The Social Phenomenon Of "Stupid Girls"

[MrsSpringsteen]

Pink was on Oprah yesterday talking about this, they did a whole show about how the role models for young girls today are dumbing themselves down in order to be popular, in order to sell records and movies. How they are famous for being stupid (pretending they are) and for who they are dating/sleeping with. And about how the girls are doing the same thing, how they are emulating the consumerism of these famous girls by buying expensive clothes, purses, etc. How they are dumbing themselves down in order to be popular with boys. The psychologist described how this is a form of women marginalizing and oppressing themselves. The stupid is really all about losing yourself. Older women can do this too.

Pink said something that really stuck with me, she talked about asking people to name five famous women in the younger generation (of the Jessica Simpsons, Lohans, etc) who are known for being smart, for being themselves, for not caving in to that stereotype-who are not the image of the "stupid girl". How difficult is it to do?

Obviously there are plenty of girls who are not into emulating these celebrities and who are into other pursuits. But girls at that age are very vulnerable and fragile. What is this culture doing to them? And what are women doing to themselves and to other women? Is this all much ado about a fad or is it a serious problem? What men in Hollywood are becoming "stupid men" in order to become famous and make lots of money? Who are the role models for young men?



Stupid Girls


Stupid girl, stupid girls, stupid girls
Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl

Go to Fred Segal, you'll find them there
Laughing loud so all the little people stare
Looking for a daddy to pay for the champagne
(Drop a name)
What happened to the dreams of a girl president
She's dancing in the video next to 50 Cent
They travel in packs of two or three
With their itsy bitsy doggies and their teeny-weeny tees
Where, oh where, have the smart people gone?
Oh where, oh where could they be?

Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that, I don't wanna be a stupid girl


Disease's growing, it's epidemic
I'm scared that there ain't a cure
The world believes it and I'm going crazy
I cannot take any more
I'm so glad that I'll never fit in
That will never be me
Outcasts and girls with ambition
That's what I wanna see
Disasters all around
World despaired
Their only concern
Will they fuck up my hair

Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that, I don't wanna be a stupid girl


Oh my god you guys, I totally had more that 300 calories
That was so not sexy, no
Good one, can I borrow that?
[Vomits]
I WILL BE SKINNY

(Do ya thing, do ya thing, do ya thing)
(I like this, like this, like this)
Pretty will you fuck me girl, silly as a lucky girl
Pull my head and suck it girl, stupid girl!
Pretty would you fuck me girl, silly as a lucky girl
Pull my head and suck it girl, stupid girl!

Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that, stupid girl!

Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that, I don't wanna be a stupid girl

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

oprah.com

"Pink is making headlines for her hit song "Stupid Girls." She says there's an epidemic of mindlessness among teenagers today and America's obsession with celebrity is to blame. In her music video, she attacks modern-day role models like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson, mocking what she believes is their obsession with beauty, shopping and acting dumb.

Pink says striving to imitate the hottest celebrity squanders a young woman's own individuality and potential. "My definition of 'stupid' is wasting your opportunity to be yourself," Pink says, "because I think everybody has a uniqueness and everybody's good at something.'"

Some people have called "Stupid Girls" hypocritical because Pink has bared skin in her own videos. What does Pink have to say to that?

"I didn't write the song to win a popularity contest. I did it to spark a discussion. … My point is, sexy and smart are not oil and water—and that you don't have to dumb yourself down to be cute.

"I don't think any of these [young Hollywood starlets] are actually stupid. I think it's an act. It makes you less challenging as a female to act really cute."


Dr. Robin says many young women who act "stupid" are actually smart girls whose obsession with imitating celebrities keeps them from being their true selves. "The word for me isn't stupid girls—it's lost girls, it's girls who are being defined by somebody else," says Dr. Robin. "[Pink's] video is calling forth for us to look at anything that makes me have to be small so that someone else is big—making me lose the essence of who I am."

