Not a Pretty Girl by Ani Difranco
This song came up on the magical iPod during my drive home. Years ago, one of my student employees introduced me to Ani Difranco, and this song in particular was like a kick in the stomach. It was the first time I ever thought about femininity as something we perform. It’s something we’re taught to do, not something innate.
There’s a lot of feminist theory to unpack in the song–indeed, it could serve as a Feminism 101 primer–but that’s the part that jumped out and grabbed me this afternoon.
red paper boat 