Katy Perry recently released the music video for her song ‘Part of Me,’ and feminist author Naomi Wolf isn’t too thrilled with it, but her boycott offers no solutions for navigating feminist issues in pop music.

Wolf took issue with ‘Part of Me’ because she thinks it is propaganda for the U.S. Marines Corps. Wolf is the author of ‘The Beauty Myth’ and writes about women’s issues in the mainstream media.

‘It is a total piece of propaganda for the Marines. … I really want to find out if she was paid by them for making it. … It is truly shameful,’ she wrote on her Facebook page March 25. ‘I would suggest a boycott of this singer whom I really liked – if you are as offended at this glorification of violence as I am.’

The video features the music artist dumping a boyfriend and then joining the Marines. She goes through endless, tough training and sings, ‘You’re never gonna break my soul.’ 

Perry distinctly chose to use the military as a symbol of strength in the video, she told MTV. ‘It’s an affirmation of strength, so I wanted to go the strongest route I ever could,’ she explained. ‘Literally, I was like, ‘I’m gonna join the service. I’m gonna join the Marines.’ We used only Marines. … For three days, I was a wannabe Marine, which was so difficult.’

Aside from making headlines and garnering coverage in a number of news sources, Wolf’s boycott does not provide any constructive measures or worthwhile strategy about how to effectively navigate feminist issues in mainstream culture, namely pop music.

The other major issue with Wolf’s boycott is that it perpetuates the notion and stereotype of hierarchies in social movements and having one singular representative that makes authority decisions for everyone else. There is not one universal opinion that stands for every single feminist. Naomi Wolf’s personal theory about Perry does not necessarily relate to all other women who identify with feminism.

Instead of participating in a boycott that pits people and ideas against one another and separates individuals with varying opinions, a more beneficial option would be to encourage an open dialogue about the complex differences of opinions feminists have in response to Perry’s newest music video.

Starting a conversation encourages the sharing of ideas, willingness to interchange opinions with those who are coming from different perspectives and offers more potential for a solution to the problem at hand.

It is important to resist the dominant narrative of having one ‘face’ and one voice as an all-encompassing representative in contemporary feminism. It is also important to interrupt the instinct to boycott or react negatively to popular culture before thorough analysis, dialogue and opportunities for individuals to respond and clarify.

My suggestion for navigating this most recent conflict between a cultural figure and self-proclaimed feminist journalist: consider the authentic value before engaging in a boycott of this music video.

Maybe Perry is depicting a pro-military agenda in ‘Part of Me,’ but the point is the topic should be up for a nuanced analysis instead of shut down completely. Students shouldn’t just think critically about culture, but also be critical about how we think about those who analyze culture.

Krystie Yandoli is a senior women and gender studies and English and textual studies major. Her column appears every Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected] or followed on Twitter at @KrystieLYandoli.  

Published on April 3, 2012 at 12:00 pm