Citing the Girls Gone Wild girls as an example, Ariel Levy, author of Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture says that women are exploiting themselves and other women. "If male chauvinist pigs of years past treated women like pieces of meat, now we're doing it all by ourselves," says Ariel.

Ariel says the rise of the "female chauvinist" is partly generational. "Whether your mother is a right wing evangelical Christian or an old school feminist, if you're flashing on spring break, you're probably going to tick her off," says Ariel.

Teenage rebellion aside, Ariel says there's a much bigger picture. "This is a culture that is obsessed with consumerism," she says. "We think we can buy anything. We can reduce sexuality to something that can be bought and sold like polyester underpants and implants."

Ariel says young women are specifically imitating women in the sex industry, not just celebrities. "Those are women whose job it is to imitate real female sexual pleasure and power, so when we're imitating an imitation, we're getting pretty far removed from authentic experience."

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

"Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth and Misconceptions, says there is a disturbing new genre of teen fiction targeted at millions of young female readers. She says most parents have no idea that these catchy paperback sets known as "chick literature" contain graphic, sexually explicit content. "One of the girl characters says, 'I've got to stop taking Ecstasy and seducing married men'—that's her character development," says Naomi.

With their two-dimensional portrayals of female characters, Naomi says the books send negative messages to young girls. "These books basically tell our daughters that their value comes from how high they are in the pecking order in their high school, whether they can afford all of the fabulous designer goods, and provide a hot sexual experience for the boys in their lives," Naomi says.

Dr. Robin says these books are dangerous in many ways. "[They] are defining for girls who they are, making them think they're choosing it, and then profiting off of the demise of a whole generation of girls and women," she says.

Oprah says she defines "stupid" as "anything less than what is your true self—any time you have to pretend to be something that you're not, around guys or around anybody."

Pink says that if she had compromised herself as a young girl by acting "stupid," she wouldn't be where she is today—a message she hopes to convey to other girls. "If you are going to be the future rock stars [or] whatever you want to be—then you're wasting your time trying to be somebody else because you'll never get to you."

 

[A_Wanderer]

Perhaps more girls should look up to role models like her

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

But alas she'll never make the cover of the National Enquirer

We need to promote other role models for young women and encourage them not to sell out who they really are. It's tough enough not to do that when you're a "grownup".

 

[A_Wanderer]

But half of all people are below average, maybe we shouldn't give them unrealistic expectations

 

[MsGiggles]

Great post(s) Mrs. Springsteen

I don't think the whole "stupid girl" thing is anything new. There were quite a few girls like this in high school (late 80's-early 90's) and seemed pretty successful with their "act"...if it even was an act. My friends and I called them "the brainless wonders".

It does seem to be more evident today. My nieces talk about these types of girls at their schools and the attention they get from boys. At that young age, it's hard for girls to believe that brains and confidence are more important than putting on a silly act (playing dumb) to get a boy.....

 

[AliEnvy]

Hooray for Pink!!!

And right, it's nothing new that many hormone-ravaged teenage boys gravitate to sluts and many inferior men gravitate to unchallenging women.

And nothing new about sex selling.

But girls/women overtly selling these ideas to other impressionable girls/women is new, distrurbing and hugely disempowering.

 

[U2democrat]

The first time I saw Pink's video for "Stupid Girls" I was absolutely thrilled, and I gained a lot of respect for her.

 

[BluRmGrl]

I saw most of Pink's interview yesterday & have to say that I was impressed with what I remember. (I was home sick & high on codeine cough medicine... things are a bit hazy. )

Anyway, I think she's really on to something - I like what she said about sexy and smart not being "oil and water". They CAN mix.

 

[corianderstem]

Hell, smart IS sexy.

 

[AussieU2fanman]

Smart isn't sexy, most guys don't want to feel intimidated by a female of potentially higher intellectual capacity. Many guys find stupider girls more appealing as they can be controlled more easily and our role as the 'dominant' sex isn't threatened.

