The Feminist Movement

Music has long had the power to convey powerful and meaningful messages that were directed towards a specific audience throughout history. Its ability to do the aforementioned was exemplified during the beginning and early stages of the Feminist Movement, particularly with Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” (1967) and Helen Reddy’s “I am Woman” (1972). These two songs sought to empower the women of their era by encouraging gender autonomy. Though released five years apart, there were many similarities between the two songs in terms of their musical and lyrical composition, as well as their message and intended audience. However, due to the surrounding social issues of their time period, two very different underlying secondary messages were incorporated

Reddy, in a way, continued Franklin’s legacy with female empowerment and took it to the next level by shifting the focus from primarily black women to the entirety of women. Reddy’s song does not appear often today in modern culture. There was one instance where she appeared at a women’s rally and sang the song for them, other than that, its appearance is scarce. On the other hand, Franklin’s song is still present today, however it is just listened to for its upbeat instrumentals and funky feel, as well as being used in movies and shows. The power in is lyrics have faded and no one really thinks deeply about its meaning, even the people involved with the modern day feminist movement. People today need to bring back “I am Woman” and bring “Respect’s” meaning back if they want any progress with the modern movement. What made these songs so effective in pushing its cause was that people actually listened to the words being sung and took its messages to heart. The legacies of these two very influential songs would be far greater if they were listened to an absorbed the way they were

As a male, it is hard for me to relate to the issues women in the past and women to day face. However, I can respect and appreciate what Aretha Franklin and Helen Reddy wanted to achieve with their songs. Even as a male, I felt the passion in their voices and lyrics and saw what they wanted to achieve. Personally, I identified with Franklin’s “Respect” because I essentially fit in with the audience she was targeting. She was asking me to give respect to women because they deserve it and after listening to the song, I feel completely obligated to do as she says. I completely respect both Franklin and Reddy for their two songs and how they were able to essentially convey the same message in two different styles. Artists today must carry on their legacy if they are to affect modern culture at the level Franklin and Reddy