Latest / gasp! the pod / the 1950s-ication of the pop girls

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the 1950s-ication of the pop girls · gasp! the pod

0:00
And it seems like everyone has the same brand, which is where's
0:03
my husband or he's my husband, or I want a husband or I'm sad
0:08
he wasn't my husband, but I'll find a new husband.
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It's like I need a break. You're like every other bitch.
0:24
Hi you guys, welcome back to GASP the pod, the podcasts for
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the gays, the girls, and especially the gay girls.
0:33
We're talking about the evolution of pop girlies,
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especially in the last decade, and I think they've made a huge
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sharp turn away from what pop girlies used to be.
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It's not a coincidence that the party girl, grunge emo, single
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girls rule indie vibe of the 20 Tons has somehow kind of
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vanished in the world of pop girls today.
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Even though the current pop music scene is being utterly
1:01
dominated by women which slay, it seems there's a certain
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recipe, a similar rebrand being used over and over again and
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spread amongst the pop girlies. You've seen this aesthetic in
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the last five years actually really cement female singers
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firmly into fame. Mainstream fame.
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This is the vintage retro glam Barbie doll of the mid 1900s,
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right? This is the cheeky, sexual but
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in the right ways baby doll relationship obsessed trope but
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the music industry seems to not be able to shake.
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So my question is, where did the 1950s occasion of female pop
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stars come from and how has it made these women so successful?
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And don't worry, I have examples.
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I have examples, many examples of pop girlies and their music
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and their aesthetic changing over the years and also new pop
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girlies in the last few years. I'm going to investigate why
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female pop music took such a sharp turn in a matter of
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literally only a few years. Like I'm talking two to three
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Max four years here and how right wing politics of America
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affected our music, even the liberal girlies and which girls
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that affected the most including Ariana Grande, Sabrina
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Carpenter, Olivia Dean, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Ray.
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Let's get the fuck into it. This episode really is like a
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mesh of my deep interests, which is like feminism, sexuality.
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I was a gender studies major and also pop music and pop culture.
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Like this is like so interesting to me how much culture can
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affect even the pop girls and how much the pop girls affect
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culture. In order to even see this
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change, we have to know what it was.
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We have to know what the pop girly music scene was in the
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late 20 times even into COVID era music.
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The scene in this period is deeply inspired by like early 20
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times millennial optimism, like Ke$ha, kind of Katy Perry, kind
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of like rager pop girl party girl anthems that era, the early
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twenty 10s that was inspired by also this rise in in emo grunge
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music coming out of like Avril Lavigne, the late 2000s.
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So like we can see this pattern and there's a twee element,
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there's a nerdy element, there's an indie element happening that
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really is palpable towards the the mid 20 tons.
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I think people think that the mid 20 tons like fizzled after
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2017 but if you really go go to your playlist from like
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2018-2019, 2020 it really carried through.
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And we don't realize how much the aesthetic of culture, girl
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culture has changed and influenced by by these pop
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stars. So the late 20 times is the era
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I'm talking about. I'm talking like 2015 to 2022
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for the pop girls of this era. And it's not just pop girls
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because there was less of like this pop girl idea and more like
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female singers that were taking over the radio that maybe
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wouldn't have considered themselves pop, but like,
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they're pop because they're popular in a way, right?
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So the music, especially pop girl music dominating the radio
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and the aesthetic and the style. It's emo, it's indie and or it
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is girls rule body single girl rock club anthems.
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We see a rise in like this techno dance music where it's
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like chainsmokers and then like a female singer like Halsey
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singing probably going to say the word body a million times in
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this episode. So just get ready.
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This is a time of literal partying.
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Like the late 20 times. It's just party like and that's
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kind of how it felt. I'm going to be honest.
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So what is this music like? It's breakup songs, it's single
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girl anthems, it's fuck men. It's I'm in the club with my
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girls. Don't touch me, don't talk to
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me. Indie was in the air.
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Like when we actually think about style wise, what were
5:07
these pop girls wearing? It's big pants, it's pants, it's
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big pants. It's little top, big pants.
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Sometimes big top, big pants. Like we are in the middle of
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queer culture, especially like bisexual culture by culture rise
5:22
up. Like this is that time so many
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of these girlies are coming out as bi or alluding to being bi.
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I mean, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Rita Ora, Tovlo, Miley Cyrus.
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Like this is kind of edgier style in the mainstream.
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And this is not out of nowhere hair.
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Hair was not like slick back clean girl aesthetic like we're
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seeing now. Hair was constantly changed.
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Hair was dyed pink, hair was bleached.
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You had streaks in your hair. You had blue in your hair, you
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had feathers in your hair, right?
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It was cut short, Bleachella like people were constantly
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changing their looks. People wanted to look like the
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cool girl, not like this clean sorority, perfect beach
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Princess. Darker aesthetics, matte
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lipstick, chokers, jackets, flannels tied around your waist,
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chunky shoes. We're not seeing baby doll
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Barbie, right? We're leaning away from like mid
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century proper glamour aesthetics.
