How Olivia Rodrigo’s SOUR caused this self-described feminist to face her internalized misogyny
At first, I chalked Olivia Rodrigo up to be nothing but a one-hit-wonder. I belittled “driver’s license” to a fluke, something TikTok caused to go viral but would be impossible to live up to, never even bothering to listen to the song that was breaking so many records. I figured she would face a sophomore slump, unable to live up to the hype of her first release, and that would be the end of that.
But of course, as we all know, “deja vu” happened. Another chart-obliterating, viral sensation that I was suddenly hearing in the background of all of my favorite TikToks, whether they be cooking, travel, or fashion-related. Once again, I refused to listen to it in full, thinking I’d gotten the gist from the 30-second blurbs I was getting from the Internet.
And then last Friday, she dropped SOUR. As a person who was refusing to follow her career closely, I had no idea she had been planning on releasing an album, so I wasn’t aware of the anticipation that was leading up to its release. I woke up Friday morning to Twitter in an absolute frenzy. Everyone from Gen Z to Millennial was talking about the album, and publications like Rolling Stone, Variety, and Pitchfork had already shared their thoughts about it.
With this much widespread coverage, I started to feel like I was really missing out on something. So, as I was going out to get my morning coffee, I decided to turn it on. A 34 minute LP is an easy listen, so I figured if I really hated it, it wouldn’t be that much time wasted.
But then “brutal” came on. Immediately upon hearing the first couple of bars I thought Oh. This girl is good. The opening strings suggested nods to Ariana Grande’s Sweetener, and the punk-rock-esque guitar and driving drums made me want to do donuts in an empty parking lot in the best way possible. And let’s not forget the lyrics. Every time she sang a new line I thought, okay, I relate. I mean “…And I hate the way I’m perceived/I only have two real friends/And lately, I’m a nervous wreck” couldn’t have described me better. Just hearing someone else express those emotions showed me I wasn’t alone and that it was okay to feel how I do. It was just a plus that I was able to jam out to a great song while feeling this validation.
That is, I think, my biggest takeaway from listening to SOUR. Rodrigo’s songwriting encapsulates emotion in a clear, concise way. She gets right to the point, whether she’s hitting you where it hurts or just making you feel seen.
So, what took me so long? Why was I so against listening for such a long time? I went from dismissing her singles to nothing but TikTok virality to texting everyone I know making sure they gave SOUR a well-deserved listen.
In a conversation with a friend of mine, after she finished her Cassidy-mandated listen, we began discussing the reasons why we both were so against Rodrigo’s music in the first place. It quickly became clear that our own subconsciously internalized misogyny was keeping us from giving Rodrigo a fair shot.
Growing up in the early 2000s exposed us to the young female pop star trope at an early age. The 2000s’ Avril Lavigne and Britney Spears quickly transformed into the 2010s’ Taylor Swift and Ke$ha, but no matter the decade, it was embedded in us that the music was simple, immature, and meaningless. Only recently have artists such as those listed above gotten the credit they deserve for the work they have done for the pop genre and the music industry at large.
Pop music has been belittled to nothing but surface-level, radio-groomed hits when in reality, it is much more than that. This is, in part, to do with the fact that it is believed that the general demographic of people who enjoy pop music is exclusive to teenage girls, but that is not the case. According to Statista, in 2018, pop music was the favorite genre of 52% of U.S. consumers aged 16–19, but was also the favorite of 54% of 20–24-year-olds, 56% of 25–34-year-olds, and 46% of 35–44-year-olds. What we see here is the misogyny that society has pressured upon us to believe that anything enjoyed by a teenage girl is automatically bad. Remember how much hate One Direction got at their peak? Now, not everything they put out was Grammy-worthy, but as a closeted Directioner, I can proudly recall showing my dad some tracks and having him be pleasantly surprised.
This aversion to anything associated with teenage girls (or just women in general) was something I directly recognized in myself as the reason I had previously been belittling Rodrigo’s accomplishments. And what right did I have to do so? “Drivers License” broke streaming records, shattered the Billboard charts, and all I could come up with was “eh, TikTok,” rather than being big enough to admit that it was actually good. Listening to it on the album, along with her two other singles, “deja vu” and “good 4 u,” was the first time I had listened to any of them in full. It was then that I realized the 30-second snips of the songs I was getting on TikTok did not do them justice. I heard them in a completely different way, through a completely different lens, and immediately regretted all of the times I brushed them off as fluke hits.
SOUR has caused me to reevaluate the internalized misogyny I carry with me in my day-to-day life. I quickly realized that while I may call myself a feminist, I am nowhere near the woman I want to be. It is more important now than ever that women support one another and build each other up, and I and so many others that were belittling Rodrigo’s accomplishments were just playing the chauvinistic game that’s been embedded in us since birth.
I cannot say how much I regret my previous attitude regarding Rodrigo and her career. I can proudly say I now blast SOUR on the daily, and am constantly finding new components or lyrics that blow me away. Rodrigo is a powerhouse and the new voice for the younger generation. I am so excited to see how her career continues, and can’t wait for more music.
If you learn anything from this post, it’s to give everything a fair chance. You will only truly know if you enjoy something by trying it for yourself. Rid yourself of the preconceived notions put on you by society, the media, or your friends or family, and allow yourself to experience everything from your own unfiltered view. And help influence others to do the same! It’s not easy, but it’s something to keep in mind as you go travel through your day-to-day life. You never know what could surprise you.
