![ciara like a boy beyonce if i were a boy ciara like a boy beyonce if i were a boy](https://studiosol-a.akamaihd.net/uploadfile/letras/fotos/e/3/5/c/e35cafbeed78769c087f2f01d58a9210.jpg)
Tupac used his music as a microphone to give voice to the legal problems in American society. A famous example of this is the 1993 release of “Keep Ya Head Up” by Tupac Shakur. What prompted them to speak up about their struggles can go back in the late twentieth century when, through their rhymes would state their gripes about society. The ‘they’ she talks about is not just the male friends in one’s crew, but a much bigger they: American society.Ĭiara and Beyoncé use their voices to explain the female perspective of the unfairness of gender roles in the twenty-first century. Women understand that men can get away with anything and not get in trouble for it. At the end of the stanza, Beyoncé also informs listeners in the most important part of the opening lines by exposing society for its unfairness with ‘And I’d never get confronted for it/ Cause they’d stick up for me’. Beyoncé uses the key words “I wanted” multiple times in these lyrics to open about how women often aren’t allowed to wear the clothes they want to wear because of fear from society, males, and even other females. Beyoncé clearly show this in her line ‘And throw on what I wanted and go’. Women are expected to be held at a certain standard unlike men and any form of nonconformity is looked upon negatively. Beyoncé is using her opinion of a man to showcase the general opinion of what it is like to be male in modern society. Beyoncé opens her song with the lyrics, “If I were a boy/ Even just for a day/ I’d roll outta bed in the morning/ And throw on what I wants and go/ Drink beer with the guys/ And chanse after girls/ I’d kick it with who I wanted/ And I’d never get confronted for it/ Cause they’d stick up for me.” By using this line at the beginning of the song, Beyoncé wants to hit the issue right on the nose from the beginning to the end of the song. Ciara’s song and her musical success prompted another female artist to come out with a song talking about this issue.īeyoncé Knowles in 2008 released a song called “If I Were a Boy” which responds to Ciara’s point of gender essentialism by highlighting the female perspective of what being a male is. Ciara is emphasizing the topic of double standards and how American society places negative connotations on women who want to stand up to try to break these stereotypes. This is where Ciara uses repetition with the multiple lines of “Would Ya Like That?”.
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Throughout her lyrics, Ciara explains the unfairness of these familiar double standards: Men can stay out late at night with their friends but if a woman were to attempt this she would be called all the negative names in the book. In the song, Ciara emotionally states “If I was always gone/ With the sun getting home/ (Would Ya Like That?)/ Told you I was with my crew/ (Would Ya Like That?)/ If I act like you/ Walk A mile off in yo shoes/ (Would Y Like That?)/ I’m messing with your head again/ Dose of your own medicine.” This portion is played at the bridge of the song which is usually used in music to take a step back from the tempo of the song to showcase a point. An example of this is shown in the song “Like a Boy” by Ciara which highlights some of these labels. However, hip hop is helping to aid women in the fight to battle negative stereotypes.Īt the beginning of the twenty-first century, female artists were producing music that focused on the double standards society placed on men and women. Gender Essentialism is common in the modern world. In the twenty-first century, women are still put aside in hip hop which reflects American’s society of women in general. This is a prime example of women being oppressed. Even more interestingly, some will never put her on a list of great rappers and keep the list filled with only one gender: male. When asked the main reasons behind this, most talk about the ways she rhymes to even the things she talks about in her lyrics. “Nicki Minaj is the worst rapper of all time!” This is an opinion often heard from many male students on campus.