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Like girls wanted to be edgy. That was like what was popular.
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So let's talk about some examples of these artists and
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then we're going to move into the change that I believe
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happened that affected the music and the style of a lot of these
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artists. I'm going to list, I think a
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really good example of this era is Halsey.
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She dominated this emo grunge scene, but she's all over the
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radio and she technically is pop, but there's an emo edge to
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this. Like bad at love is a great
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example. Like this music is very much
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like self focused introspective, but also party, party, party.
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And when it is a breakup song, it's not like I miss you.
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It's like fuck you because we're in an era of feminism and I'll
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get into this. Dua Lipa is releasing new rules
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like don't call him, don't text him like female solidarity Tovlo
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Tuvelo. She's releasing cool girl like
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similar to a Miley Cyrus era where bangers happens way
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earlier in the decade, but then she releases Plastic hearts into
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2020. Like we see this type of edgy
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kind of vibe into the early twenty 20s.
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It's harsh, it's edgy, it's different Ray and we'll talk
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about her later on in this episode too, because I think
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she's a very interesting singer and character to look at.
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She was releasing songs like You Don't Know Me, which was like my
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all time favorite song. It's a dance single girls song.
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Literally so different from Where is my husband out with my
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girls. I'm a have a good time.
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Step back with your chitchat killing my vibe.
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Step back, it's my style. You're cramping.
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Don't act like you know me. I'm not your homie.
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It's like, leave me alone, man. I'm hanging out and drinking
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with my girlies. Even Beyoncé and a lot of these
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things obviously are influenced by what's happening in these
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people's lives. So Beyoncé releases Lemonade
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because our shit husband cheated on her.
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Lemonade is culture changing. It is women focused.
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This is centering black women. It is this album of like, change
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in evolution. But it's also like fuck you.
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Like it's daring, it's different, it's bold.
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Obviously this album is coming out of this experience that she
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had. She's a really good person to
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look at when it comes to culture because she's been big for so
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long. She released Cowboy Carter in
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2024. She releases Renaissance in
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2022. And I think in those two years,
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how different of a jump politically and culturally we're
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in Renaissance. Is this a dance EDM album moving
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into two years later? Cowboy Carter is this cowboy
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country inspired album? Obviously it's not Republican,
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but things don't have to be Republican to be reflective of
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society and in a time of society where we're valuing country
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aesthetics. And how much has changed in
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those two years? Like I think that's a very good
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example of like what I think has changed.
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And I wouldn't say Beyoncé is necessarily a pop girl.
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I think she's bigger than that. But like looking at her is
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really emblematic of the culture of the music industry.
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Lorde is a really a good example of what the 20 tense is music
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wise for women. Melodrama is this girl in
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crisis, girl growing up album. She's talking about men, but
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there's no men centering here. It's all about what's happening
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in her brain. There's a level of emoness to
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it. And then when it comes to Taylor
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Swift, you know, 2015, we see her in this girl squad because
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guess what? It's not popular in 2015 to be
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so obsessed with your boyfriend and to bring him everywhere.
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That's not culturally cool. OK, so she's bringing around her
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girl squad and she's hooking up with probably some of the girls
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in this girl squad. And then when we move into
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reputation, great example of what this era is, it's a dark
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aesthetic. It's revenge.
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It's like, fuck that, fuck that. We can move into lover.
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I would say this is kind of like an exception to the rule because
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it's more of like a lighter colors feminine album, even
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though it is gay. But folklore and Evermore and
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Midnight's all darker, kind of grungier types of music.
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Camila Cabello is another great example.
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Like she's releasing songs like Havana, it's giving Fling, One
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Night Stand and all of these artists, of course, they have
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songs a lots of songs and outfits and styles and pictures
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that don't fit into this idea of what 2010's music is.
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But these are their big hits, right?
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This is what is dominating the radio.
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Ariana Grande, dangerous woman, sweetener.
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Thank you. Next.
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All of these albums are Batty, Batty, Batty.
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Like the focus priority is Batty.
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It's you cheated on me, I'm going to cheat on you.
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Like, that's the vibe, that's what she's giving.
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Another single that I think literally she put in the
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Smithsonian with what the 20 tens are, is the song Girls by
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Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, Charlie XX and Cardi B.
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It is pretty much a bisexuality song and them being interested
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in girls. And I don't think Charlie XX
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should have been on the song because she's straight.
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But like, that's what was popular at the time is
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bisexuality. This song of all of these girls
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talking about like sex with women, sexual revolution type
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shit. It's not we fell in love.
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I fell in love with a girl. It's her name was Laura.
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We learned a lot of how to do it like we do it like we want to.
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We just know I ain't one sided. I'm open minded.
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I'm 5050 and I'm never going to hide it.
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Sometimes I just want to kiss girls.
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Red wine. I just want to kiss girls.
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I mean naturally this was life changing for me who is actively
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coming out as bi at this time. It's like I was awoken from my
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grave with the song. This is what this era was.
