OK. That picture is totally creeping me out. Those women all look exactly alike, and strangely inhuman. They all have stick-straight hair in almost exactly the same style (having bangs is apparently a daring deviation), They all have exactly the same non-existant eyebrows drawn in (why on earth is a drawn-on thin line considered sexy when it comes to women's eyebrows? I don't get it.). They all seem to be wearing the same shade of lipstick. Their eye make-up is the same. Their facial structure is the same. They look like a clone army.

Sigh. I miss The Spice Girls.

Meet your new overlords, theorists!

It sounds like the author of the article is a little at odds with his feelings and the need to be objective. "For the uninitiated, the Pussycat Dolls are a female singing group whose six members slither through their music videos dressed like Barbie’s nasty cousins." Yes, because I know lots of parents that want their daughters to dress like that!

And then this quotation I have a couple of issues with:
“There’s a reason why people like Scarlett Johansson, Gwen Stefani, Cameron Diaz have all been so interested in what Pussycat Dolls is all about,� [the Pussycat Doll's founder] said. “They feel that it is empowering to get up there and dress up like a Doll. It’s fun, and it’s something that every girl in the world — she may think one thing, but I think inside every girl in the world wants to do it.�
Maybe I'm mis-reading the quotation, but one can "follow" the group without believing they're actually empowering. Plus, Gwen Stefani isn't exactly the great feminist role model that she was back when she was in No Doubt; the whole Harajuku girls thing totally ruined that image.

Have I entered the Twilight Zone or was McG attempting to align himself with feminism?

Boy, Charlie's Angels sure coulda fooled me.

The article is just weird and bizarre. The reporter can't figure out what he's trying to say so instead we get a confused mess of half-baked observations and two-bit philosophizing from an action movie director. I was particularly entertained by his take on "Don't Cha." Yes, McG, I'm sure little girls everywhere are watching the music video and thinking "Yes! I'm gonna go out and be proud to be me, even if I look nothing like the Pussycat Dolls! Self-assurance is HAWT!"

How, again, is it that I don't get to be a spokesperson for anything? Apparently it doesn't take actual smarts or anything like that.

“They feel that it is empowering to get up there and dress up like a Doll. It’s fun, and it’s something that every girl in the world — she may think one thing, but I think inside every girl in the world wants to do it.�

This is my favorite part of his quotes. It's so nice of this man to inform all us girls that, no matter what we think we think, we really want to be just like the Pussycat Dolls. I love it when they tell us how our brains really work.

I liked Jill's take on this.

Kimmy hits it right on the head...until women's sexuality isn't associated with piety, we aren't liberated.

I for one, don't want to be like a DOLL!

i have a feeling ignorance is bliss here, but... what's a pussycat doll? some television phenomenon?

Feminism's kiss of death? No.

Another knife in the back? Yes.

If a woman wants to make her living as a Doll - great. An adult is free to chose whatever she wants. She can be a Doll and still be a feminist. That is not the same as being a Doll is feminist.

Okay, I have a somewhat sad confession:
Me (and my crew of feminist friends here at school) have a guilty pleasure obsession with the Pussycat Dolls. Now, by no means would I ever call them "feminist," nor would I call how they dress or act "empowering" (have you seen the video for "Buttons"?! ugh)... But I maintain that this doesn't mean I can't dance around with my girlfriends to "Wait a Minute" and "I Don't Need a Man."

I think the problem is that the mainstream media gets lazy and conflates any confident, "liberated" sexual behavior by a woman with feminism. Now, in my opinion, sexual independence and confidence is a part of feminism, but it certainly has to be accompanied by other things - such as a critical understanding of that behavior's meaning and how it conflicts with or reinforces structures of oppression - that just isn't there in most pop culture representations of "girl power."

Okay, feel free to flame me for being an ashamed PCD fan now. :)

Do the Pussycat Dolls actually represent something besides "sexual liberation"? When feminists set out to make sexuality part of a woman's existence, they didn't mean to make it all of her existence. When a woman means one thing to a society, in this case sex, feminism has failed.

Most disgusting quote from the article:

"'Everything the Pussycat Dolls are is everything that I’ve developed myself into being,' said the rap star Lil’ Kim..."

And we all know what a great role model she is!

How, again, is it that I don't get to be a spokesperson for anything? Apparently it doesn't take actual smarts or anything like that.

I'm pretty sure that being actually smart is generally a strike against you. Also, being strong willed, independent, or having integrity, I think.

Yeah. The "I think inside every girl in the world wants to do it" line was my favorite part, too. That's a bold claim, right there.

This is just another exmaple of how the media treats young women as sex objects and disguises it as "female empowerment."

That line reminds me of 'mean girls' where Gretchen says 'I'm sorry I'm so popular' and leans back and the only one that catches her is her one friend because no one else likes her.

