When Beyonce put the song “Run The World (Girls)” out, I was only 12 years old. When I first listened to it the only reason I liked the song was because of the upbeat music and the chorus “Who run the world?/Girls”, but I never knew exactly what the song meant. As I got older and listened to it, it struck me as a women empowerment song, but I never looked up the lyrics to follow what she was singing. I am intrigued to dig deeper into the song, analyze the lyrics, music, and video as well as Beyonce’s past. I want to be able to really understand the various meanings of this song that I’ve unconsciously listened to many times. I think on the one hand, the song can seem like it has an obvious meaning. But, as Bill and I discussed there are opposing views on whether or not this is seen as a woman empowerment song and I believe this is challenging yet will be an interesting topic to talk about. 

If the song is indeed about women empowerment, then it is protesting against living in a world where men run or are the head of everything, such as at work, with money, and family. It is saying “hey, women are just as strong, hardworking, and capable of ruling the world as men. We aren’t just going to let them walk all over us.” 

As I said above, I want to research the opposing views of this song. I want to see why people think it is not a woman empowerment song. I also would like to research more about Beyonce’s history as a black woman in America and the reasons why she specifically wrote this song. I am concerned that too many opinions and views of the song may make it difficult to decide exactly what the meaning of the song. I am also slightly worried that there will be too much information as opposed to not enough information to discuss in the podcast. 

“Run The World (Girls)” is under the contemporary R&B category and fits in with other woman empowerment songs. It is similar to a lot of other woman empowerment songs in it’s category such as “Independent Woman” by Destiny’s Child and “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys. All of these songs are sung by women and are seen as “bossy”. These women portray themselves as powerful and as if they will let no man walk all over then. 

Woman’s rights and equality in the workplace, in school, in a family, and in society as a whole is very stereotyped. The song is another way of showing how men are not the only ones who know how to “run the world” and how women can be in male roles too. The fight for women’s rights has been an ongoing battle for a very long time. This song can be reinforcing that women deserve to be seen just as strong and powerful as men are. 

This song does hold a lot of meaning to me. Women need people who have an impactful voice in society and who are confident and bold enough to speak out about issues such women’s rights. We need them to use their voices to fight the battles that many people have been trying to fight, but who are unheard. By digging deeper into this song, I hope to learn the true meaning and where it stemmed from for Beyonce. I just remember in middle school dancing and singing around to this song with my friends and we thought we were the coolest kids ever “we RUN the world!” Even though we didn’t really know what we were singing we loved to listen to the song. I think it is important to have songs like this to encourage others to take a stand. 

I am more than willing to learn more about this song, why it was written, and the various interpretations of it over the next 11 weeks. I want to really listen closely to the lyrics because sometimes without looking at them while listening it is hard to understand what she is saying. By listening, hearing the music and lyrics, and watching the video, I hope to have a better understanding of the song itself and Beyonce as an artist, since I am a fan of a lot of her songs. Overall, I am excited for this project and to make my very own podcast!