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And finally, Rihanna, listen, Rihanna, we miss you.
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And maybe she can't release music in the current culture we
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have right now because like her aesthetic just wouldn't jive.
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But like Auntie, hello. That's all I have to say.
12:26
And to my listeners that listen past 30 seconds, thank you so
12:29
much for being here and welcome to this podcast.
12:32
If you're new, I'm a podcast that talks about culture
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theories. Most of it is usually pop
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OK, Thank you so much. Back to the episode.
13:48
So the last thing I wanted to talk about with this era before
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we talk about the 2020's and this switch that I think that
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we've seen is the politics of this era, right?
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Like in the 20 tens, we're still running off of millennial
14:02
optimism. OK, We've got the gas still in
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the tank from millennial optimism.
14:07
As a late Gen. Z, some people argue I'm a
14:10
millennial, I don't really care or no, I'm a 1997 baby.
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We're feeling that optimism, like we've got that energy as
14:17
we're going into college, that energy has turned towards
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partying and sexual freedom. And who can argue with that
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culturally, societally, like that's never really usually a
14:26
bad thing. And it shows good things in our
14:28
culture when people have the freedom to do those things.
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Obviously, in a Safeway, gay marriage has just been legalized
14:36
in 2015 across the country in America.
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So the recessions in the past, gay people can marry.
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Things are looking up until Trump takes office.
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OK, Trump is elected in 2016. He takes office in 2017.
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We see obvious resistance to this.
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Political activism is up. Protesting is part of the
14:57
culture now. You would think that this would
14:59
change the culture towards republicanism right away, but we
15:03
don't see that right away. The reaction from the country is
15:06
like, Oh my God, how did this happen?
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Let's really get ourselves together.
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There is joy in partying and forming community and resistance
15:15
to these types of things. So the youth still feels like
15:18
they have a future, which is the clear difference, right?
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We see no AI then when COVID happens it moves a lot of
15:26
culture online as we've all noticed.
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But in response we see Indian counterculture arise.
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So we still are not seeing, you know, the fascism enter into
15:37
mainstream culture just yet. So that's why I still think
15:41
COVID and even into 2021-2022, this indie aesthetic has not yet
15:46
vanished from the mainstream because people are going back to
15:50
their parents houses, people are maybe moving to the country away
15:53
from cities. People are in the mountains,
15:55
people are making folklore and evermore, right?
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OK, now let's talk about the twenty 20's, the post COVID pop
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music scene, what we are in today and how I think there is a
16:06
drastic change in so much of pop girly culture.
16:11
Right? Because what is what is the
16:13
scene like today? Women are dominating pop culture
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more so than in the 20 times ironically.
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Yet even though women are running the culture, it seems
16:23
like there's this turn towards romantic heterosexual love in
16:26
music and style. Relationships are at such a
16:30
focus and you can also blame maybe TikTok for this.
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There's so many couple trends, like people are aspiring to be
16:37
in a relationship at a level that I don't see as present in
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the 20 times era. Marriage and wedding culture is
16:44
on the rise. Like the wedding industry has
16:46
never had so much fucking money than they've had now.
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Love songs and this like desperate yearning for a man,
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all of this is a part of the music that we're hearing and
16:59
seeing and witnessing. Now.
17:00
There's an element of like, is it just because these pop stars
17:03
are old enough to be married now?
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I mean, we're seeing Dua Lipa getting married.
17:08
We're seeing Taylor Swift getting married.
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Ariana Grande has already been married.
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So I feel like that's less a part of the conversation.
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Beyoncé has been married for a long time.
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So is there an element of some of these pop stars getting older
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and like we're just obsessed with relationships because
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they're getting married perhaps. However, we're still seeing this
17:25
culture of the relationship love focused vibe from younger
17:30
artists in the industry as well. Whereas in the late 20 times,
17:35
the same aged performers that we're seeing now, we're writing
17:39
about going out with their girlies.
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Where's the going out with our girlies?
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Like we're seeing that in music videos kind of.
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But then the songs will just be like, for a man, you know?
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I just feel like it's so clear to me I'm missing the going out
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with your girls songs. I don't feel like we have enough
17:56
of those. And maybe people aren't going
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out with their girls enough. That's also a problem.
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That is an epidemic. It is an epidemic currently in
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pop girly world. Breakup songs have not stopped,
18:07
right? The art of the breakup song has
18:08
continued. However, I feel that the breakup
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songs, the style is less fuck you and more so why did you
18:15
leave me? I'm so devastated.
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Ariana Grande is being like break your heart right back.
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OK, But then we hear Sabrina Carpenter like like sugar
18:23
talking where she's like you're pulling away.
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Let me pull you back in like I want you still.
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And I don't think that's a bad sentiment for her to feel.
18:33
And I love that fucking song. I just think it's interesting
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how breakup songs have changed. And of course there's exceptions
18:40
to this rule always. This is just the general
18:43
culture. It's less body, more like let's
18:47
have sex for a baby. It's less hookup with a random
18:51
person and more like hookup for life, which Fox News surely
18:57
loves. Now, all of these elements
18:59
aren't necessarily bad on their own for these individual people,
19:03
but it's what type of culture is driving these changes that I
19:07
think is extremely relevant and something to look at because it
19:12
feels like it has changed a lot of music very, very quickly.