Every girl in the world wants to fit that beauty stereotype,sexualize/objectify themselves, and find 'empowerment' by cashing in on it? Right, right... I forgot, we all want to look like Barbie and tell other women that the reason they don't like us is that we're jealous cause we're not 'hot' like them...

All I know about them is that they are involved in Burlesque? somehow? and they have that atrocious but catchy song 'don't'cha'... maybe they are feminists, but how, then, can they justify lyrics like that.

I think I know where McG had taken his views from feminism from. The Onion.

Women Now Empowered By Everything A Woman Does

'Every girl wants to be like them', ‘Don’t you wish your girlfriend could be free and comfortable in her own skin and do her own thing, like me?’
I'm doing my own thing right now. Oddly enough, it doesn't involve prancing around half naked on a stage singing bad pop songs. I mean, I'm all for people like renegade Evolution who want to (and do) do things like stripping and dancing, and the pop singers who wanna get out there and strut their stuff, but as soon as it's advertised as something we all want it really sticks in my craw. Feminism is partly about being who you are, not what they say you are, and that's just one of the many mistakes in this article.
Even the name should clue you in to the actual message they convey, regardless of the empowerment stuff they spout. They are 'dolls' - playthings, childish, and 'pussycats' - animal, inhuman. How is that about female empowerment?

TLF: I am not sure how smart the Doll’s spokes person is, but who ever they are seem to have some game when it comes to spin. I don’t like the message and I sure as hell would not want my daughter to look at the Doll’s as a role model. But that was some great spin! And somehow they kept a straight face. I mean they made the whole issue about problems with the audience not the message.

We are just jealous:
The Dolls, McG said, are simply making a heartfelt inquiry: “It’s just like saying, ‘Don’t you wish your girlfriend could be free and comfortable in her own skin and do her own thing, like me?’

Or, you are clearly an old pervert (not responding naturally to a sexual stimulus…you dirty old man!):
When another male writer asked what kind of women truly aspire to the Dolls’ aesthetic, McG responded: “You must understand the fundamental paradox of a gentleman of your age asking that very question.�

And the icing on the cake I claim your movement and make it my marketing tool!:
He added: “Being a step backwards for women suggests it’s in the service of men. Under no circumstances is this in the service of men.� On the contrary, he said: “There’s even a position to take if this is, frankly, third-wave feminism.�

So the spoke person may be stupid and have no integrity but they are clearly a good spokesperson (coming soon to a political party near you…).

That was the most fragrant pile of bullshit I've ever laid eyes upon. They started as a burlesque troupe, and they should have stayed there. At least burlesque has been mostly reclaimed, as opposed to mainstream hip-pop.

Anyway, there's all these commercials for it on the fucking CW. My favorite part is a clip of this badass obese woman fucking working it. That's what it's about, people. There was no sense of, "Hahaha, look at this fatty try to be hot," but, "Look at this fancy lady do her fucking thing." That's burlesque. And I thought it was awesome. Of course, I'm sure it will be some huge joke on the show.

I don't think I am as much a feminist as much as I am concerned regarding respect for the autonomy of all individuals, either male or female.

While there is nothing redeeming regarding the Pussycat Dolls, and they may deserve chastisement for the message they convey, they have the right to put on whatever show they damn well please. So much of this seems to go back to the existentialist distinction between subject and object. No real part of the Pussycat Dolls respects the person as an active, autonomous subject in the world.

That being said, this seems to be a non-issue when compared to the earlier post on the treatment of women in Iran. I find it difficult to find any real interest in whatever the Pussycat Dolls are doing when there is the tremendous denial of basic freedom to women and other individuals throughout much of the world.

I would even go so far to say that I am lucky to live in a culture and country that allows tripe like the Pussycat Dolls. The alternative is much worse.

welcome to the fourth wave, where degrading is empowering and vapid is intellectual!

sigh.

Not that it makes the quote any less offensive, inaccurate, or deeply misguided, but:

“They feel that it is empowering to get up there and dress up like a Doll. It’s fun, and it’s something that every girl in the world — she may think one thing, but I think inside every girl in the world wants to do it�

is, in the article, actually attributed to Robin Antin, the founder of the PDs, who is a woman. How do I know this...well, I'm embarrassed to say that I used to watch Blowout (hairdresser reality drama on Bravo) and the "star" is Jonathan Antin, and Robin is his sister. If she is a fraction as disturbed as HE is, we may have some insight into this disturbing phenomenon.

Again, this does not excuse anyone's behavior or ideas who is referenced in the article, but wanted to add this detail.

“they have the right to put on whatever show they damn well please.� Yes, and no one here is saying that they don’t have a right. We also have a right to criticize whatever the damn please!

“The alternative is much worse.� Why? Do you think there are only two alternatives, either Pussy Cat Dolls or the Islamic Republic of Iran? Is anyone here saying that the government should ban the PCD?

