Do it like a dude

You might know Jessie J from her smash hit Price Tag – the light poppy song that has invaded our airwaves. The song also has cutesy video; reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. Think puppets, large teddy bears, bright colors and a money tree! In the video Jessie J consistently mixes up her style choices switching it up from gothic style cat suits to brightly coloured (almost childlike) outfits

I LOVE this lace jump suit 

Each piece is impeccably paired with her gorgeous black bob and some crazy lips. This leads me to the point of the post. LIPS. I have a new obsession: jewel encrusted lips.

Jessie J is no stranger to the jewel encrusted lips and has been photographed more than once with some funky looking lips. The first time I noticed her lips was when I was watching the video for her song “Do it Like a Dude.” The video has a Rihanna-esqe (remember Disturbia) vibe and has a limited lyrical vocabulary. 

The chorus is repeated multiple times during the song... I can do it like a brother, do it like a dude, grab my crotch, wear my hat low like you

Jessie J sitting around with her crew

In a recent interview, conducting by Artist Direct, Jessie J explained what inspired her to write the song:

Well, I've tried wee'ing standing up and it's not as easy unless you're a guy (Laughs). "Do It Like A Dude" for me is very much, the deeper meaning is that everyone is equal. No one should make you feel intimidated and you can go, you know what, eff you, I can be who I wanna be and stand on my own two feet and not feel like I can't because you're making me feel like I can't.

But at the same time it's a parody of the typical male that exists today and it's kind of a tongue in cheek, a way of going, you know, this is funny. It's not that I hate men. It's not like we're saying, women are better, we hate men. That's not it at all. But you know, sometimes it's nice to have an empowered feeling that makes everybody so equal. It was the quickest song that I've ever written. I wrote it in about 15 or 20 minutes. It's very, very simple and I think that's the beauty of it, is that everyone can sing along. And I'm glad we released it first in the UK because it didn't give everything away. Because it definitely shook up some controversy.

So the question remains. Does valorizing masculinity in women liberate women? It’s interesting to juxtapose this video with Beyonce’s We Run the World. While Jessie J dresses and mimics masculinity, Beyonce uses her sexuality to advocate for female empowerment. Which one do you think is better?