19:17
And music and pop culture, especially pop girls drive
19:21
culture because I would argue women as a whole.
19:26
You can really look at style and what is in and and see how
19:30
culture is through women and what is deemed cool and uncool.
19:34
What is the style that we're seeing right now that's super
19:36
popular? It is more polished.
19:39
It's more feminine. It's slicked back hair or
19:42
feminine curls and done in a way that is sleeker and more
19:46
polished. Like people aren't dying or
19:48
bleaching their hair like they did.
19:50
People are not bleaching their eyebrows like they did back then
19:53
like it's more feminine. Is this the bad thing?
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Technically, no. On its own, The style of dress
19:59
that we see that's popular, it's not made for partying.
20:01
It's sun dress culture. It's bridal brunch.
20:05
Is baby shower dresses culture like it is beach vacation
20:10
culture? It is Hailey Bieber like Hailey
20:12
Bieber. Batty is like giving bridal
20:15
brunch. Kind of all the time.
20:18
It's clean, girl, it's reserved, it's feminine, it's not dark,
20:22
clubby. And I won't go so far to say
20:25
everyone that dresses like this because I'm obviously affected
20:29
by this culture change. And like, I dress and look
20:33
different, my makeup is different.
20:34
And that's not necessarily a bad thing on its own.
20:37
And I don't think every woman that dresses more femininely and
20:40
like a flowing skirt is catering towards the male gaze.
20:44
But what is driving this is catering towards the male gaze.
20:47
We're seeing dresses and skirts. There's not as many big pants,
20:52
little shirt, camo pants, shirt right blush, flowy fabrics,
20:57
etcetera. And of course this is like what
20:59
is mainstream and popular doesn't mean that every single
21:01
girl in the world is wearing this.
21:03
Sometimes the Internet, we can't make theories without it making
21:07
sense for every single example in the world.
21:09
But this is for mainstream culture.
21:11
So it's not the same for like queer culture or counterculture
21:15
or emo grunge culture that still exists today.
21:18
Obviously indie people still exist like, but we know there's
21:21
been a change in style and in music and it didn't come from
21:24
nowhere. Before I go into these specific
21:26
artists, their music and their own style of dress and how
21:30
that's changed, let's look at how the politics of today have
21:33
changed, shall we? Because again, this didn't come
21:37
from a vacuum, OK? Fascism is objectively on the
21:41
rise and this is in reaction to Obama being president for a very
21:46
long time and a swelling of Republicans but specifically
21:50
hate groups that have been created post Obama.
21:54
Now once once they got Trump elected in 2016, that was not
21:57
enough because guess what? They didn't get their fascist
22:00
full plan like they wanted and when Biden got elected, they
22:03
stormed the Capitol. Remember this is a reaction, a
22:07
push against gay rights, feminism, Black Lives Matter and
22:11
all of these movements that we were seeing in the 20 times into
22:15
the early twenty 20s, especially 2020 and how much activism there
22:19
was with Black Lives Matter. So we're also seeing the male
22:22
loneliness epidemic take over culture and make it everyone's
22:26
fucking problem and maybe any an episode of the male loneliness
22:29
epidemic because like, literally it's not my fucking problem.
22:32
It's not women's fucking problem.
22:33
Make other friends. I didn't know loneliness had to
22:36
do with romantic relationships. Like why can't you make fucking
22:39
friends that are mad? But that's a whole other thing.
22:42
Roe V Wade was overturned. That changes a lot for many,
22:46
many women who don't have access to abortion.
22:49
O when you are fearing getting pregnant, maybe you're not going
22:53
to have as much sex. I don't want this episode to
22:56
make it look like I'm blaming women because this is a reaction
22:59
to fascism and patriarchy that's been pushed on women and women
23:03
are just adapting to it. But also, I will say women also
23:08
need to take control of their lives and what they actually
23:10
want and decide like, hey, do I actually want a relationship?
23:13
Do I actually want to marry this man?
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This is actually going to affect me for the rest of my life.
23:18
Maybe I should not just get in this relationship because I'm
23:21
scared. And finally, LGBTQ acceptance is
23:25
falling even though we are seeing the numbers of queer
23:29
people rise like Gen. Z women.
23:31
Now it is estimated that 30% of Gen.
23:34
Z women are queer, which makes sense.
23:36
It's probably even higher than that.
23:38
Acceptance is actually falling for gay people.
23:42
So it's not like queer culture is running the show right now,
23:47
OK. It is straight culture that is
23:51
behind the wheel unfortunately. And and that happens.
23:55
It's a snowball effect. Trump was elected again, as we
23:58
all remember. And obviously this episode is
24:01
very America centered, however, because I live here and I'm more
24:05
focused on like American politics.
