The Spice Girls broke onto the music scene at a time where R&B reigned supreme and boy bands dominated the industry. There didn't seem to be enough room for five unapologetically themselves girls who exuded confidence and preached 'girl power'.
But room enough there was and 22 years after their triumphant arrival, the Spice Girls have managed to remain very much at the fore of public consciousness. The timeless pop hits and ballads certainly helped however their impact goes beyond only music. The Spice Girls preached femininity and girl power at a time when boys ruled the world and the sheer mention of feminism sent people running.
The Spice Girls haven't only paved the way for Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, they have paved the way for women in any industry to accept their femininity and harness it as their power.
While their stereotypical nicknames leads critics to believe that the Spice Girls only preached girl power when it suited them, the fact that they were able to take nicknames that were meant to demean and forged them into the most recognisable names in pop culture history speaks to what the Spice Girls were truly about.
So what you had Scary, Ginger, Baby, Posh and Sporty Spice? You want to use those labels to pigeon hole us and support your point about how there are certain types of women? Well then we'll create songs that not only speak to our gender, but also serve to highlight how powerful and intuitive we are. And that is the essence of the girls- taking everything the critics had to say about them and turning it into their own success.
The Spice Girls' particular brand of girl power also worked to unify women at a time where females were pitted against each other and seen as the enemy. Through their songs about the lasting power and importance of friendship, the girls made feminism fun and a way to unite women in a positive way.
Their version of girl power also had a very specific message for men too. Through songs like Wannabe, men were unapologetically told that if they didn't understand female friendships- and therefore the essence of the Spice Girls' feminism- they might as well hit the road because the girls wouldn't give them the time of day.
While the Spice Girls undoubtedly made feminism fun at a time where Alannis Morissette's brand of feminism scared, they didn't shy away from (what some believe to be a complex branch of feminism) references to sex and sexuality. On stage and in photoshoots the idea of harnessing and celebrating their girly interests in makeup and fashion was paramount. However, through their music, the band wasn't afraid to talk about sexual desires and the fact that wanting sex doesn't make women sluts or any less of a feminist.
In fact, one of Sporty's favourite Spice Girls moments is the message behind 2 Become 1. Specifically how they were able to integrate a message of safe sex into a song about craving intimacy.
Girl power may have been born out of the band wanting to use their gender as power in the face of all the adversity they were facing in the industry because of it, yet those two simple words have managed to inform a generation of women of what it means to be female and how expressing that through whatever means is ok.
Girl power isn't about putting other women down to feel better, but rather, supporting each other and celebrating each individual. Previous girl groups were moulded into one entity, while the Spice Girls were allowed to be five completely different people, all the while showing how they could still come together seamlessly.
From hits like Wannabe and Spice Up Your Life alone the Spice Girls could have built a formidable legacy, but like true icons, they managed to transcend being one thing and in turn offered the world countless hits, girl power and an appreciation for our fellow sisters.
God help the mister that comes between me and my sisters!
Comments