Next year will be 40 years since She’s So Unusual, album by Cyndi Lauper was released. Although it feels like ages for some, the pop artist marked a generation with her music, but especially with one particular song of the album: Girls Just Want to Have Fun. This iconic song not only was a hit of the 80’s for its catchy tune, but also because of the lyrics. What Feminist ideas can we find in Cyndi Lauper’s iconic Girls Just Want to Have Fun?
First of all, the song leverages the idea of sorority. As shown in her videoclip, the idea is for women to get together to support each other and create spaces that they can enjoy. With all the limitations of the repetitive “girls just want to have fun” line, the lyrics are a reflection of the radical Feminist view of Luisa Capetillo (1910s) that women also have the right to leisure, and that only with solidarity, this can be achieved.
Secondly, the song addresses the Feminist view of Friedan in The Feminine Mystique (1963) that criticises the generalised idea that there is one “right” way for women to live when it says:
My mother says “When are you going to live your life right?”
And right away, the song aligns with criticism against Friedan’s ideas for portraying a Feminist view that applies only for white, middle class, educated women (bell hooks, 1984). Addressing the intersectionality of class, the artist replies:
Oh momma dear, we’re not the fortunate ones
This last line is a reflection of the generalised priority and agenda of the 80’s: money. In fact, the whole song addresses the idea of the working class and class struggle during the 80’s. Twice, the song mentions:
When the workin’ day is done,
Oh girls, they wanna have fun
This, again, relates to the idea of women as human beings, entitled to leisure, over the idea of women only as productive agents.
On top of that, Girls Just Want to Have Fun also criticises controlling relations as a form of violence against women when it says:
Some boys take a beautiful girl
And hide her away from the rest o’ the world
This points out at a red flag for any relation, which is the attempts to isolate a person from their social circle and family. This often leads to violent relations that disproportionately affect women. (IOMA, 2020) The song continues by saying:
I wanna be the one to walk in the sun
This clever line addresses again the idea that there is a right way for women to live as addressed by The Feminist Mystique. The idea that women should stay at home in charge of the domestic chores and reducing their social interactions to “family friends” of the same socio-economic status. In sum, staying away from the rest of the world, unable to walk under the sun.
This hit clearly addresses the ideas of radical first-wave feminism and the debate of second-wave feminism on the importance of addressing intersectionality, in this case of the working class. Needless to say that the song is not a comprehensive summary of Feminism. In fact, it has clear limitations such as the reinforcement of the gender binary and the idea of the traditional family. Yet, this song was a hit and now remains in pop culture for many for good reasons. Girls Just Want to Have Fun is precisely a song for women, that brought to popular culture the idea of just having fun. While this idea is not novel for radical feminists like Capetillo, it does, as The Guardian points out, capture the cultural shift of the 80s. It shifts the focus from all-about-money, middle and lower-class women to the right of women to having fun, to leisure and to “come home, in the monin’ light.”
The brief introduction about the singer and author was helpful in understanding the background of the song. The idea of sorority and feminism through this song is an important consideration to analyze. the following lines When the workin’ day is done, Oh girls, they want to have fun was really helpful in providing an insight to working class and class struggle during the 80s. I can’t wait to listen this sog again and analyze it.
This a detailed analysis and it was fascinating how you connected the lyrics to such a popular song to readings we had done for class! I think the lyrics “girls just want to have fun” could be taken to another level by proposing the idea that women also deserve to experience pleasure. I agree that this song enforced the gender binary because it is very limiting by using the term “girl” repeatedly. There are certainly people in the world who would relate to the lyrics of the song but would not label themselves as girls. Overall, this song was a favorite of mine in my childhood so now I’m excited to listen to it again through a new lens! Great job!
You are right, I had a rather narrow understanding of fun. I do agree that the term “girls” is problematic. But I can also see that the song shows a tension with the idea of woman, that is having to work, and follow a right way to live.
Great analysis! You did a wonderful job of connecting the lyrics to so many of our class readings. I agree that a limitation of the song is that it reinforces the gender binary, but even if the song was specifically targeting cis women, I think the term ‘girls’ instead of ‘women’ to describe them feels derogatory and belittling. It seems to imply that “girls” are immature and don’t know what they want in life and how to get it. “Girls” must be dependent on men.
Yes, I agree that the term can be used in a very derogatory way to infantilize women. However, and also because of the theme of the song, I wanted to interprete it from a more positive lens considering the association that the song makes an association of women with a “right way to live” or being just working people. In that sense, I want to see that the song uses girl in a more libeeratory way. What do you think? Too optimistic?
This is an interesting analysis, because I’ve always kind of viewed the song as anti-feminist. However, as you pointed out there are definite feminist aspects. As Sahana said though, I think by saying “girls” it feels like it’s calling women frivolous and childlike, instead of treating them like mature people. Especially for women who may not have had time to be concerned about having fun, because they had other responsibilities.
I agree but I think we should give it the benefit of the doubt especially considering what it meant for its context. I do not think the song calls for the rejection of all responsibilities as it says “when the workin’ day is done.” From a more positive lens, I think it is actually rejecting the idea that women should only be dedicated to work.