24:07
But obviously there's been a rise of fascism around the
24:10
world. And you could see this
24:12
culturally being very similar in many other countries around the
24:15
world. So Trump was elected again, and
24:18
this time there are way less safeguards around him.
24:22
So the fascism is soaring and there is definitely a lack of
24:28
youth hope for a future. Feminism isn't seen as cool
24:32
anymore. It's just not so.
24:34
People are clinging to the idea of a relationship to save them
24:37
from this world. Women are looking to femininity
24:39
as a direction. It's also identity that the
24:42
world will applaud you for having.
24:44
And who doesn't want to be applauded and accepted right as
24:48
men are leaning into conservatism?
24:50
Women still want to be seen desirable by men and therefore
24:56
this new brand of men. And how do you seem desirable
24:59
for this new brand of conservative men?
25:01
You seem and look more conservative.
25:03
Conservatism is up, sexual revolution body vibes are so not
25:08
cool anymore, and purity culture is on the rise with
25:11
conservatism, religious modesty coming into fashion again.
25:16
But also Roe V Wade is overturned, there's less access
25:18
to abortion, Plan B, even birth control, and this leads to less
25:23
partying and less casual sex. We need to party more.
25:26
We seriously need to party more. Young people carry your weight.
25:30
I guess I'm young too, but I mean like super young people
25:32
carry your weight. OK, Now I want to talk about
25:35
these specific artists because the reason why I came up with
25:38
this episode is like noticing the change in these artists
25:42
themselves. I find it really sad that I feel
25:46
like a lot of these individual brands are kind of being turned
25:49
into the same brand, which is retro glamour, Barbie doll,
25:55
classy, jazzy, feminine aesthetics.
26:00
Whereas they all used to be a little bit different.
26:02
Some singer would be a little bit more jazzy, one would be a
26:05
little bit more party girl, one would be a little bit more indie
26:07
pop, one would be a little bit more emo.
26:10
Yes, there was a general aesthetic of the 20 Tons, but it
26:13
didn't seem like everyone was dressing the same exact way.
26:17
At least there was a little bit different colors within the What
26:20
is cool umbrella. So let's talk about Olivia Dean
26:22
first. Her style completely switched.
26:26
If you guys were not listening to her music and we're not aware
26:28
of who she was in like 2020-2021, please go look up
26:33
Olivia Dean 20/20. She looks completely different.
26:37
And again, I hate that I have to like make these little
26:41
announcements because people will like just misunderstand a
26:44
point. Obviously I don't think it's
26:47
impossible to change your aesthetic over time, but it is
26:50
very interesting and notable when it is happening to it.
26:53
Seems like all the pop girls. She is out as bisexual.
26:56
At least Google told me that. I can't see where she said it
27:00
back then and not that there's like one way to look queer.
27:03
However, she was definitely flagging way more bisexual and
27:06
queer. She was definitely giving this
27:09
indie big pants queer style look of what was popular.
27:15
Suddenly this switch turned into retro glamour long sparkly
27:21
dresses right around when she got big.
27:23
Now I don't know enough to say that like she got big because of
27:28
her style change and that's a lot to like place on aesthetics
27:33
and branding, but it is wild how much branding plays into your
27:37
fame level. But I don't think it's a
27:39
coincidence, right? I've also noticed that it seems
27:43
that she begins straightening her hair more as she became more
27:47
mainstream. And I'm not going to comment on
27:50
like what black women can do with their hair, but that would
27:53
not surprise me based on the fact that our culture is more
27:56
conservative. And maybe there's this need to
28:00
please a more widespread audience as you get bigger and
28:04
bigger as a buy black girl, you might feel like you need to lean
28:08
into this femininity, into this retro glamour, into long,
28:12
flowing WAVY hair instead of her natural curls.
28:15
I don't know. I don't know what's going on in
28:17
her brain, but I find it very interesting.
28:19
Her style now is like dresses, sparkles, mid century classic.
28:22
It's almost like songs that like parents would like and
28:25
grandparents would be like. Finally some good music.
28:28
Finally a classy style. You know what I mean?
28:31
It seems like it's appeasing to this like more conservative
28:34
culture. And I also want to remind
28:36
everyone I I love Olivia Dean. I think she is so talented, so
28:39
good, so gorgeous. I love her branding and I love
28:42
the retro style. I don't dislike any of those
28:44
things independently, but I think it's an interesting
28:46
pattern. Her music also focuses on
28:49
romantic love with seemingly men.
28:51
I'm not finding these queer songs, which again, totally
28:55
fair. You're bisexual, even day men.
28:56
And it's not necessarily her fault she's writing a love song,
29:00
but man, I need I fear has been overused by TikTok in this
29:07
straight conservative, traditional romantic way.
29:13
I'm even seeing men dressing in like more old timey, old
29:17
fashioned ways using this song as like ways to be like, hey
29:21
look, women I love romance. And then women are like, yes,
29:24
romance. Like I don't know how to explain
29:26
it, but I find it kind of eerie, even though independently I love
29:30
the song and like same with So Easy to Fall in Love.
