Firstly, I am definitely, absolutely, 100% a feminist.  I believe that men and women should be treated and viewed as equals. And although some people have persuasively argued that women are better than men – see Intelligence Squared debate “Men are Finished” – I, like many other feminists just want women to be seen in the same way as men. Meaning, I want women to be judged on their merit just as much as men are, and I want women to be judged on their appearances just as (ideally) little as men are.

I think now is a good time to note that America actually does have a lot of gender equality. Even excluding third world countries or countries whose religion puts women down, certain developed nations like South Korea for example have less gender equality than the United States. And that’s something that America should be proud of.

However, as much as I agree with other feminists about the goals of the movement, I also disagree with many of the feminists about how they’re trying to move forward with this movement.

Music video “Try” sung by Colbie Caillat sums up many of the issues I have with modern day feminism. “Try” was released in early July, it had gathered nearly 10 million views in a mere week and received much praise for being a positive and powerful influence. Now it has over 20 million views.

While I love core message of this song – confidence! –  as well as the melody, there are a few main details in this song that basically sum up the disagreements I have with modern feminists. Number one, “take your makeup off”; two, that the only reason why girls “try” is for boys; and three, “you don’t have to try-try-try-try-ai-ai”.

To me, blaming makeup for women’s problems with equality only undermines the feminist movement. It makes feminism seem shallow, as if the only thing women need to do is learn to take off their makeup and then everything will be fine.

In fact, make-up actually helps many women feel more confident about themselves. With make-up on women, as well as men, won’t have to fret about that ugly, red blemish they just got in the morning or perhaps their uneven skin tone. Sure, acne and imperfection are only natural, but that doesn’t mean that people have flaunt it. It’s all about being confident. ← pull quote?

The second issue I have with this song is that it implies that women only take care of themselves for men. Although the song never explicitly states this, it implies it especially in the second stanza.

While some women may feel like they have to take care of themselves exclusively for men, most women take care of themselves for society. They put on make-up to give a good impression in that job interview or to their colleagues. They put on makeup to look professional. They put on makeup because that is what is expected in today’s society.

Lastly, the one thing I dislike the most about this song is the line that states, “you don’t have to try”. I understand that Colbie Caillat meant this in the context of appearance, but women do have to try. Women as well as men have to try in order to make themselves presentable, in order to get a job, in order to succeed.

To be honest, I think Colbie Caillat took the easy way out in this song. The messages she left, to me, felt shallow and misguided. Instead of saying be yourself, she sang “take your makeup off”. Instead of saying don’t let others live your live, she sang “you don’t have to try”.

And I feel a little disappointed that this song, out of all the feminist songs out there, became viral.

To me, Beyonce’s “Pretty Hurts” more accurately describes the struggles women feel about appearance in to today’s society: the insane diets, the eating disorders, and the pressure to be perfect. Through her song, Beyonce shows the emphasis society places on women’s appearances (greater than merit) as well as the struggles that result from it.

The modeling industry is one of the few industries where women hold the majority of jobs – an agency based on mainly on appearance.