matt bernstein patreon

Woman’s World: Political Pop for No One

🕑 Added 2024-08-07 17:09:33 +0000 UTC

Comments

AndyH

Another commenter said this too, but the "divine femininity" stuff is soooo troubling! Very much a right-wing/tradwife concept now. It just reeks of gender essentialism to me. I think it's also particularly dangerous as a gateway concept to the far right for women - I think it's easy to try and define yourself as a woman in opposition to patriarchal conceptions of masculinity, but in doing so one falls into the trap of traditional gender roles and expectations, and that leads down the tradwife road. So bleak. I'd love to hear what you think of that particular pipeline, Matt. We hear a bunch about how men are led to the far right but not so much about women. This ep (and all others!) are so wonderfully thought-provoking and nuanced. Thank you so much for this!

kinga.krl

This felt like a good time to revisit this. 👩🏻‍🚀🚀

Ruth

Omg I've always listened to the uncensored version but I found out she wasn't saying PMS right in this moment

Melanie Buss

You should do a video talking about Yes, and?

Dovis Bellwood

This has become one of my comfort videos ❤️

nefefeli

How did you forget the I want your peacock cock cock 🤣

Lucy Ramsey

I honestly think they made this video intentionally male gazey and out of touch because they knew people on twitter would be meming it and it would stir controvery and draw attention to the album - the producer wasn’t willing to have her flop like witness did again so he was like you know what will get people to listen!!! Like i think they were fully conscious of how stupid this looked and did it intentionally. There will be a lot more attention on whatever she drops next for sure and I wouldn’t even be surprised if the next album ends up being a substantial comeback.

walker

“there should be a slur for that” lmfaooo💀💀💀

Gabrielle Veilleux

Hahaha there's a Modest Edit of the Katie perry music video stoooop

Ster

i’m a spotify listener and this is the first time i’m watching the video version and those uh huh clips sent me 😂 i was not prepared 😂😭

coro

I would die if you did a deep dive on divine feminine/masculine

Edeline Bratzke

Wait! ISn’t Espresso about being addictive and keeping your ex awake with the mere memory of you? Isn’t that what it’s about? :0

Rose Savage

I think it’s really weird that in the video when she’s trying to show how great women are and what they can do an anvil falls from the sky and they run over a car in the truck. Like women are here and hot and sexy but also bad at driving and construction work.

Ive Velikova

I’m 28 and as you listed all her hits, I’m shocked to realize the entire lyrics are permanently seared into my brain!!!!! SHUT UP AND PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS THATS WHAT YOU GET FOR WAKING UP IN VEGAS—

Elizabeth

Super interesting! There is a tendency among new agey "spirtualism" that sells women products and practices to FEEL empowered in order to divert them from organizing for real political/financial/social change.

Elizabeth

I think no. Part of what makes Brat so interesting is it's vulnerable exploration of being adrift in your 30s. You're still going out but there is a little voice inside that is becoming increasingly jaded, you know you aren't young young, even if you aren't old OLD. A lot of stuff loses it's sparkle and adventure. You have to start imagining a future and not living in the present. Katy's problem is that she hasn't found a way to mature and change, she's trying to offer the same stuff from 20 years ago.

Charlie

She does partially own Bragg's which has... A wild history and is kind of along the lines of griftiness. Maintenance Phase has a great ep about them

Ssketch

Just wanted to say, on Trisha Paytas and their gender identity she has said numerous times on her podcast that when she made the trans video it was not actually a troll and she was genuinely struggling with her gender identity and body dismorphia as well as undiagnosed BPD and a drug problem. She has since said she knows now she isn't trans but identifies as gender fluid, and used she/they pronouns but has said she is also happy be called he/him if presenting masculinely.

For Autumn

"she's a daughter, she's a sister, she's a mother" not ONLY defines women in relation to others, but it's eerily similar to the sad plea whenever a woman is violated and the public ignores it -- "she's someone's sister!" This base-line appeal to empathy implies you know your audience fundamentally don't see women as human

Cheniere Voo

Girl. 6 minutes in and what??? Werk

Mitzen Okada

Thoughts about the construction scene. The stone you noted was actually an anvil which famously fell on multiple Looney Toons and Tiny Toons characters. It was a direct reference to those cartoony ridiculous moments.

Dayle Moon

Take it back

Matt Bernstein

THIS is a fascinating point. divine masculine/divine feminine are zeitgeisty terms that have gotten extremely weird extremely fast (reminds me of twin flames universe)

Kainonononono

I think it's also important to mention the "divine feminine" bit. The mlm "girl boss" girlies became grifters with online master classes in essential oils or some holistic garbage to help reach the "divine feminine." It's very right-wing adjacent and definitely not the terms most feminists are using. It is not at all suprising that a popstar would be peddling the same crap. My next guess is she's going to come out with some sort of line of greenwashed products that we'll see in Wal-Mart or Target.