29:33
Like this is one of the biggest albums of the last year.
29:35
There may be a specific reason for that.
29:37
All right, Sabrina Carpenter, this is an obvious one because
29:40
people have been pointing out her aesthetic change and her
29:42
music change. This is a situation where I do
29:45
think she intentionally changed her branding in order to be at
29:50
the fame level that she is. Is women changing their branding
29:53
to become famous a bad thing? No, I think it's I think it is
29:57
natural for women to use culture to benefit them.
30:01
However, you're also shaping culture as well, ladies.
30:05
So musically and stylistically, her image drastically changed.
30:10
Singular act 1 and Singular act 2 are snappy boss girl indie
30:15
jazz pop albums. And what she looks like is also
30:20
very different. She has less like perfectly
30:23
pinned up curls, it's more like WAVY long hair she is wearing.
30:29
And I don't know how to say it besides just being like more
30:31
pants. Like I don't remember the last
30:33
time I saw her with pants. I'm like, yes, you can wear a
30:38
dress and still be like feminist, but I think it's
30:42
interesting that we're not seeing women in pants as much.
30:46
At least I think we're not seeing them in pants as much.
30:49
Like her vibe was just more indie music.
30:52
It looked bisexual, which I also think she's probably bisexual,
30:57
short and sweet. And it started transitioning
31:00
with emails. I can't send her short and sweet
31:02
and man's best friend. Her aesthetic is almost
31:04
unrecognizably different. And I do think a lot of this
31:07
aesthetic has been pushed by Sabrina Carpenter and a lot of
31:11
artists have been following suit because it's been working so
31:14
well. And I think, listen, she's so
31:16
talented. She's a great team behind her
31:18
that knows how to brand her so well.
31:20
Her branding is amazing. Her creative direction is
31:23
perfect. It shapes culture and it shapes
31:27
other artists. And I think it fit in perfectly
31:30
at a time when people are romanticizing the 19 fucking 50s
31:34
for many reasons. Men, white people, women,
31:38
straight people. I mean now she's wearing baby
31:41
doll dresses full on retro slash mid century references are
31:46
happening in her music videos. Like it's almost just so clear
31:50
that this is retro 1950s style we see in her artwork.
31:53
Her hair got blonder. Her outfits are more feminine,
31:56
it's pinker, it's more girly pop right?
32:00
The silhouettes became more 1950s fit and flair aesthetic.
32:04
We're seeing her in these diamond glamour outfits or baby
32:09
Blues and pinks, which again, I think she looks so fucking hot.
32:12
And I love all of these looks. But at how much it's changed and
32:16
what time it changed, which is right around 2023, right around
32:20
the time that society is getting a little bit more conservative.
32:23
Right before Trump got elected. I mean, Short and Sweet was one
32:25
of the biggest albums of 2024. Her music is arguably male
32:29
centered now. I think you can argue that and
32:32
that's we're not going to go way into that, but also there's been
32:37
so much controversy with Man's Best friend.
32:38
I mean, the album is called Man's Best Friend.
32:41
You could argue when I think that this is her intent is that
32:44
man's best friend is a way for her to poke fun and be sarcastic
32:47
about the fact that she has man's best friend even though
32:49
she's being hurt by these men. However, that's not necessarily
32:54
what's been picked up by global audiences.
32:57
Right? I mean, the cover is her on her
33:00
knees in front of a man. It is not obvious to a normal
33:04
consumer without being entrenched in feminism with this
33:08
outlook, that this is some sort of feminist stake.
33:11
It just looks like she's on her knees in front of men.
33:13
That's what it looks like. Most of her songs are about a
33:16
specific man. Even though we got some of these
33:19
bangers that are like, you know, goodbye and house tour, it is
33:24
still kind of like in reaction to what a man did or a man's
33:27
actions. And that's her story and that's
33:30
what's happening in her life. But isn't it convenient that
33:33
it's also what's happening? It seems like in all of these
33:36
other artists lives at the same time that are leaning into these
33:40
male focus songs and ultra feminine aesthetics.
33:44
Her songs very much push against purity culture, which I do love,
33:48
but some of them conform with ideals of heterosexual committed
33:51
sex. So it's like one of the most
33:54
sexual songs she has. Juno is obviously very much
33:59
sexual, but it's sex for the purpose of reproduction.
34:03
It's like, give me a baby. I find that very interesting
34:06
that at this time where purity culture is on a rise, she's
34:09
singing about sex, but she wants a baby out of this man.
34:13
I don't know if we would have seen that song in 2017 from
34:16
anyone mainstream, not in a marriage.
34:19
Not demonizing her, but the clear differences are just right
34:23
here. Ariana Grande.
34:25
Now she might be a complicated story because her transition is
34:30
probably inspired by Wicked and her probable competitive Ed she
34:36
had with Cynthia Rifo. So who the fuck knows?
