The Pussycat Dolls, or PCD or the Dolls as they are known to fans, can be considered somewhat of a staple in every teenager girl and young woman’s music playlist. Their songs range from sensual to dance-worthy to naughty to seemingly powerful; their lyrics talk about how men objectify women, how they want to break out of a bad or stale relationship, how they want to feel attractive, and how being in love can be the hardest or best feeling in the world. Since they sing about issues that feature in the lives of many young women today and they are successful singers and dancers, many girls look to their songs as anthems of female confidence. Many of their songs play to what Susan Douglas calls “girl power” – a spiced up, modern version of feminism in which they proclaim that they embody and try to spread the message that women do have control over their own bodies and minds in modern society (Douglas 1-2).
As Douglas would assert, they are not purporting what real feminism is like or is supposed to be fighting for. The Pussycat Dolls veer off into enlightened sexism, which “insists that women have made plenty of progress because of feminism – indeed, full equality has allegedly been achieved – so now it’s okay, even amusing, to resurrect sexist stereotypes of girls and women (Douglas 9).” In line with enlightened sexism, the Pussycat Dolls only offer an illusion of power to all the women that listen to their music and watch their videos (Douglas 9-11). One of their videos in particular, entitled “I Don’t Need a Man” with lyrics that just ooze feminine social and sexual independence, clearly demonstrates that the PCD do not espouse feminism, but rather enlightened sexism. The dichotomy of messages that their lyrics and their video send cleverly reveal the enlightened sexism they purport despite their claim to the contrary; also their conformity to the “traditional feminine realm,” a group of actions, interests, and roles that women are not supposed to deviate from, exposes their hypocrisy. The girls’ group name, their bodies and clothes, choreography, and actions in this music video support the illusion of feminine power that Douglas argues is present in modern times.
Although their name is not specific to this video, the Pussycat Dolls’ name brings up many different connotations, which already undermines their claim to be supporting women’s equality and freedom. First, the word “pussy,” while used as a synonym for cat, also is used to denote a woman’s vagina (Urban Dictionary); since “pussy” has become a derogatory slang for female genitalia, it has been used to demean women into sexual objects that are only good for the sexual pleasure men derive from having sex with this “pussy (Urban Dictionary).” Secondly “dolls” bring up two particular frightening sexist ideas of perfection and silence. Dolls are considered to be perfect, something that society tells women that they need to be even though it is impossible to achieve this ideal (Douglas 215); by making women believe that they need to be like dolls, women will feel even more pressure to fit into society’s narrow definition of what women should be (Douglas 215-217). Also, dolls are silent because they obviously have no life force; since they cannot speak or act or do anything on their own, they are completely at the mercy of their owner. Comparing women to dolls not only objectifies them, but also gives the impression that women should be like dolls – silent and controlled by their owners, namely men. These two words already sabotage their message through these subtle implications that women should be viewed in terms of sexual, silent objects.
In this music video, the Dolls draw frequent attention to their thin, toned, seemingly “beautiful” bodies, which do not show any variety or acceptance of other body types or shapes. All of these girls are tall and thin, which complies with society’s standard of beauty which is “the body of a lanky twelve-year-old boy with Pamela Anderson’s breasts attached (Douglas 217).” While they are dancing, one can see that all of their stomachs are flat, their legs are slim yet muscular, their arms are strong yet not too big, their breasts are relatively ample, their hair is vibrantly colored and perfectly tousled, their skin is healthy and their faces are free of acne, and their buttocks are toned. Every one of them fit what society calls beauty, leaving no room for women who do not have these characteristics which is the majority of the female population. Since many women do not have these bodies, society says that they are automatically lower in status than the Dolls and in desperate need of improvement; their self-esteem inevitably takes a hit when they realize that they will never look like the Dolls and they will be never been validated as significant since society demands this list of body requirements (Douglas 215, 221, 228). Because of their status as “beautiful” women, they are popular, rich, and famous, which makes women believe that they have to look like this in order to be well-liked by women and men (Douglas 228). The Pussycat Dolls sets an impossibly high precedent for what women should look like and further cement society’s unfeasible standard of beauty by reaping benefits from being “beautiful.”