Azadeh Ghavamrad

YES!! I hoped and wished that you would make an episode about this!! I have always had such a weird relationship with Katy Perry. I think it had something to do with her expression in music videos, like, I could not figure out if she made satire or she was real. If that makes sense. I also know that I felt a lot of internalized sexism, she provoked alot of different things in me, also my desire for woman.

Matt Bernstein

representation is so important

Carolina Herrero

Amazing vibes, thank youuuu 🤍 girl, so confusing remix is the song of the year fucking heaaal me

moshingsafely

Don't mind me, just a middle aged straight guy who loves the work that you do!

bigforeheadbitty

wait this is hilarious

Emma

when I was little and loved Hot n Cold, I only ever heard it on the radio, censored, where “bitch” was just cut out and left instrumental. so I thought Katy saying “PMS” was her saying “pee a mess” as in men have bad aim, and then the censor was her not knowing what to compare that to, just that she would know cause she’s seen the mess. so funny to find out the truth this way

Matt Bernstein

thank you for being here <3

Matt Bernstein

next time we are in a pop culture crisis i'll be sure to ring her up for a return to The Sofa

Matt Bernstein

i am so sorry.

Carly Hughes

I liked Katy Perry as a child but have never heard the you’re so gay song and nothing could’ve prepared me for that opening line 😭

Britt Fox

Katy Perry was original brat.

swiftyfor2024

Signed up to the Patreon exactly because this video was coming. Did not disappoint. I love to overthink pop music too XD

Aninja

Great video! Also the lyrics saying “she’s a mother she’s a sister” just prove that this was written by male suits in a boardroom… like women only exist or can aspire to be accessories to male subjectivity? But I also really appreciate what Nikita said about criticism and taking risks. We need experimental music now more than ever

Anjali

I'm so prone to cringing, I hadn't been able to listen to the full song or watch the full video before this! Given the transphobia and hateful rhetoric specifically related to public bathrooms, the urinal scene was in really poor taste! The messy lipstick reminded me of the "She's so crazzzzzy!!! Love her!!!" meme. Thanks for this video- now I never have to engage with this particular cringe again.

Annika

nobody gets me like u whenever i first play it people are like why THIS katy perry song of them all then they see the light its truly a masterpiece chappell roan could never (im kidding i too am annoying about the fact that red wine supernova was my top song of LAST year)

Matt Bernstein

waking up in vegas a HIT of unmatched proportions. a perfect pop song. pure bubblegum ecstasy in 3 min 18 seconds

Jules Inkwell

Nikita is delightful. I could listen to you just chat about pop music and everything all day. I've never been a Katy Perry fan at all but it's still interesting.

Annika

i live in las vegas and it is tradition that whenever we go to the strip we simply must blast waking up in vegas

Carla Sibson

I hoped you’d cover this topic! Excited to listen to this one 🩷

Francis Peterson

I more or less live under a rock as far as pop culture, so I'm usually clueless about these bonus eps going in. I really enjoy them though and I appreciate you making sure to explain the background of everything for people like me lol.

Creamer

lol dr luke is still kim petras’ main producers. its one of the reasons i cant really get behind the slutpop era cuz like.. dr luke wrote those horny songs. but people dont give a fck because the albums are bangers

Lemonna

Loved this video! It's nice to shift focus sometimes from more incendiary or hot button "political" issues and focus on a pop singer, but there's tons of interesting politics going on with Katy Perry and her new single too that were well highlighted and discussed in this video. I'm a long time listener but recent Patron, and super happy to have seen this video as my first Patreon exclusive. Great work and very insightful!

Mathieu

Loved it <3 such a welcoming break in this crazy world.

tyn_pet

Ahhh, such a great video! You both can just put the finger on the important things so well and your voices were so nice to listen to! Loved the video, thank you!

Florence Lambert

Ugh thank you Matt for educating us on the CRUCIAL interconnection between politics, social issues, and pop culture 😭😭 especially now. Love u

Christian Scholer

I remember the "I Kissed a Girl" era very well. Katy Perry started her career as a contemporary Christian singer, so there was a lot of "Is this real or pandering" talk about the song. If you look at her whole music career it's really not surprising that this is where we're at.

Symone West

Personally (again not to be the annoying SJW) but I REALLY did not care for the line "We're not going away." Even the worst misogynists don't want the women that Katy is talking about to "go away." They want to take away our bodily autonomy, our right to consent, our right to leave our partners. It feels very much like they're co-opting queer liberation. Also kind of reminds me of the one of the gender critical talking points, that giving equal rights to trans people would somehow "erase" cis women. I'm sure it wasn't intentional but I can't not hear it and like y'all said if it was a better song I might not have even noticed.