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Andrea Hernandez

Professor Granillo

English 103

19 January 2019

Girls, Girls and more Girls

Women are weak! Men are the only tough, intelligent people to overachieve in their

work. Although this seems a bit extreme to say in our society, throughout history. Men are seen

to be more “tough” and women to be more “fragile.” To this day, there are women fighting for

their equal rights and gender equality. Meghan Trainor is an American singer/songwriter. She is

known for her smash hits "Lips Are Moving" and "All About That Bass.” In her song “Dear

Future Husband,” she dedicates the song to her future husband, exploiting all her needs from a

man.“Dear Future Husband” sends a clear message showing a perfect example of how women

are painted to this day conforming to how they are expected to act and react, and this song

promotes feminism by questioning patriarchal views in our society.

From the beginning of the “Dear Future Husband” music video, one can see a big house

with a perfect garden and a little girl riding her bike on the street in her pink outfit (“Dear Future

Husband” 00:12:00-03:20) The camera travels from the garden to a brightly colored bedroom,

where Meghan Trainor is standing in front of her bed dressed up with a blue skirt and a very eye-

grabbing top and jacket (“Dear Future Husband” 00:18:00-03:20). Meghan is singing about the

things she expects from her future husband, and saying how much she wants to be glorified and

if those are completed by her special someone, she will make him happy (“Dear Future

Husband” 00:45:00-03:20). In addition to that, she sings that “[he has to] know how to treat [her]

like a lady” (“Dear Future Husband” 01:05:00-03:20). This can be controversial because
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traditional gender roles are the social norm that is forced upon girls at a young age. Also,

Meghan Trainor is seen throughout the video washing the floors, which represents the stereotype

that women must be the “maid” of the house: cleaning, cooking and taking care of the children

(“Dear Future Husband” 01:37:00-03:20). In this video, Meghan Trainor represents that

illustration given by society. Girls are being raised to think that when they grow up they must

take care of their husbands, and this song gives listeners and viewers an image that all women

don’t appreciate the thought of what men do for them, and that women are emotionally unstable

therefore this song gets in the way of feminist progress.

Above all, societal norms in Feminism are described as “focusing a good deal on the

enormous role played by gender - that is, by society’s definitions of femininity and masculinity -

in our daily lives” (Tyson 103). These gender roles are being forced upon young children and

adults, telling them that if you’re female you can’t be masculine and vice-versa. In the song,

Meghan says, “Dear future husband If you wanna get that special lovin' Tell me I'm beautiful

each and every night”(“Dear Future Husband” 01:30:00-03:20). When she sings this, she is not

expressing the self confidence and is showing young girls that view and listen to her song that

one needs a man to remind them that they’re beautiful. Additionally, when she sings, “After

every fight Just apologize And maybe then I'll let you try and rock my body right Even if I was

wrong You know I'm never wrong Why disagree? Why, why disagree?” she is making the man

look like some tool(“Dear Future Husband” 01:43:00-03:20). The role of the men has always

been “apologize first” and “the woman is always right” but even though this seems to favor

women, it’s a harmful stereotype that impedes the feminist goal of gender equality. Also, in this

particular line, she goes on and says how if he apologizes she will give him a treat which would

be to “try” to rock her body right. She is sending a message to every young viewer that if you
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want something from a man/woman one must offer up their body for them to do it. Furthermore,

when she sings, “After every fight Just apologize And maybe then I'll let you try and rock my

body right Even if I was wrong You know I'm never wrong Why disagree? Why, why

disagree”(“Dear Future Husband” 01:43:00-03:20)? It is seen that Meghan brings a message to

the audience informing the viewers and listeners that Meghan Trainor’s point of view about her

even being wrong, “[she] is never wrong] that the man should always apologize in a fight. This

makes the image of a woman seem vulnerable and delicate in the which, she must “always be

right” or in other words she will be the one to get upset easily. In addition, in the music video it

is seen that Meghan Trainor tries to cook (“Dear Future Husband” 00:33:00-03:20) and is seen

cleaning in many parts of the video cleaning the floor (“Dear Future Husband” 00:45:00-03:20).

This shows another gender norm made from society upon women. That being, that women are

for only inside the house, they cook clean, tend the baby etc. in this video she is seen attempting

to cook and cleaning the floors and even sings about if her future spouse treats her right she will

have everything clean and well done.

Moreover, the singer’s music video demonstrates clear typical social constructionism.