34:40
She definitely had a soffit competitive Ed with Cynthia Rifo
34:45
in the same way that like, Curly Kloss and Taylor Swift taught
34:47
it. And that's why I know Taylor
34:49
Swift and Curly Kloss may be back together.
34:50
Because, you know, we're deep in the trenches of Ed culture right
34:53
now. And that's also not a
34:55
coincidence with everything else we're seeing in culture with
34:58
feminism declining. But Ariana Grande is like a
35:02
whole other woman. Her body girl anthems were all
35:06
of pop music. I mean, like, she's associated
35:09
with gay culture. She's like synonymous with gay
35:11
culture. I wouldn't say her current era
35:14
is this type of music and her dancing.
35:16
Her God is a woman song and music video that is like foreign
35:23
to this current Ariana Grande. Despite her married era, I would
35:27
say positions was also still giving an element of diva.
35:31
It was a little bit 1960s inspired.
35:33
And this is maybe how we're seeing this slow descent into
35:37
and away from Batty and into whatever the hell this is now.
35:41
I don't know. It was probably wicked, but
35:43
suddenly her voice is higher, she's acting daintier, she's
35:47
acting more feminine, quote UN quote.
35:50
Her outfits are more conservative and upscale, like
35:54
dressier, if that makes sense. Like her to wear outfits aren't
35:57
like Batty party. It's like long ball gown like
36:01
this has layers to it. This is more conservative like
36:03
conservative culture of the 1950s Nineteen 60s is more like
36:07
dressy ball gown right? Like that's that's what we see
36:11
on tour with her and a lot of these other artists.
36:13
Her dancing is way less promiscuous.
36:15
It looks like she suddenly doesn't know how to shake her
36:17
ass, which she did a few years ago.
36:20
So what the fuck happened? Moving on to Olivia Rodrigo and
36:23
I pray to God I don't get fucking destroyed by Olivia
36:26
Rodrigo fans because for some reason when anyone mentions her
36:29
name people think like it is this huge Dick and it's like no
36:33
this is pop analysis. OK Olivia Rodrigo and the
36:38
fucking baby doll dress gate. I'm throwing my hat into the
36:42
ring. I don't really think I talked
36:43
about it. Do I think she is allowed to
36:45
wear a baby doll dress without being blamed for men sexualizing
36:50
her and little girls? Yes, women are allowed to wear
36:54
whatever they want, but this is not out of nowhere and this type
36:58
of dress is not out of nowhere. This culture of baby doll cutesy
37:04
femininity, again is all steeped into this rise of fascism and
37:10
this pull away from feminism and this push into cottage core
37:15
homemaker, homesteader, raw milk ballerina farm vibes.
37:21
And it's not Olivia Rodriguez fall.
37:23
She's obviously a huge feminist as an activist but all women are
37:27
going to be affected by this change in culture.
37:30
Like she was our 2020 self-proclaimed pop slash punk
37:33
rock Princess. I'm not seeing that aesthetic in
37:36
her last album which came out in 2026 of this year.
37:40
You seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.
37:42
Sure, maybe she wanted to shy away from this aesthetic she was
37:46
into, but like, I just find it interesting that we lost this
37:50
punk slash pop rock vibe and this new era is more dreamy pop,
37:56
right? It's more fitting in with kind
37:58
of the rest of these popular artists, which I'm like, no, we
38:01
liked you how you were and your own brand.
38:04
And yes, sure, pop stars can change aesthetics and sound, but
38:08
it feels like it's all the same now.
38:11
Her style is leaning away from the Reds, the purples, the
38:14
black, the ripped tights, and it's more towards girly pink and
38:18
lighter colors and lace. It's just interesting.
38:21
Taylor Swift. Now on this podcast, you've
38:25
heard me talk a lot about Taylor Swift and the Showgirl era.
38:28
And there is much more than I've said that I will not say in this
38:33
brief section. But her trajectory in the mid 20
38:37
times into 2020 kind of aligns with the culture that we're
38:41
seeing her down and her eras are changing drastically.
38:45
Yet it's still like feminist focused.
38:49
It's still I don't need that 1950s shit.
38:52
She literally said that it's still I want to be in love but
38:57
also don't make that my entire personality until now. 1989 is
39:02
big on female friendships. That's why she's walking around
39:04
with this girl. Squad reputation is the epitome
39:07
of fucked up feminism. Right?
39:09
Lover is gay and then going into 2020-2021 Folklore and Evermore,
39:14
Midnight's 2022 and even TTPD 2024.
39:19
These are Moody indie counter cult almost albums, right?
39:24
Poetry is at the forefront, but suddenly what happens?
39:29
Oh look, Trump is president and Taylor is a 1950s showgirl
39:33
singing about a man saving her from the Ophelia.
39:36
Now that's not actually how I interpret the song.
39:40
I do think it is a queer song slash about her masters, but the
39:45
general era that she's pushing globally is 1950s showgirl,
39:50
1960s showgirl, retro aesthetic, glamour, poised showgirl with
39:56
Herman, Herman, Herman, her ring, her ring, her ring.
