Pink: Not Done Yet

Pink, born Alecia Beth Moore, had a tough life. Being on the club scene throughout her highschool years, her parent's divorce and issues with drug abuse all factor into her music and her lyrics reflect the impact of  these experiences. Even though many things that Pink had to deal with were terrible, they are what made her so relatable for my generation. As she says in her interview with Newsweek, "The world has changed: 14-year olds are cooking dinner for their parents these days. And when I was that age I was on drugs, running away from home"(1). Pink sung/sings about things that my generation was dealing with starting as early as middle school. She influenced my generation's social life because her edgy pop music along with  painfully honest lyrics gave voice to many things my generation was experiencing. Her song Family Potrait below is an example of this:

 

This trend of singing about alternative and not widely championed identities continued as Pink criticized stars, such as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Brittany Spears, that in their heyday took over much of the media attention. In her song Stupid Girls, Pink pointed out that these were the women who were being held up by society as worthy of attention and from her point of view all they were known for was their lack of intelligence, self absorption and generally slutty behavior. What was worse, according to Pink, was that these were the women that little girls were looking up to as role models. Though it has been pointed out by feminist academics that, "In effect, Pink herself has been the very kind of icon she no longer wants "girls" to emulate"(2), Pink still chose to tackle a tough issue knowing she would be criticized and  this song was still a bold statement that encouraged girls of my generation to achieve more than the superficial. In the interview below, Pink further explained her motivation behind the writing and performance of this song.

 





 



                                       

Unlike many of her contemporaries, Pink's music is still influencing my generation socially. I guess you could say that she has grown with us. From adressing the issues of divorce and rejection in her song Family Portrait, to societal role models and pressures that young girls are facing in her songs Stupid Girls and F**in Perfect, to her most recent song/music video Try which deals with a man and woman working through their difficult relationship, Pink has pushed my generation to acknowledge the hurt in their past, to turn that hurt into good as they establish their self worth and to continue that struggle every day becuase relationship's are worth it. This last music video,Try, seems to sum up what Pink is wanting to convey to my generation now.

          

 

By Lila Capps     

 

 

Footnotes:

 

1. Ali, Lorraine. Another Party Gets Started with Pink. Newsweek 142.9 (Sept. 1 2003):56

 

2. Love, Meredith A.; Helmbrecht, Brenda M. Teaching the Conflicts: (Re)Engaging Students with    Feminism in a Postfeminst World. Feminist Teacher; 2007, Vol.18 Issue 1, p41-58