Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" has been unavoidable for the past few months. The song was just knocked off it's perch at #1 on the Billboard Singles chart after a ten week run at the top. It's on the radio every 5 minutes, and even the Spanish version gets more airplay than most other artists' songs.
"Irreplaceable" is a girl-power anthem that features lyrics like "You must not know 'bout me" and "Don't you ever for a second get to thinking you're irreplaceable." So you'd think that the constant presence of this song would be a major benefit to the female empowerment movement. But at least one woman disagrees. Kristyn Ostman of the Wilkes University Beacon, whose name makes her sound pretty hot, thinks that the song sends a negative message to women.
Here is a quick summation of Kristyn's logic: According to the lyrics of "Irreplaceable," Beyonce has bought everything for her man, then one day she caught him cheating and kicked him out, claiming that she could get another man in a minute. Kristyn says that Beyonce brought this cheating upon herself by fully supporting a man who was bound to take advantage of her generosity until a better offer comes along. Beyonce's willingness to give and give ultimately hurt her by creating a lack of respect from her man. In other words, she should've stood up for herself earlier and never given him things like clothing or a car, because he's never going to appreciate her as an equal human being when she's paying for everything. If he can get away with taking her money, what else can he get away with? You dig?
OK...
Now first off, if there really is a "better offer" out there than Beyonce, I would LOVE to meet her. I for one think that this song sends an excellent message to women. The best way for a girl to gain respect is to prove to her man that she does have other options. If a girl can't get anyone besides her boyfriend, the odds of that boyfriend treating her like shit are greatly increased. Why would he do that, you ask? Because he can. LeBron James could talk shit about the Cavs, and guess what? They're not gonna trade him, because they know they can't do any better.
Part of my family hails from Hazleton, PA, which is close to Wilkes-Barre, and there are two things I know about Eastern Pennsylvanians: they are about 20 years behind the times, and they love mayonnaise. The mayonnaise thing is pretty irrelevant here, but I think this article is a little antiquated. Women have been gaining great amounts of success and power in recent years, and it's a blessing, not a curse. There's nothing wrong with women spending a lot of money on their boyfriends/husbands. Men have been doing that for years, and no one ever complains about that (in fact, it's the opposite, the men are called "great providers" while their girlfriends are the ones labeled "golddiggers"). If you got it, flaunt it.
Kristyn also mentions that cheating often leads to STDs. What? How does being in or out of a relationship affect the odds of someone having a virus? As a graduate of Mattress College (a.k.a. Marist) I can say pretty confidently that the STD scare is overhyped, and generally speaking, you can protect yourself by taking the necessary precautions.
So in conclusion, I give credit to Kristyn Ostman for writing a thought-provoking article, but I don't think that inequality between the sexes is really that much of a problem in today's society. I mean, no offense sweetie, your article was adorable, but maybe you should step aside and let a man handle this.
Click below for the full article.
