issues feminists are concerned about: rape, battery, the pornstitution, trafficking, women being objectified/represented as sex objects/valued only by their sexuality, ie how well they can gratify a man's sexual desires, equality in the workforce, abortion etc. This could possibly be because the target audience was pre-teen.

Maybe the pre-teen audience was why they were called the "Spice Girls" not the "Spice Women". To appeal to young girls, not to infantilise them and therefore then undermine make their messages of "Girl Power". Again, is the lexical choice of "Girl" to appeal to young girls, or even because "Woman Power" isn't as catchy, or to infantilise/demean the message? And, of course, how seriously can a manufactured pop act of 5 young women in crop tops, mini skirts and platform boots be taken as a threat to the patriarchy? Heck, one of them is called "Baby Spice"! It's a bit of fun, light entertainment. Sure the young girls seem to be lapping up the "Girl Power" notion, but hey, give it a few years, and their hormones will be telling them differently, surely! And we'll push more bland boybands on them to dream and sigh about, more girl bands all in the same uniform, preferably something quite sexually explicit.

I'm not going to say that the Spice Girls changed my life. They were, however, a small (admittedly shallow and basic) step into an interest in feminism. Admittedly, when I was younger, I had very confused ideas about feminism and what it was. I mean, I used to think they did burn their bras, although that seemed exciting to me. Now I correct people on this myth. I'm admittedly new to feminism on a level where I can understand it, thanks largely to Ariel Levy for really getting me started and re-igniting the same passion for "Girl Power" as the Spice Girls. But, realistically, the Spice Girls were more a light entertaining bunch of girls whose songs I knew and danced along with all the moves. They were marketed in an incredibily novel, original, exciting way - they each had "personalities" - and their constant cries for "Girl Power" set them apart. But, they're only first base feminism. Real feminism is a lot more empowering, interesting, exciting and real.