Feminism or Heteronormativity? The Musical Rhetoric of Katy Perry

• In Event: Queerness and Queer Issues in Public Address

Abstract

In this essay, I utilize a critical feminist perspective to analyze the contradictory messages of three songs from Katy Perry’s debut pop album. I argue that Perry operates under a guise of feminism that seems to perform a liberating function for female listeners, but ultimately participates in the reinforcement of dominant patriarchal ideology, the marginalization of “deviant” gender identities and sexualities, and the commodification and control of women’s bodies.

Author

• Jennifer L. Freitag, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale