Girl Power and the Super Bowl Halftime Show

Photo by Andres.Arranz

This is not my typical blog post, and it may ruffle some feathers, but I’m wound up and feel the need to address this.

Like many of you, I watched the Super Bowl halftime show with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. Then  I read, watched and listened to the backlash that followed.

In fact, a high profile female author and speaker that I highly respect, in her Facebook post, went as far as accusing the singers of promoting human trafficking. Wait, what? Isn’t that a little extreme? Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and it’s totally okay to say it wasn’t your cup of tea. I get that. But to  shame them on a public forum? Not cool.

Frankly, I’m shocked and disappointed (yet not entirely surprised) to see women tearing other women down, when what we really should be doing is building each other up.

Here’s my take on this. J.Lo and Shakira are entertainers. They’ve made it their life’s work to put themselves out there, in front of hundreds of millions of people, risking it all to share their immense talents. They have trained hard for years. I can only imagine how many months of intense workouts they had to put in to prepare for this one show. The least they deserve is some applause.

Critics point out the skimpy costumes (have you seen Dancing With the Stars?); or how the performance was too sexy. Of course they were sexy – it’s J.Lo and Shakira. No one shamed John Legend or Adam Levine when they were named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive – they were applauded. Good old double-standard.

And can we also stop for a moment and discuss how old J.Lo and Shakira are? 50 and 43 respectively. They are redefining what it means to be an ‘older woman’. Big respect, especially for J.Lo. Anyone who has been to a Pole Dancing class (yes, it’s a thing) knows what she did is a challenge for even someone half her age, never mind doing it while singing (okay, maybe lip-syncing, but still…). When I see female singers in their 20’s and early 30’s perform on the Grammys, or watch their music videos, they are just as ‘sexy’ – if not more provocative. And yet, no backlash. I can’t help but wonder if it’s agism; women being offended by females going outside the parameters of what’s expected of ‘women of a certain age’. Pushing the envelope, if you will. I wonder, at what age are we expected to stop being sexy?

What I saw on that Super Bowl stage was two unapologetically confident, strong, bold women doing what they feel most passionate about – entertaining others. Why is this so offensive? 

Instead of being offended, is it too much of a stretch to be inspired by these two superstars (who happen to be women)? Inspired to do what we love, even if it feels scary to put ourselves out there; motivated to push beyond our self-imposed limits to what’s possible for us; and most importantly, galvanized to support and encourage other women to pursue their wildest dreams. As for me, I’m going to stop worrying about breaking a hip (at ‘my age’) and hit the gym. Thank you J.Lo and Shakira – this woman applauds you! And ladies, let’s remember to lift each other up, any chance we get. It can only help our cause.