Week 12 Listening Blog

For the final blog (YAY), I decided to choose the song "Not a Pretty Girl" performed by Ani DiFranco in 1995. I love 1990s music since that was the decade I was born and partially grew up in but honestly I have never heard of this song nor have I ever heard of Ani DiFranco. I was excited to pick something I didn't know and this song is really a great song. It is more of a punk indie song and the only instruments being played in the song are drums and an acoustic guitar. I think this makes it more simplistic but it works well with the song. I really enjoy listening to the lyrics because I feel like they are show her progressive thinking towards feminism. She talks about not being a damsel in distress and telling others she wants to be than just a pretty face. I feel like especially for this time period, there was a third-wave of feminism that was going on in the early 1990s lead by the females of Generation X. They wanted more freedom from critique about the types of jobs they chose along with questioning what womanhood really meant. I like how her voice goes from silky smooth to raspy and loud it almost sounds like she is voicing her rebellion against feminine stereotypes. Overall, I really enjoyed this song and its style along with the message she shares in the song.