“this seems to be a non-issue when compared to the earlier post on the treatment of women in Iran.� Ah! I have heard this so many times. Maybe you didn’t mean it that way but it kind of reminds me of “You bitches are whining about [..] where in other courtiers women are being put in prison and flogged for displaying an ankle or whatever. You should stop whining about this and move on to REAL issues�.

Let me one-up you in the embarassing comments, coshea, and admit that I have seen the PD show in Vegas. The audience was mostly women, probably because of a few bachelorette parties there. During the show, the lead performer tells the audience "This is all about empowerment, right ladies?" Hmm.

*sigh*

Where to start? Oh, how about HERE:

“Everything the Pussycat Dolls are is everything that I’ve developed myself into being,� said the rap star Lil’ Kim, who is a judge on the show and who served a prison sentence for lying to a federal grand jury about a shooting outside a radio station.

Yes, yes. Nothing says female empowerment like looking like a "black barbie" with super huge boobs and blue eyed contacts(self hate much, Kim?) and then lying to try to save your own ass and letting your "crew" go down.

And then there's this:

The Dolls, McG said, are simply making a heartfelt inquiry: “It’s just like saying, ‘Don’t you wish your girlfriend could be free and comfortable in her own skin and do her own thing, like me?’"

Hold up, what was the original lyric?

“Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?�

Now, I'm sure in the urban slang "freak" has a TOTALLY different meaning......yep, I was right:

FREAK

n. a person who likes to do kinky shit in bed or have sex a lot
v. to have intercourse or makeout

n. That guy is a huge freak.
v. She likes to freak on a regular basis.

Thank goodness for the urban dictionary, if not for that then I might have believe his tripe. I hope this show BOMBS.

Maybe it's just me, but isn't "Don't Cha" about trying to steal another woman's man? Or are my powers of observation not keen enough to know that somehow, in the PCD universe, the lyrics to "Don't Cha" are actually about women empowering themselves by believing that every guy wants them, even the ones who are already taken, and that it's totally OK to seduce the already-taken ones? It's no wonder people always think women are catty, man-stealing bitches who backstab each other.

Note how it's always a dude making this argument.

"Maybe if we say it enough, we can trick women into believing that being a male fantasy is empowering! Just throw in a few Gender Studies 101 buzzwords! They'll be none the wiser!"

McG is a McDumbfuck and Robin Antin comes from a family tradition of McNarcissists and McDelusional folk. I, too, watched some "Blowout" episodes Charity, as well as some clips from same on E!'s The Soup. I can't wait to hear/see Joel McHale's response to the Pussycat Dolls' liberation movement.

Sojourner writes:

“this seems to be a non-issue when compared to the earlier post on the treatment of women in Iran.� Ah! I have heard this so many times. Maybe you didn’t mean it that way but it kind of reminds me of “You bitches are whining about [..] where in other courtiers women are being put in prison and flogged for displaying an ankle or whatever. You should stop whining about this and move on to REAL issues�.

I think this misconstrues the point I am trying to make. All I am saying is that time and other resources are finite. With work and all of the other items of life that take up most of one's day, there are only so many causes and items that one can support.

For instance, I am much more interested in threats to reproductive rights by religious fundamentalists than I am by the Pussycat Dolls. Time wasted on critiques of a burlesque show takes time away from time that could be spent on more important issues.

Mea culpa here as well, but I always find that pop culture items draw more attention and time away from what I think are more pressing issues.

None of my post was meant as dig on anybody, simply a reminder of the greater context.

Too bad none of the reporters thought to google the lyrics to "don't cha" on their laptop and call McG on his steaming nugget of b.s. about the song being a "heartfelt inquiry" to a guy with the stick-in-the-mud girlfriend.

i was going paste some choice quotes here, but extracting the "best" is like blowing your nose to get out one booger: they all stick together and you end up with a gross tissueful of snot.

google it for yourself, if you have the stomach. the song's a proposition to sex and i really wish some reporter had challenged McG on his b.s. with a recitation of the lyrics.

"don't Cha" has made me want to throw the radio out the window ever since the first time i heard it. How exactly do YOU (simpering, prancing, lip-synching Doll) know how I (the girlfriend) am anyway? Maybe I AM a "freak like you" maybe I am "hot" like you, maybe i just don't advertise my sexuality all over the place! Maybe I keep it to myself and whoever I choose to share it with! They irritate me more than any other pop tarts, I guess because of that smug little tune.

"don't Cha" has made me want to throw the radio out the window ever since the first time i heard it. How exactly do YOU (simpering, prancing, lip-synching Doll) know how I (the girlfriend) am anyway? Maybe I AM a "freak like you" maybe I am "hot" like you, maybe i just don't advertise my sexuality all over the place! Maybe I keep it to myself and whoever I choose to share it with! They irritate me more than any other pop tarts, I guess because of that smug little tune.

