Blog 4 - Option 2

The text I chose for Blog 4 is “My First Black Barbie: Transforming the Image” by Sharon Raynor. Her article focuses on the hardships that Raynor had to face growing up as an African American child and getting teased at school for being different. She conveys her struggle of her identity and confidence throughout her life and how she feels that having a Black Barbie as a child helped her become accepting of who she was.

1. More Like Her - Miranda Lambert

The First Song I chose is “More Like Her” by Miranda Lambert. This song expresses Raynor’s feelings of wanting to be different and look different. “I grew to believe that I had to be beautiful to be accepted by my peers” (182). She never felt like she was beautiful or worthy enough of someone else’s attention and this is exactly what Miranda Lambert is saying. Lambert says that if you were just “like her” then you would have the guy, which is what many young children believe. They compare themselves to others and get wrapped up into what they could look like as opposed to accepting who they are.

2. Gone (going) – Jack Johnson

The second song I chose is “Gone” by Jack Johnson. This son is describing the materialistic things that people feel they need in order to be beautiful and happy. Johnson is saying that we should focus more on ourselves and our intelligence and talents as opposed to trying to fit the criteria of what the social media tells us to look like and do. This fits in with the article when Raynor states, “In today’s society, so many young Black women take on the appearance of White women with the bleach blonde hair, colored contacts, artificial hair weaves, and the desire to have cosmetic surgery to lessen their African features” (184). This statement provides us with what the average African American thinks about their body image. They want to conform to the social media just like what Johnson is saying in his song.

3. Keep your head up – Andy Grammer

The third song I chose is “Keep Your Head Up” by Andy Grammer. This song relates to Raynor when she was abused in school for being different. She soon learned to overcome her insecurities and “embrace [her] uniqueness”(184). She began to become more confident with her body and be happy for her she was as a person. She learned to “keep her head up” and keep going throughout her life with confidence and poise. She states that black woman would look at her inquisitively, wondering how she could be so comfortable in her own skin (184).

4. Stronger – Kelly Clarkson

The fourth song I chose is “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson. This song also relates to when Raynor was made fun of in school for being different. Throughout her life she always felt different and the kids in her school continued to tease her for her unique features. Because of this she learned that she could withstand anything and finally felt at peace with herself and her body image. Raynor states that, “enduring the cruelties of other children and allowing their hate to penetrate my being forced me to acknowledge what made them hate me so much” (184). She learned how to deal with these cruelties and move past them by realizing they made fun of her because they were insecure themselves. Their statements and cruelties only made her “stronger”.

5. Beautiful – Christina Aguilera

The fifth song I chose is “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera. This song really states her final thought about herself and who she is as a person as she has grown up. Though she still struggles with her appearance she has come to terms with the inability to change them. “No matter how much I wanted to change my uniqueness and simply blend in with the others, I could not. My differences were apparent; they were a part of me that I eventually learned to live with and embrace” (184). Raynor feels she can finally accept who she is and be proud of her beauty and her uniqueness just like Aguilera states in her song ,”I am beautiful in every single way, words can’t bring me down”.