ABSTRACT
Loving yourself becomes a prominent tagline in the twenty-first century which is imported across the globe to promote self-confidence. This popular tagline can be found in many different fields, such as literature, arts, films, even music. In Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass, the song is said to promote women’s self-confidence by loving their bodies. The similar thing can also be found in One Direction’s What Makes You Beautiful, the message of women’s self-confidence is implied throughout the lyrics. Both songs have been expected to represent how women should love their bodies. Indeed, one significant thing from both songs is the depiction of ideal women, but the stereotype of ideal women has been restricted only in their bodies and faces. If talking about ideal women then, the beauty myth discourse will be discussed. Beauty myth becomes social control that uses the image of women’s beauty to hegemony all women. In that case, a question about whose perspective to be used in loving oneself has risen. Do women in both songs see themselves through their own eyes? Or do they appreciate their bodies through men’s perspective? Using feminist theories, this research is aim to prove that the two popular songs do not precisely represent how women love or respect themselves. By applying the concept of the female and male gaze by Laura Mulvey and also the beauty myth by Naomi Wolf, this research finds out that both songs, which are said to promote women’s self-confidence, in fact, portray women’s self-confidence through male’s perspective. Women in both songs have only a secondary perspective in loving and respecting their own bodies; they have been exposed by the masculinisation of the spectator.
KEYWORDS
Female Gaze, Male Gaze, Beauty Myth, Masculinity of the Viewer, Self-Confidence