Social Constructionism are “gender categories constructed by society, which is why the view of

gender is an example of what has come to be” (Tyson 82). In the video it shows Meghan wearing

a pink dress and a man trying to hit a machine to demonstrate his “masculinity” but after hitting

the pin to the same spot, she then walks away from him only for a fail sign to appear over him

(“Dear Future Husband” 02:01:00-03:20). Throughout the video one can see that she rejects a

bunch of men due to some aspect of not being “manly enough” and she is therefore seen also as a

damsel in distress. Tyson explains that “in every domain where patriarchy reigns, woman is

other: she is objectified and marginalized, defined only by her difference from male norms and
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values, defined by what she (allegedly) lacks and that men (allegedly) have” (Tyson 87). In other

words, the song sends the message that women are fragile and breakable, while men are seen as

the opposite and whatever the woman doesn’t have the man will always have what she is

missing. With all this considered of the concepts and how the world view women and their

expectations, next will consider what the opposing viewers would argue and seeing feminism

through the eyes of the “non-believers.”

It can be argued that, women already fought for what they wanted, which is, their rights

and for their voices to be heard. The issue with gender equality is that it has brought a lot of

conflict between women and men. It has been argued if the fight for something that has already

been achieved (gender equality) will stop. Unfortunately, many people assume that the fight for

gender equality is over, but the fact is that women are still fighting for the “right to dignity and

physical self-expression against the ‘to-be-looked-at-ness’ imposed by the male gaze” (Taylor

218). In “Theorizing Masculinity” Michael Kaufman, writes “After all, the overarching

framework for this analysis is the basic point of feminism...that currently all humans live in

systems patriarchal power that privilege men and stigmatize, penalize and oppress

women.”(Kaufman 142). In the article, when he states this he is giving the reader an

understanding that although the concept of feminism is growing, the fact that men are still seen

as a superior is not in denial. Many men and women convey this same reasoning, believing that

men hold a higher power and that people push and oppress feminists and their growing belief.

On the other hand, that is why feminism exists. Music videos and songs in general that display

the idea that women are less or too fragile is what keeps the idea that only men should have

power alive. Tyson stats that “These gender roles have been used very successfully to justify

inequities, which still occur today, such as excluding women from equal access to leadership and
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decision making positions, and convincing women they are not fit for careers in such areas as

mathematics and engineering” (Tyson 83). However, Beauvoir was concerned about social

depictions of women, and how those overly constructed ideas molded the identity of all women.

“Thus literary works (mostly written by men) created myths about women – their identities,

functions, intentions, etc. In general, social constructed depictions of women within the

patriarchy were primarily of those who remained with the children and within the home, and

were often to emotional, quiet, and of God” (Beauvoir 1408). In Beauvoir’s “myth” it can be

depicted that women were illustrated at the image of men and the standard stereotype placed on

women is carried from that myth. Finally, after examining the imagery of women stereotypes,

women’s rights and how that all relates and is projected in the lyrics and visuals of this video,

one can now understand the importance of feminism.

In conclusion, “Dear Future Husband” was used to show to the viewers what society

would call the “perfect” or typical housewife, which is a concept that still exists today. Even as

the Feminist theory fights its way through the generations there will always be a controversial

aspect to it. As a popular pop hit this song does and doesn’t make a difference in the grand

scheme of things because one must really think critically to truly understand what the message is

being projected but at the same time it sends a subliminal message to the viewer of how the

message gets in the way of feminist progress. But as the Feminist theory grows, it is making

women grow with power, respect, and making their actions be heard.
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Works Cited

Aylor, Cheryl M. “‘It Fits Where It Touches’: Ronald McKie’s Fiction and 1970s Feminism.”

Antipodes, vol. 31, no. 1, June 2017, pp. 206–220. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=132117897&site=lrc-live.

Butler, J. (2005). Undoing Gender. New York: Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203499627

Fraser, Nancy, and Linda Nicholson. “Social Criticism without Philosophy: An Encounter

between Feminism and Postmodernism.” Theory, Culture & Society, vol. 5, no. 2–3, June

1988, pp. 373–394, doi:10.1177/0263276488005002009.

Tyson, Lois. “Feminist Criticism.” Routledge. The University of Vermont. 2015. London and

New York. Third Edition. Pages 79-128.

Trainor, Meghan. “Dear Future Boyfriend.” Youtube. 16 March 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShlW5plD_40
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