# Help me understand Katy Perry's "Woman's World" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 16, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300 "2024-07-16T03:35:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/1 "2024-07-16T03:35:40Z")
I just saw the video and I realize that I, a maleish type guy creature, am not owed an explanation. But I would _like_ to understand how this video empowers women so any womansplaining would be greatly appreciated. From all the pretty women in skimpy clothing acting like the worst of male stereotypes, to Katy Perry as a blow-up doll, to Katy sticking a gas pump in her mostly uncovered ass…well, I am not dismissing it outright, but when it comes to that video I am putting my mind on hold until more info/insight is offered. Tell me what I am missing here, and I will do my best to incorporate it. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/2 "2024-07-16T03:53:48Z")
You’re not missing anything. She’s out to make money. Pretending it’s feminism lets her have it both ways. I’m sorry for any girl/young woman who watches and thinks this is something to aspire to. Perry could do so much better. The fact that she doesn’t… I wonder how she’ll feel when her daughter becomes a preteen. Did she not watch Barbie??? (joke/not joke) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/3 "2024-07-16T04:49:38Z")
Agree. Katy Perry is a purely mercenary pop artist. She’s previously released a couple of songs that were embraced as empowerment anthems (Roar, Firework, to a lesser extent Kissed a Girl). This is a wholly transparent attempt to manufacture another one. Shallow rah-rah lyrics to sell the song to women, cheesecake video to sell the song to men, the end. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/4 "2024-07-16T05:10:17Z")
Oh my god, it’s a fucking pop song. Don’t overthink it. It’s fucking Katy Perry. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/5 "2024-07-16T05:11:01Z")
I remember trying to explain to my teen daughters why I disliked her “I Kissed a Girl”. I didn’t for one minute believe she really felt that way. She was clearly trying to be “edgy” for the sake of being edgy and popular. Any Melissa Etheridge or KD Laing (or countless others) song has more authenticity in the opening notes than anything Katy Perry has put out. Cherry Chapstick? _Srsly_? (Alright, I acknowledge that the song was very beneficial to gay/bi girls, and for other straight girls to “get” it, but as far as Katy Perry was concerned, she was looking to ride that gravy train to the bank.) Ymmv. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/6 "2024-07-16T05:41:01Z")
She’s just causing views and /or purchases. Just being disturbing or rebel enough it sells songs. I kinda liked her the one season I watched that Americas got a new Star?(cannot think of its name right now). She seemed kinda quirky and funny. As far as her music, if I ever hear _Firework_ again I may jump off the river bridge. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/7 "2024-07-16T06:00:05Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I acknowledge that the song was very beneficial to gay/bi girls Hayley Kiyoko, for one, has cited it as inspirational. And they don’t call her Lesbian Jesus for nothing. Of course, now she makes authentic gay anthems that blow _IKAG_ out of the water. > [@needscoffee](#): > > but as far as Katy Perry was concerned, she was looking to ride that gravy train to the bank Also true. Well, not just that, I suspect there’s a strong thread of wanting to be a “cool girl” there, it comes through in everything she does. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Tell me what I am missing here Katy Perry is no longer culturally relevant and is being eclipsed in her own genre by younger, (perceived as) more authentic artists like Charli XCX and Dua Lipa etc. Rather than adapting and growing like some of her contemporaries (Beyonce, Taylor Swift), she’s just returned to a well that ran dry years ago. She is being absolutely _dragged_ in socials for this. And her defense of “it’s sarcasm” is so transparently obvious it’s almost, but not quite, funny. Also, she made this with Dr Luke, and people are having none of it. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/8 "2024-07-16T06:29:32Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > … Also, she made this with Dr Luke,… That kind of says it all. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/9 "2024-07-16T11:33:57Z")
Well, if you have the looks of all those women and the money of Katy Perry specifically, then yes, I suppose it _is_ your world. After that, I see nothing but another generic pop diva struttin’ for the ~~boyz~~ Benjamins. ISTM those are especially vapid lyrics, just 3 or 4 short sentences repeated over and over. IOW, all chorus - no verse. IANA devotee of current pop music, but has that become the norm for pop lyrics? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/10 "2024-07-16T14:21:34Z")
