The Patriot Post® · Katy Perry's 'Feminist Anthem'

Singer-songwriter Katy Perry has released a new single, “Woman’s World,” ahead of her latest album. Touted as the next “feminist anthem,” this song was hyped and framed as a potential restart to a music career that has faltered since the mid-2010s. That is not to say that Perry isn’t an extremely recognizable pop artist, only that she hasn’t had a hit in some time. Her last top-of-the-charts song was in 2014.

Lyrically, “Woman’s World” isn’t particularly interesting or deep. Rather, it’s a conglomeration of shallow feminist twaddle. Here’s the first verse and chorus for reference:

Sexy, confident
So intelligent
She is heaven-sent
So soft, so strong
She’s a winner
Champion
Superhuman
Number one
She’s a sister
She’s a mother
Open your eyes, just look around, and you’ll discover you know
It’s a woman’s world, and you’re lucky to be living in it

Most pop songs are fairly vacuous, and the words are only remarkable for being boring, sophomoric, and predictable. And vis-à-vis “Woman’s World,” many feminists assert that the lyrics fail to encompass their feelings as their “reproductive rights” are being taken away.

But the truly offensive part is the music video. If you want it described in detail, National Review has that covered. If you want to watch it, be warned: It’s basically soft porn.

Those on the Right have criticized it as being a lame attempt at pop feminism. The filth in the music video is a brand of feminism that degrades women and steals their dignity.

Pop fans are disappointed with the overly auto-tuned Perry (it’s bad; she sounds like Dylan Mulvaney). While the beat and chorus are catchy, there’s no “there” there.

However, the pushback has been mostly led by those on the Left. Their criticism is that Perry worked with Dr. Luke, who has been accused by Kesha (also a 2010s pop sensation) of sexual assault. Dr. Luke did not face any criminal charges and instead took legal action against Kesha for defamation. Legal battles are ongoing. But because Perry used Dr. Luke, it’s perceived by the public that she is being hypocritical. If Perry is a feminist, why is she working with a man accused of sexual assault?

Leftists are also critical of the production. If it’s a “feminist anthem,” why were mostly men working behind the scenes writing, mixing the music, and creating the video? In fact, it can be argued that the whole music video was made exclusively for the male gaze.

Perry responded to the backlash by claiming the song was supposed to be political satire. So she was trying to make fun of the “patriarchy” with her overtly and overly sexualized video?

The only thing that would be remotely clever is if “Woman’s World” was anti-feminism satire. All the empty nonsense and contradictory blather of modern feminism being the subject of derision by a pop star would be something. But that’s not the case. At the end of the day, it’s just predictable male hatred. To quote Shakespeare, this supposed satire is “sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Perry is neither the first nor the last pop star to try to cling to glory as she fades from the early sparks of her career. (Madonna, anyone?) But to claim this garbage song is a feminist anthem is quite a reach. Even Forbes doesn’t have high hopes for the song getting very far in the charts.