If you've seen this video posted on everyone's Facebook page, tweeted about on Twitter, and watched thousands of times on Youtube but just assumed it was another American Idolesque fad, you couldn't be more wrong.
I've now viewed it four times, and each time, I burst into tears. I thought it was just me, but then I showed my rather stoic partner, Joe, and he, too, burst into tears. In fact, he promptly watched it through a second time and then pulled out our Les Mis soundtrack and declared that Susan Boyle's version was better.
So what is it that gets us about this woman? I mean, the whole world seems incredibly moved and affected by Boyle's performance.
While Simon Cowell and the other judges touched on it a bit, I think they need the aid of a gender lens to truly understand what all the hype is about. It's not just that Boyle appeared frumpy, nervous, and goofy before pulling off a sincerely moving performance; it's that she defies our expectations of an acceptable female singer. Namely, she's shown that good looks are not a requisite for the presence of a good voice.
I would venture to say that most of the audience -- me included -- assumed that an older gray-haired woman with bushy eyebrows, dressed in a faded housedress, could not have a decent voice. I don't think we hold men to nearly the same standards. (Consider, for instance, gray-haired Taylor Hicks or overweight Ruben Studdard, both American Idol winners.)
In fact, we frequently offer disdain to female performers who do not match our society's stereotypes in terms of female beauty and body image. Think of Queen Latifah, once celebrated for her curvaceous vivaciousness, now spokeswoman for Jenny Craig. Marie Osmond is spokeswoman for Nutrisystem, and Wynonna Judd is the celebrity representative for Alli, a weight-loss drug. Over and over again, the message seems to be that female performers are not acceptable if they are not skinny, wrinkle free, and flawless.
Susan Boyle defies that image, and she does so with a lovable quirkiness and confidence. And now that record companies are knocking at her door, my only prayer is that she does not give in to the pressure to conform. I want her to grace her first album cover, wrinkles and all, with her gray hair wisping in every direction and her housedress clinging to her sides. I want this woman to continue to show us that look aren't everything and that regardless of what society tells us, we can dream any dream we darn well please.
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4 comments:
wow, just wow, I think you really got it, I'd never even heard of her, but your right she's great and I agree, she needs to show up in her frumpy dress for her next performance too.
Even though Susan Boyle seems to be falling from grace simply because she is human - she is still my hero. The first time I saw her on you tube (and I have watch now many times), I think bravo for you Susan, please don't change. Show the world that older women should not be judge by "their cover". I have seen discriminate of women first hand and every time I think it has gotten better, I see what originally happened to Susan before she sang. And now I see what is happening to Sonia Sotomayor and it is saddens me. Here is an intelligent, sucessful, capable woman, being critized simply because she is as good and probably better than most men for this job who might qualify.
hi rebecca! the only thing i'd say is that the examples you gave, taylor hicks and ruben studdard are only now in hindsight respected as good singers. there's always the moment of surprise when anyone, male or female, sings in a way that the judges don't expect. you'd have to watch their auditions for that first impression to get a real comparison between them and susan boyle. clay aiken is the same thing. also, have you seen paul potts' audition? google this: Paul sings Nessun Dorma. it's the same thing as susan doyle. although there are some differences. and there are some gender things going on (see the way the cameras keep cutting to the female judge as she watches this performance). anyway, just wanted to push back a bit since i slightly (and friendlyly) disagree with your post.
also, see neil E. boyd's first performance on america's got talent. while i think you're right that we don't hold men and women to the same standard, i'm not sure that being shocked by her good voice is an example of that. there are so many other instances in these videos of gender and media manipulation.
thanks for listening!
Hey Drew, thanks for your comments. They've gotten me thinking.
You're certainly correct that the entertainment industry holds everyone to a high appearance standard -- men and women. And your examples of male singers surprising their crowds are well-taken. Paul has bad teeth and works at a warehouse, and we somehow take that to mean that he can't sing opera.
I think, though, that we are quicker to forgive men for their frumpiness and certainly for their weight than we are women. Certainly, the slew of female artists acting as weight-loss spokespersons is enough to make anyone cringe. Yet Ruben isn't on a crash diet, to my knowledge, and Taylor Hicks doesn't do infomercials for Hair Club for Men.
All performers have an uphill battle, particularly those who don't fit the ideal Hollywood image. I just think female artists have a doubly hard time.
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