39:59
It's all looking like it's the same shit you guys like this is
40:02
all kind of drastically different than it was before.
40:05
And it seems like everyone has the same brand, which is where's
40:08
my husband? Or he's my husband.
40:11
Or I want a husband. Or I'm sad he wasn't my husband,
40:14
but I'll find a new husband. Or have you seen my husband?
40:18
I'm so sad that my husband left me.
40:20
It's like I need a break. It's like you're like every
40:23
other bitch, Ray. I love Ray and I am obsessed
40:28
with the song Where is my husband?
40:31
However, great example of what we are seeing culturally with
40:35
pop girlies today. She used to sing songs like
40:38
Prada, You Don't Know Me and Escapism.
40:41
These party girl anthems. This girl kind of breaking down
40:45
because she's partying too much. Like she had always had an
40:48
element of retro in her style, but she was bleaching her
40:51
eyebrows and wearing pantsuits it that's kind of what the
40:55
aesthetic was. And now she's full on glamour.
40:58
19 fifties 1960s jazz singing about wanting a husband.
41:02
It's not independently a bad thing, but now we're seeing a
41:07
clear pattern and women that were popular that aren't giving
41:11
girly pop feminism. Where are these ladies?
41:13
Where is Miley Cyrus? Where is Tove Lo?
41:16
Where is Halsey? They release music, but it's not
41:19
being fed, it's not being poised up to be mainstream.
41:23
It's not being pushed out to the mainstream culture because
41:26
culture doesn't want that right now.
41:28
Or the executives know and push that on to other people.
41:32
Do the executives decide what culture is?
41:35
I think it could be all of the above.
41:37
But the girls that are not actually conforming into this
41:40
type of aesthetic that we're seeing, they're not as
41:43
successful, which is sad. And it seems like the girls that
41:47
lean into it are rewarded for that.
41:50
OK lastly, 2 more examples. And these are artists that are
41:53
new in the last few years, Sienna, Spiro or Spyro.
41:57
She's a relatively new artist with a vintage sound and look
42:00
and she's giving the classic 1960s pin up style and Bond
42:03
style songs. But this is what is popular now,
42:07
mid century. It's really fascinating
42:09
actually, Ash and I really like both of these women.
42:13
I think that they're really talented.
42:15
Ash, style wise, is very different in the early twenty
42:18
20s than she is now, and she is much more famous now.
42:22
She's not necessarily mainstream yet, but her style is Marilyn
42:25
Monroe and she's doing jazzy sets.
42:29
She got the 1950s Acacian transformation.
42:32
So what is the problem? OK, if it wasn't clear, Retro
42:37
music, retro style, mid century style, aesthetics, baby girl
42:42
femininity like romantic love, those things.
42:46
That is not inherently a problem on their own independently when
42:51
it is someone's actual choice. But when an artist loses their
42:56
individuality, their own sound, and turns towards a similar
43:00
aesthetic that is most likely fueled by the rise of fascism
43:03
and conservatism, then there is a problem because that affects
43:08
women around the world. Is it the artists fault for
43:12
doing what is marketable? Is it their labels fault because
43:15
they don't give a about these personal brands they want to do
43:18
what's making these people sell records?
43:21
Or are they not even caring about what actually sells more?
43:25
They're pushing out specific type of artists and brands
43:29
because their CE OS are maybe one or two billionaires that are
43:33
super right leading. Probably that is that the fans
43:36
that only want to focus on marriage and love, that doesn't
43:39
necessarily help. I think it's a lot of these
43:41
things combined, but it is absolutely the culture that is
43:44
pushing these artists on us and pushing this culture on these
43:48
artists to make them think that this is the only way to be
43:51
successful. But it is pretty sad in my
43:54
opinion that we see Batty culture, Single girls, rock
43:58
girls going out in the town with their friends.
44:01
Those songs slowly dissipate into girly pop.
44:05
I want a husband. I'm so sad he won't be my
44:08
husband type shit. It is troubling.
44:12
There are some exceptions to this rule.
44:14
We have Tate McRae and Zara Larsson, she's been around for
44:18
so long similarly to Tate, dressed in more indie style, but
44:22
always was this like party girl rock anthem singer.
44:26
And every artist does not have to be Batty.
44:29
I just want artists to be able to be themselves and not all
44:32
have to go through the 1950s occasion that is happening to
44:35
the pop girlies today. Someone needs to stop the
44:38
transformations. Let's transform the back.
44:40
I hope you guys enjoyed this episode.
44:42
Let me know what you think of my theory and my analysis of all
44:46
these artists and their transformations over the last
44:48
few years. Reminder that this is my last
44:50
episode while I take a break in that time.
44:54
If you are looking for more content you can check out my
44:56
Patreon or my Spotify for bonus episodes and my TikTok where I
45:00
post daily lol. If you listen all the way
45:03
through to please rate me 5 stars that would be so amazing.
45:07
And thank you so much for listening and watching.
45:09
I love you guys. I hope you have a great rest of
45:11
your summer and we'll see you here before you know it.
45:13
Bye.