Why trashiness and the word 'bitch' are empowering to me as a feminist

This post might come a bit out of left field, but after pumping myself up listening to some of my favourite new tunes, I felt inspired to share some of my mental ramblings with you guys. Here goes: the past few years, I've noticed a growing trend of the mainstream embracing/exploiting feminine lower class counter culture. Just think of the whole ratchet trend, Rihanna, Die Antwoord, Jersey Shore: over the top sexuality, unapologetic trashiness. And rather than rolling my eyes at its lack of restraint as you might expect from a style blogger (after all, fashion revolves largely about snobism and cultural hierarchy), I find all of it incredibly empowering.

the Jersey Shore cast, not classy and not giving a fuck about it

You see, I grew up near the edges of society. My family lived in a rather dilapidated little house in a decidedly rural area, socially isolated because of migrating and leaving all of our relatives behind. My parents were educated, but my father being the sole breadwinner for our family and having a failing health put us in the precarious position of never knowing when the hatchet would fall. Sure enough, it did just before I finished high school. This resulted in me dropping down a few steps on the social ladder and working my ass off to make it back up. Which probably partially explains my love for the whole hiphop discourse of being a hard bitch with a big mouth, proud of the shit you worked through to get where you are today. No shame in being who you are, whether you lack sophistication or not.

Women like Rihanna, Jwoww and Snooki add an extra layer of fuck-misogyny to their image by the fact that the whole aesthetic of extremely done up femininity, including long fake nails, too short and too tight dresses, thick extensions and all the make up in the world does not give off a vibe of being for some guy. It doesn't cater to the heterosexual male gaze. A lot of guys find it trashy, in my experience, and this is not so much about them as about girls and women exploring what performing femininity entails. Putting on all the identity markers clasically associated with pretty and girly, but pushing them past that point into an area of self-awareness and pastiche, loving every minute (or every inch of platform stiletto) of it. I actually have a pinterest board dedicated especially to this aesthetic.

One aspect of the whole ratchet/chav/working class culture is not caring as much about social decency, about what is politically correct. Hanging around in feminist circles, I often hear or read people proclaiming 'bitch' as the ultimate way to insult a woman; putting her down like a female dog, calling her inherently inferior. And coming from a guy, bitch usually does have that bite that twists a knife in your gut, making you feel like you outstepped your boundaries as a vagina-having person. It's like every nasty use of the word is actually a shortcut for saying "know your place, bitch".

So yeah, that sucks.

However, people are strong. And many women have become ass kicking individuals in spite of and even through being discriminated against. We find ourselves and express our bad-ass-ness through the insults that once kept us down. That's why I get such a kick out of listening to boss ass bitches like Brooke Candy not giving a fuck about what is considered classy, proper, right or feminine. Throwing all the "bitch" bullshit back at you and emerging like a phoenix from the ashes of your preconceived notions of what a woman should be (nsfw).






She's just this ball of creative power bouncing around, being sexual and abrasive and gross and awesome, and I find her incredibly empowering. Same goes for Rihanna's Pour it Up or Iggy Azalea. "Work" is pretty much my anthem, and I always get emotional when I listen to the song even though its lyrics are not politically-correct-feminist-approved.

Iggy, Brooke, Jwoww and co all come from a place of being unapologetic, honest, raw and commercially savvy assholes. They hustle and they show just who they are without putting on a filter, often even enlarging those facets of their personality that are considered distasteful by mainstream culture, confronting you with your own gender based prejudice. And that, to me, makes them bad ass feminists. Virginia Woolf would agree btw.

Which songs and popstars get you fistpumping because of how ridiculously awesome they are?