Am I the only 1 not 100% Moved by Amber's "Beyonce, Girls Dont Run the World" Vid??

I like how she speaks. I love that she's educated, and that she has an understanding of the present struggle that all women are facing today. This self proclaimed Vlogger & Thinker (according to her twitter page) has put a video out that many people are flocking to and even agreeing with.- Even I must give her kudos for her truths that she clearly spoke, but there is just one problem I have with it.


As a woman/singer/songwriter/poet/lover/ and highly opinionated person, I have to say, that music..is never this black and white. Now we all know that Beyonce even stemming from the Destiny's Child days has always loved a good song for  women empowerment. The "girl power" trend in music, that Amber speaks of in this video has been present for years.


My biggest issue with Amber's video is that it totally dispels a very important aspect of music-inspiration. Maybe girls dont rule the world or maybe our checks arent as high as our male counterparts. These are lyrics/ideas in a song that any educated person would know are not true. So, why write them? I'll tell you why.


For music's existence it has had the power to motivate, encourage, and even change people. When Chaka & Whitney sang, "Every Woman" was that meant to demonstrate that they are literally every single woman in existence?? No! Thats definitely not the case, but when women hear it-they are inspired. The inspiration is to keep working towards that idea. To keep wearing the 10,000 hats that women juggle everyday. I also feel that to totally disregard these songs of empowerment as doing nothing for the struggle is bologna.


The inspiration drawn from these songs can be a huge motivation. Maybe for Amber a song about how much we are struggling to be considered equal every day of our lives and how insignificant we are in the big picture would be motivating/inspiring. Unfortunately everybody isnt moved the same way Amber is. I definitely dont want to hear that crap- we already know it. Music isnt meant to be text book... its meant to feed your soul, give you hope and encouragement.


You never know how this song and others help women to get out of bed everyday, go to work, come home and take care of it, and get back out the next day. You never know the seed of confidence that is planted in a young woman's mind when she hears such songs.. she will need ALL of the confidence in the world in herself as a woman considering our plight. This is what Beyonce is trying to do. This is what music does- it takes you to another place.


Now, I'll be the first to admit, I dont care for the way women are objectified in music, or the way Bey dresses all of the time, I agree with Amber on those things. If I could get Beyonce to wear more clothes and change a few lyrics I would, but thats not a reality. Another thing that isnt a reality is at least one referenced idea in this video. For the record Beyonce's husband's song, 99 Problems mentioned in this video is taken completely out of context.


I REALLY wish people would stop doing that. Listen to the freakin song! lol.. its one of Jay's frequent story telling moments. While a lot of rap music is misogynistic- there are many other lines she could've used but failed to do so- this particular song has nothing to do with us. Which brings me to my last point. I respect Amber's angle, but going to Spelman College, please believe Ive met & befriended my share of Feminists. All brilliant and active, but some who always see the cup as half empty.


This is an ongoing struggle, but the way that Amber fights it is not going to be the way I fight it. Amber and others who are very smart, witty, and who read books about feminism have their own ways of fighting it. Myself and the other creative people in the world have ours. Doesnt make either one of them wrong. Beyonce's song (and others) may be the only positive thing some woman hears about herself. And if she needs to have 40 seconds of a hook to feel like she runs to world then, considering all of the facts in this video, she needs it.


The struggle is real, the work is real, but what is going to help move this world to a place where women are as respected as men is a combined effort on all of our parts. Not sitting around demeaning the way others go about it. I guess had the tone of this video been a little different, & had it had anything positive to say about the influence of music to inspire,  to & change, or  had she not misquoted Jay.. Id be alll over it! But hey, Im just one person I know many people have seen it and totally agree with it. Maybe had it not been so far right field, it wouldnt even be on my blog right now.. or the other ones either, so maybe that was her mission.


I have to sign off by saying to Amber that Ive written a couple of girl power songs.. that my nieces and other young women LOVE. I wont stop doing that because its not their reality. We'll keep making songs about girl power until a generation feels empowered enough & has the opportunity to make it happen.