 

[coemgen]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually do believe that Pink's message is a cool one. I think people are tired of the "stupid" girls anyway.

 

[Irvine511]

Hell, smart IS sexy.

for both genders.

 

[verte76]

I didn't see the interview but I think she's on to something. I don't think it's anything new. There have always been girls who were into nothing but looking beautiful and were obsessed with shopping and materialism. But it's definitely a problem. Girls need better role models. I like the chess grandmaster. We have a student who works at the library who wants to be a nurse. She's currently taking the classes she needs to get into nursing school. I'm just glad I know her, she's got her head screwed on straight.

 

[JCOSTER]

Smart isn't sexy, most guys don't want to feel intimidated by a female of potentially higher intellectual capacity. Many guys find stupider girls more appealing as they can be controlled more easily and our role as the 'dominant' sex isn't threatened.

Get over male domination, it doesn't work anymore unless a woman wants it to, so whos stupid now?

 

[BVS]

Pink was on Oprah yesterday talking about this, they did a whole show about how the role models for young girls today are dumbing themselves down in order to be popular, in order to sell records and movies.

Not much different than politicians today. Well at least some, the others don't have to pretend.

 

[JCOSTER]

Thank God I have boys because in this day and age I dont know what I would do with girls;

The role models are:
Paris Hilton
Nicole Richie
Kimberely Stewart
Nicky Hilton
Jessica Simpson
Britney Spears
Mary Kate & Ashely Olsen
etc.

There is acutally a game that is marketed towards girls that is called Dream Life. My first thought was OMG whats wrong with their everyday life, they have to make up a make believe one and look different and become someone who they are not!

Then theres the half naked Bratz dolls. No one dresses like these doll with out getting arrested. There is another example of a role model.

Girls need to know they have a brain and how to use it, these type of girls are just using the wrong part of the brain!

 

[U2democrat]

As a girl all my role models are men and always have been. That always bugs me, because I want a woman to look up to, but no one really strikes me as role model worthy.

ETA: Sure there are plenty of great women out there, but so few do I look at and say "I want to be like her when I'm older."

 

[dandy]

Smart isn't sexy, most guys don't want to feel intimidated by a female of potentially higher intellectual capacity. Many guys find stupider girls more appealing as they can be controlled more easily and our role as the 'dominant' sex isn't threatened.

i know you're speaking in jest, but i can tell you that as a longstanding member of the nerdy girls club, i've seen this happen fairly often. it's incredibly frustrating.

fantastic thread, MrsS. i admit i didn't tune in to the show yesterday mostly because pink drives me up the wall, but she's bang on on this topic.

 

[JCOSTER]

As a girl all my role models are men and always have been. That always bugs me, because I want a woman to look up to, but no one really strikes me as role model worthy.

ETA: Sure there are plenty of great women out there, but so few do I look at and say "I want to be like her when I'm older."

Helen Keller
Harriet Tubman
Coretta Scott King
Mary Cassatt
Georgia O'keefe
Amelia Earhardt
Florence Nightingale
The brave women in the army right now

You don't have to be like any of these women you just have to be yourself....but you can take qualities from some of these incredible women only to list a few.!

 

[Irvine511]

i make my little sister mix CDs with "positive" female artists:

Joni Mitchell
Aimee Mann
Annie Lennox
Emmylou Harris
Lauryn Hill
Innocence Mission
Joan Armatrading
Tracy Chapman
Kate Bush
Lucinda Williams
Neko Case
Patti Smith
PJ Harvey
Rickie Lee Jones

 

[Tilli]

There are loads of examples within modern culture of women selling themselves short. The stuff mentioned about "chick literature" above also applies somewhat to "chick flicks" at the cinema as well. I actually think stuff like Bridget Jones Diary films also send out messages of what women should be aspiring to. The central character aspires to have a boyfriend and her happiness is defined by whether she is dating or not

