Pharrell Williams may not be the new Greer, but he's a feminist in my book
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Version 0 of 1. Combine overpriced alcohol and an international superstar with 600 people at a gig sponsored by MasterCard, and what do you get? Pharrell Williams talking unfair wages for women, of course. At London's O2 Arena this week, the chart-topping singer announced: "In America, women are paid 77 cents to every dollar. This is the year everything changes. You guys are going to have to start voting different." And while it's easy to be cynical about a male pop star restating what's been discussed in feminist discourse since time immemorial, I find myself more than happy (happy, happy) to get on board with Pharrell as my latest feminist icon. Before the criticism begins, hear me out. Williams doesn't have the best track record when it comes to women. He starred alongside Robin Thicke in the infamous – yet enduringly popular – pop tune Blurred Lines, of the lyrics "Yeah, I had a bitch but she ain't as bad as you / So hit me up when you pass through / I'll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two". The song was widely condemned for suggesting that sexual consent isn't any more than a "blurred line" to be interpreted at a man's convenience, criticism that I agreed with. Women the world over came out to say that some of those lyrics reflected what their rapists had said to them. And there was Pharrell, grinding up against the semi-naked models in the music video, humming cheerily along. But that was 2013. In 2014, Pharrell emerged on to the red carpet a seemingly new man. He was asked during an interview on Channel 4 News whether he was a feminist and responded that he didn't think "it was possible" to be a feminist and a man at the same time, but that he "supports feminists" wholeheartedly. "I would love to see a woman run the country," he continued. "What would a world be like if 75% of our world leaders, our presidents and prime ministers were female? We don't know because we haven't given it a shot. We're too busy telling them what they can and can't do with their bodies." That sounds like a pretty feminist statement to me. And while some feminists might join Pharrell in stating that a man can't be a feminist, I'm not one of them. Whenever anyone takes fledgling baby steps into promoting and believing in gender equality, I like to think of myself as the skivvy on the door who's willing to run out and greet them. "Welcome to the party, Mr Williams! Can I take your comically oversized hat? Would you like to renounce Blurred Lines with me over your welcome cocktail? Let me get you some stats to help you on your quest to help close the gender pay gap. No, you can't go into every room, but you've still made your way onto the guest list." Stating (correctly) that the routine policing of female bodies contributes to holding women back in society is still a bold move to make in the plasticised world of pop. Making a fast buck with Thicke that relies heavily on sexist objectification is not. Williams' participation in Blurred Lines obviously does jar with his newly feminist thinking and undermines his economic argument. But if he's changed his mind, if he's educated himself, if he's taken a step back at some point and reassessed what it must mean to be a woman today subjected to the same tired images of impossible bikini bodies and submissive, faceless sex-receptacles on their knees in front of another male singer, then let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Pharrell may not be the Germaine Greer of our time and Happy is hardly The Female Eunuch. But he is a man in a position of power and privilege, introducing an audience of teenagers chucking back WKD until their vomit turns luminously blue – for however short an amount of time – to feminist discourse. His latest album is called Girl and is apparently "about women" (which did make me wonder why it wasn't called Woman, but whatever), so at least he's taking a general interest in something relating to the fairer sex beyond beige PVC bikinis. The 2000s have produced some uniquely bad pop acts in terms of both musical and feminist ambitions. To see someone who once pranced around like a consent-flouting prick in Blurred Lines suddenly stating that we should have more female world leaders is endlessly encouraging; it feels like a proper battle loss for sexism. Previously, the closest someone like Pharrell might have come to having his finger on the pulse of feminist issues is having a hand placed over the nearest model's femoral artery. So let's not excommunicate him from the gender equality party quite yet. We just might need him. |