"don't Cha" has made me want to throw the radio out the window ever since the first time i heard it. How exactly do YOU (simpering, prancing, lip-synching Doll) know how I (the girlfriend) am anyway? Maybe I AM a "freak like you" maybe I am "hot" like you, maybe i just don't advertise my sexuality all over the place! Maybe I keep it to myself and whoever I choose to share it with! They irritate me more than any other pop tarts, I guess because of that smug little tune.

“They feel that it is empowering to get up there and dress up like a Doll. It’s fun, and it’s something that every girl in the world — she may think one thing, but I think inside every girl in the world wants to do it�

ICK! I realize a few people have used this quote but it jumped out at me the most. The fact that this person is literally insisting that EVERY GIRL IN THE WORLD (sorry for shouting) wants to look and act like that and thinks that that’s real empowerment makes me really angry. As a teenage girl, I really wish she'd stop putting words in my mouth. I don't think prancing around in slutty outfits and singing about how hot I am is female power. OH, and then later other person tries to convince us that the song has some nonsexual meaning. “It’s just like saying, ‘Don’t you wish your girlfriend could be free and comfortable in her own skin and do her own thing, like me?’� So, you see, it’s about confidence and feminism! Ew.

a) don't watch. bring back VM!!!

b) Washington Post and other critics display righteous incredulity at TV execs' gall.

Befritts,

This is a blog about EVERYTHING that affects women and feminism, not just want some want to see. If the bloggers want to post about something as "trivial" as a bunch of men pushing a troupe of conformist women as feminist role models then that's their right. It's not like they DIDN'T post about the women in Iran. It's not like this is all they ever post.

Not everything all the time has to be serious and the bloggers do a damn fine job of bringing things to our attention and we discuss how we feel through the posts.

Something like this would get glossed over in the mainstream media, without any kind of discussion like you see here about WHY this ISN'T good for feminism and for women in general. Read the damn article again. While there is some snark there, none of the people interviewed are taken to task for what's obviously bullshit.

We can do that here and maybe, for new people to the website, open some minds.

Coincidentally, I was just reading someone's viewpoint in Bitch magazine today that there are no more journalistic "soft" topics - reporting on pop culture really can't be considered fluff reporting anymore, because pop culture has such (frighteningly) tremendous social influence, and what better topics to pay attention to than the misrepresentation of feminism in such a (like it or not) influential medium, coupled with the ongoing sexualization of young girls occurring in part through crap like this?

Re: bcfritts. UltraMagnus et al are doing a great job of refuting, but really there isn't much point. bcfritts has already declared "I don't think I am as much a feminist as much as I am concerned regarding respect for the autonomy of all individuals, either male or female." Which in itself proves that bcfritts (a) is not a feminist and (b) doesn't understand what feminism is, seeing as it's all about respect for the autonomy of individuals regardless of their sex.

He/she also pulls the tired old "but what about Iran?" card. This is one of anti-feminism's classic blunders, for three reasons:

1. What's happening in Iran, and what's happening with the Pussycat Dolls, are both symptoms of patriarchal societies. You are quite mistaken if you don't think the objectification of women in western popular culture is a serious issue.

2. Most of us are perfectly capable of holding more than one idea in our pretty little heads. We can think about the lack of rights for women in Iran as well as critiquing the Pussycat Dolls.

3. Any time someone pulls this argument, it always reads to me as: "Feminism is fine while it's attacking foreign cultures, but I'm not ready for it to attack my own yet." The Pussycat Dolls' supposed "right to put on whatever show they damn well please" is a perfect example of pseudofeminism in action. It is possible to redefine every action of a woman as a "right" or a "choice" (see Michael Greinecker's Onion link above). Dressing up some women's compliance with misogyny in the language of freedom may make it sound less awful. But just calling something a "right" or a "choice" doesn't automatically make that choice free, liberating or smart, and nor is it a sign of progress.

How funny is it that to be an "empowerful" woman, you have to conform to beauty standards put forth by the patriarchy? I bet that after a night of work, these "dolls" just want to put on some PJs and socks and curl up on a couch, sans makeup. But they can't show that side in public, because that's not "hot".

Empowering, my ass.

I won't call it disturbing that they're tying this to feminism but I'll call it annoying. And... UNORIGINAL. It's an old marketing ploy used for girl bands. Even the Spice Girls had it with their "Girl Power" "mantra" (note mantra appropriately in ""). Better yet it's an old marketing ploy used in pop culture. It's the same BS Hugh Hefner kept spilling ("Playboy is empowering for women!") during his glory days (which are so over now ;).

I agree, Phi, and it's especially annoying because the term girl power actually came from the Riot Grrl movement (I think Tobi Vail came up with it).