 

[Tilli]

i make my little sister mix CDs with "positive" female artists:

Joni Mitchell
Aimee Mann
Annie Lennox
Emmylou Harris
Lauryn Hill
Innocence Mission
Joan Armatrading
Tracy Chapman
Kate Bush
Lucinda Williams
Neko Case
Patti Smith
PJ Harvey
Rickie Lee Jones

Ha! Thats great Perhaps people should also be making CD's like this for their little brothers as well

 

[Muggsy]

What a great thread .

where I live, the "stupid girl" thing isn't that evident, there aren't many girls who can spend high amounts of money on expensive, vane things. But it is something that it is certainly growing, and it contrasts with the poverty that many girls and women are suffering, with the same consequences: humillation and lack of real opportunities.

I've seen many books and magazines for young girls and I can't believe how the editors and public in general let this kind of material being published. girls and young women are strong, complex beings by nature, potentially beautiful and smart at the same time, but this culture seems to be against that and tries to produce plain human beings, at the service of the economy.

i know you're speaking in jest, but i can tell you that as a longstanding member of the nerdy girls club, i've seen this happen fairly often. it's incredibly frustrating.

yeah it is... there are many men who can't understand why a girl prefer to study or work, instead of dedicate her entire time to them. I've been there too , I had a boyfriend who was very lazy at college and he always asked me "why do you study that much? "do you rather work in that project instead of being with me????"

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

i make my little sister mix CDs with "positive" female artists:

Joni Mitchell
Aimee Mann
Annie Lennox
Emmylou Harris
Lauryn Hill
Innocence Mission
Joan Armatrading
Tracy Chapman
Kate Bush
Lucinda Williams
Neko Case
Patti Smith
PJ Harvey
Rickie Lee Jones

I wish I was your little sister, Irvine.

What a kickass mix to get!

I love the Pink song. She used to bug me when she first came out, but when she started writing songs like "Don't Let Me Get Me" and now this one, she's really standing out from the Jessicas and Britneys of the world.

I'm trying to think of who my role models/heroes were when I was a little girl and this is what I came up with:

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

- Anne Frank

- Madonna (yes, for all her sexual messages, she is a savvy business woman and look at her longevity!)

- Wonder Woman (Hey, even if she's just a cartoon, look at what she represents)

 

[MsGiggles]

Smart isn't sexy, most guys don't want to feel intimidated by a female of potentially higher intellectual capacity. Many guys find stupider girls more appealing as they can be controlled more easily and our role as the 'dominant' sex isn't threatened.

....maybe in your part of the world (or perhaps your own little world).....

 

[AliEnvy]

girls and young women are strong, complex beings by nature, potentially beautiful and smart at the same time, but this culture seems to be against that and tries to produce plain human beings, at the service of the economy.

Women who are smart and sexy are very threatening to male domination AND to women who are smart or sexy but not both so sadly it's generally not encouraged culturally by either gender.

 

[stammer476]

Smart isn't sexy, most guys don't want to feel intimidated by a female of potentially higher intellectual capacity. Many guys find stupider girls more appealing as they can be controlled more easily and our role as the 'dominant' sex isn't threatened.

I don't know what it says about me, then, that I can't even imagine being attracted to a woman that I can't hold an intellectual conversation with. Maybe that's why I went out and married my university's valedictorian.

Smart girls.

But then again, my mother is an extremely intelligent person. Maybe that has a lot to do with a male's standards.

 

[Carek1230]

The first time I heard this song then saw the video I was proud of Pink for speaking up through her video and lyrics. Good for her. This is really a controversial issue and one worth debating. I give Pink even more respect than I originally had for her for introducing this topic to us and I am glad to hear she was invited onto Oprah to bring it to light! I hope this will prove to be a good positive message to girls (and to guys) that smart girls can be sexy and fun and that stupid girls are pathetic.