“Man’s World” by MARINA

MARINA, previously known as Marina and the Diamonds, is an Indie/electro pop musician who is no stranger to female empowerment in her music and on social media. She recently dropped a new album Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land which spreads the important message of ecofeminism and the downfalls of a capitalist society. The most popular song on the track is “Man’s World.” “Man’s World” is an anthem of feminist power and resilience. This song not only recalls specific historical moments where women have been oppressed and mistreated, but also indicates discrimination and violence that LGBTQ+ individuals have faced. She references the Salem Witch trials in the lyrics:

“Burnt me at the stake, you thought I was a witch
Centuries ago, now you just call me a bitch”(MARINA, lines 5-6)

These lyrics are based on the incident where violence against women occurred due to society’s view of “abnormal” activity of girls and women during the Witch trials. Expectations of what a “women” should be and act like are still prevalent today and it causes those who don’t fall into those categories to be treated as outcast. It also points out how women used to be called “witches” to the more recent derogatory use of the word “bitch.” While also recalling the controversy regarding The Beverly Hills Hotel that Marilyn Monroe is linked to, MARINA’s lyrics state:

“Marilyn’s bungalow, it’s number seven
In the pink palace where men made her legend
Owned by a sheik who killed thousands of gay men
I guess that’s why he bought the campest hotel in LA then”(MARINA, lines 12-15)

This references the controversial event where the recent stakeholder of the Beverly Hills Hotel passed a law in the South China Sea, where he made queer sex and adultery punishable by stoning. These violent anti-gay policies caused a boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel by many celebrities.

“Man’s World” hints at a theme explored in Contesting Cultures, where Uma Narayan states, “Women’s inequality and mistreatment are, unfortunately, ubiquitous features of many “Western” and “non-Western” cultural contexts (Narayan 401).” In cultures all over the world, women are mistreated and oppressed against. Violence towards women is everywhere even though the specific situations differ. This brings the question of intersectionality into the mix. While “Man’s World” doesn’t cover the topic of intersectionality, it’s important to note that through class, gender, race, and sexuality, women can be more susceptible to different levels of violence in their day-to-day experiences. Lorber writes, “Within many social groups, however, men are advantaged over women. The more economic resources, such as education and job opportunities, are available to a group, the more they tend to be monopolized by men (Lorber 61).” This goes hand in hand with the line “So don’t punish me for not being a man”(MARINA, line 23). From birth, our assigned gender places expectations on the life we are supposed to live and unfairly places cis-gender men at the top of the social structure.

While “Man’s World” comes from more of a Westernized approach to feminism, it’s still a solid start to educating listeners about violence and oppressions towards women and LGBTQ+ indiviudals. “I don’t wanna live in a man’s world anymore” (MARINA line 9) illustrates the strength and resilience women have demonstrated for centuries.

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Works Cited

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obxFWNeGDOg

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/opinion/sunday/the-sultan-and-the-salad.html