




“Feminism isn't about making women strong. Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength” once said by G.D Anderson. Women know they are strong but the world sees them as the weaker sex, because of their traditional role of staying home and for filling the duties of cooking, cleaning and taking care of the kids. Women choose to fight this stereotype by trying to be just as hard working as men in the working world. Alicia Keys is a Hip Hop singer who uses her lyrics to empower women, it can be seen in the song “This Girl is On Fire”. In this video, Alicia is taking a stand for all the women in the world who feels less than a powerful woman because they choose the traditional lifestyle. She wants her viewers to see that housework is just as hard as labor outside of the domestic space. This is seen through the setting, colors and symbols she uses throughout the video to help recognize housework as work.

One of the many roles a woman plays in a house is being a caretaker. In scene one, Alicia is in a dark room with her kid and she is fixing his clothes. The furniture in the room is antique, and her hair style seems to be from a different era. Alicia is portraying a different era throughout her music video. I think someone could perceive this video as an example of a woman during the 1920’s. During these times the role of a woman was to stay at home, take care of their children and be a good home maker. Alicia does not see this as a bad thing, she sees it as embracing the many roles that come with being a woman. This is empowering because the male figure is not around as much because he is taking care of his role and responsibilities, the kids need someone to always be around so that they can be guided in the right direction. This is a primary role for a mother because it was taken on through carriage and birth of a child. Being that a woman that is working in the house has to provide and take care takes a lot of time while taking care of other responsibilities. 

Taking care of the children isn’t the only responsibility. The woman in the house is responsible for cleaning and making sure everything is in order. This is shown when Alicia is sweeping the living room and picking up clothes and toys that the children left. She is fully dressed, makeup on, hair done and she is wearing jewelry. She is also wearing a tight shirt and skirt with heels. She is embracing the household chores in style. This is empowering because she in encouraging women to be proud of their feminism. Also, proving that having style and grace can be done at home. Just because women are not out working for someone does not mean they cannot embrace their own style and individuality as a woman. The old school can also be embraced with the new school of women being held to a higher standard. 

Another part of the scene when you can see women empowerment is the scene where Alicia, her mom and daughter are cooking together. While they are cooking Alicia’s husband walks in the kitchen and takes food off the table and walks away. This goes back to show that females play a very important role in the household. The role of cooking is being passed down through three generations. This is something that the mom, daughter and grandmother are proudly doing together. They are seen laughing and enjoying the time being spent together. Her daughter just as she did is learning that this is an important role that she will take on and be proud of at some point. Fitting into these gender roles can be empowering because it connects the daughter to a female tradition of caring in life. 

This scene also has the traditional approach towards cooking. The mom, the grandmother and daughter are all gathered at the table, taking the time to snap peas. This is something that was done within the black community since slavery. This scene basically shows that nothing is wrong with being the traditional woman. If the scene was changed to her putting microwavable dinners in the microwave for the children it would have changed its overall meaning and the empowerment of women. The women are doing the cooking and the man that appears to live with them are not helping with anything, he also recognizes the role that the women play in the house. The role the woman plays in the house does not appear as a bad thing. It appears to be seen as hard work and dedication to make sure the family’s needs are met.

In the same scene Alicia is wearing a silky lime green and pink dress, her mother is wearing a house gown that a typical older person would wear to bed and her daughter is wearing a modern day little girl’s dress. They are all wearing something that represents the generation that they come from. Another thing that I noticed is the type of clothing that they are wearing. They are dressed nicely which is typically not the attire while cooking. When people are cooking, they wear their old clothes that they wouldn’t mind getting ruined. Just because she is a stay at home mom that doesn’t mean that she has to embrace the look of one. Women should be able to dress and be proud of whatever it is that they are doing because it is to better their family.

Also, something that stood out was the cooking pots hanging on the wall in the kitchen and the radio that sat in the window seal. This was not just an ordinary radio that you would see today, it is an old school radio. Alicia used an older 1920’s setting to show that women should not be a shamed of the role they played during this time period. The role of cooking which is one of the many important roles of a household had to be done by somebody. Someone has to work and someone has to take care of the household in order for the family to function. This is the reason why this scene was so empowering. 

In conclusion to women empowerment, Alicia took a stand to embrace the traditional role of a stay at home mom by cooking, cleaning and taking care of the kids. She shows it by incorporating these ideas throughout the music video “This Girl is on Fire”. She was seen dressing, cleaning, picking up behind the kids and cooking through three generations. The lighting, colors, clothing styles and furniture supports the tradition setting of roles that a woman has played over the years. Alicia is completing all of the duties with a smile and a sense of pride to be a powerful woman that chose the traditional lifestyle. Alicia’s attitude towards her duties as a house working woman is important because it shows that she is happy with the work she does, and household work is just as hard as labor work done outside of the home.