Speaking as an unabashed breast fetishist, peak Katy Perry was hit with the cupcake bra, and it’s been downhill ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/11 "2024-07-16T14:36:29Z")
Her video is feminist in the sense that female pop stars have just as much ability to produce vapid grabs for attention as male pop stars. I mean, more power to her for continuing her career as she sees fit. ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/12 "2024-07-16T14:43:12Z")
I’m open to taking her at her word, that she’s produced a gross parody of the male fantasy of feminism. If you wanted to parody that fantasy, would you do anything differently? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/13 "2024-07-16T15:08:21Z")
IMO a good parody includes a knowing wink someplace along the way to indicate that, yes, we know we’re doing parody. That seems quite absent. Her belated justification “It’s a _parody_ ferchrissakes” reads like excuse-making when she got caught with her hand in the pure-pandering cookie jar. There’s nothing wrong with pandering. Most of entertainment in all its forms is little else. But it’s the pretensions to significance that ring hollow. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/14 "2024-07-16T18:15:00Z")
I have to admit liking Katy Perry’s songs, even though the lyrics are usually pretty dumb. I saw her Vegas show, which was fun. This is not one of her better songs. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/15 "2024-07-16T21:27:26Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I remember trying to explain to my teen daughters why I disliked her “I Kissed a Girl”. I didn’t for one minute believe she really felt that way. She was clearly trying to be “edgy” for the sake of being edgy and popular. Any Melissa Etheridge or KD Laing (or countless others) song has more authenticity in the opening notes than anything Katy Perry has put out. Cherry Chapstick? _Srsly_? (Alright, I acknowledge that the song was very beneficial to gay/bi girls, and for other straight girls to “get” it, but as far as Katy Perry was concerned, she was looking to ride that gravy train to the bank.) Ymmv. Lindsay Ellis eviscerated _"I Kissed A Girl_" in one of her video reviews, providing the subtext for the lyrics: “I kissed a girl, and I liked it [Oh, my scandalous lesbian fling!]…I hope my boyfriend don’t find out […but I’m really straight, I promise!]” ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/16 "2024-07-17T01:07:20Z")
And KP poached the title from Jill Sobule who in 1995 released her song [I kissed a girl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Kissed_a_Girl_(Jill_Sobule_song)) a full 12 years earlier than Perry. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/17 "2024-07-17T16:47:04Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > She is being absolutely _dragged_ in socials for this. And her defense of “it’s sarcasm” is so transparently obvious it’s almost, but not quite, funny. I can buy that the video was meant as sarcasm, or satire, or parody; it’s just really bad sarcasm. There might be a way to make a video like this where the satire exceeds the pandering, but I’m not sure what that would be like. This wasn’t it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/18 "2024-07-18T01:35:24Z")
> [@GailForce](#): > > I’m open to taking her at her word, that she’s produced a gross parody of the male fantasy of feminism. If you wanted to parody that fantasy, would you do anything differently? Also, on the rare occasions when groups of overwhelmingly middle-aged nerds like us Dopers are spontaneously discussing among ourselves a brand-new fluffy pop song, it’s a pretty good sign that the pop artist responsible has succeeded beyond their wildest dreams in attracting mainstream attention. Made ya look, Gramps. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/19 "2024-07-18T02:24:58Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Also, on the rare occasions when groups of overwhelmingly middle-aged nerds like us Dopers are spontaneously discussing among ourselves a brand-new fluffy pop song, it’s a pretty good sign that the pop artist responsible has succeeded beyond their wildest dreams in attracting mainstream attention. Made ya look, Gramps. However, Katy Perry turns 40 this year… I don’t know if a 40 year old musician sparking the interest of 40-50 year olds counts as “success beyond her wildest dreams.” Katy Perry is Gramps! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300/20 "2024-07-18T05:17:54Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > 40-50 year olds I think you underestimate average Doper age by at least a decade. > [@Kimstu](#): > > it’s a pretty good sign that the pop artist responsible has succeeded beyond their wildest dreams in attracting mainstream attention Not all attention is good attention. From her flustered response, it’s pretty clear Perry didn’t expect the negative response she’s gotten. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-katy-perrys-womans-world/1004300.md?page=2)