The Dolls’ clothes in this music video further show off their beautiful bodies to entice men while singing that they don’t need them, which supports Douglas’ claim that society makes women believe that the real path to power to make oneself a sex object so that all men are reduced to their sniveling slaves (Douglas 156-157). All of the Dolls are wearing revealing clothing – short skirts, midriff shirts, and skin-tight dresses that sometimes reveal their bras – presumably to tease male viewers. Usually wearing such revealing clothes indicates that these Dolls are looking for female admiration and male adoration of their bodies, actively turning themselves into sexy objects whose only value is how “hot” they are (Douglas 156-159, 228). They are establishing a correlation that wearing little clothing and becoming a sex object is key to getting male attention and idolization, which might inspire female viewers to follow suit since society dictates that male acknowledgement is the main validation for women (Douglas 156-158). However, they do not get respect from either men or women for dressing this provocatively because women and men will only associate their value with their body, not their intelligence or personality. Making men into their slaves does not negate the fact that they were willing to show that much skin to do so in either men or women’s eyes, so wearing these clothes actually demeans rather than empowers them.
The Dolls’ choreography is sexually suggestive, which also plays into patriarchy’s emphasis on women’s bodies and women’s sexual worth, continuing their active sexual objectification to obtain power. The Dolls constantly bring attention to their womanly body parts to increase their sexual appeal and zero viewers’ attention on their sexual attractiveness since women are trained to believe that “it’s through sex and sexual display that women really have the power to get what they want. And because the true path to power comes from being an object of desire, girls and women should now actively choose – even celebrate and embrace – being sex objects (Douglas 156).” Nicole, the lead singer, outlines, squeezes, and thrusts up her breasts multiple times in her close-up shots. The other Dolls shimmy, shake and pop out their breasts and butts, thrust and sway their hips, kick and sensually rub their legs together, and flip their hair around – all dance moves that indicate that they know full well how attractive they are and they will exploit it to get their way. Instead of dancing in ways that shows they respect themselves and their bodies, they use their dancing as a way to obtain Douglas’ illusion of power over men by voluntarily becoming male-desired sex objects to entice them.
Finally the Pussycat Dolls engage in traditionally feminine actions with a sensual twist, indicating that they buy into the belief that these actions are and should be what women are primarily concerned with (Douglas 10). In turn, investing in these actions to make themselves appealing to men will ultimately help them attain the important goal of finding a man, whether or not they need one (Douglas 10). Ashley is seen painting her nails, an action almost exclusively associated with females; Carmit and Jessica are blow-drying their hair, something that men hardly ever do; Kimberly is shaving her legs, which is a task only women have to do because men like women with smooth legs. Melody is trying on different clothes, presumably picking out the ones that fit her best, and everyone in society knows that women constantly change clothes which make them late for dates and the like; Melody is also putting on lipstick to make herself look prettier, a common daily regimen all women follow. All of them are sitting in chairs with hairdryers attached, furthering this emphasis on beauty and all the products used to create beauty. “[G]irls and women need to be reminded that they are still fundamentally female, and so must be emphatically feminine (Douglas 10),” meaning that they need and should do all of these actions to assure their femininity is emphasized. By having them do traditionally female primping actions which are associated with looking pretty for men instead of more empowering, gender-bending actions like fixing cars or attending business meetings, their video stresses that doing whatever it takes to ensnare men’s attention is more important than showcasing one’s individual talents which may be in traditionally masculine areas.
The vast split between the Pussycat Dolls girl-power-fueled lyrics of “I Don’t Need a Man” and the enlightened sexist messages of their video supports Douglas’s claim that women only have an illusion of freedom and power. Because women are still judged and objectified based on what society deems beautiful and womanly – namely how attractive their bodies are to men – the Dolls who promote this “sexified” feminism are feeding into this enlightened sexism in their videos no matter how girl-powered their lyrics are. All of the different aspects of themselves and their video such as their clothes (or lack thereof), dancing, and bodies supports society’s standard of thin, tall, flawless beauty, patriarchy’s expectations for women to be drone-like sex objects, and female power through reducing men to lust-crazed animals. The contrast between their stated and indirect messages show that they are not advocating for true feminine power, but have fallen into Douglas’ enlightened sexism through their acceptance of patriarchal grading of female worth and beauty as well as patriarchy’s assignment of proper feminine roles.
Works Cited
Douglas, Susan J. Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message that Feminism’s Work Is Done. New York: Times Books, 2010.
“Pussy.” Urban Dictionary. 29 Oct 2010.
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