Does 'Ain't Your Mama' reflect Feminism?

Jennifer Lopez has always been a mega-influence in the music industry and has contributed to several genres including but not limited to, pop, classical and soul music. And like most music videos nowadays, almost all her songs carry some meaning and represent different aspects such as racial circumstances and empowerment of different groups. In this piece, we will be looking at her view on feminism and what the pop-artist has to clearly say about it. As we can see from the title itself, the artist is already talking to the opposite sex by telling them that she isn’t their mom. This itself tells us that the level of love and affection has its limits. The entire video features Jennifer in different scenarios, as a household wife, a female in the workspace and a news reporter. In all these scenes, Lopez attempts to show how women are portrayed after which she shows them how to stand up for themselves.

The music video begins with the artist in a phone booth as it rains, talking - most probably - to her spouse explaining how she is ‘tired and can’t do it anymore’. As she gets to work (as a news anchor) she is soaking wet and exhibits signs of exhaustion; in the background, one can clearly hear the following words – “human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for, it’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the Unites States of America”. This is a piece taken directly from Hillary Clinton’s speech in Beijing, China at the Fourth Women’s Conference. Right away, we can see that this is a form of Intertextuality that has been embedded in the music video. Intertextuality, simply described is the shaping or interpretation of a text’s meaning by another text.

She then continues by urging women to get off their chairs and go their windows and declare that they won’t be their man’s mama. The artist chooses to use a mother as the reference points simply because men are often referred to mama’s boy, and in addition to this, mothers are generally known to have the ultimate and unconditional love for their children and will do anything for them. Thus, the artist is showing the audience all these situations that women are subjected to and that they ought to set limits and not give in to everything he wants.

The first instance we see is Jennifer as a stay-at-home wife who is seen bringing dinner to the table as the husband just sits relaxed as he reads the paper. As he reaches out for the meal, she slaps his hand, grabs the whole casserole and pours it all over him. Secondly, she plays the role of a secretary who is busy at work when her boss comes in and stares at her low-cut top which is what one refers to as male gaze. At this point she pulls him by the tie and traps him in the typewriter machine. Finally, another image she portrays is that of an average assistant to a man in the workplace. In this scene, it looks as though she is going over some files with him as they walk towards a conference room; upon arrival, he walks into the room and shuts the door behind him. Out of rage, she heads to the larger work area and asserts her dominance. One of the greatest examples of this is Lopez solving her co-workers Rubik’s Cube and throwing it back to him.

The video then comes to an end with the artist attracting a large crowd of women to the streets as a sign of rebellion through expressive dance. In conclusion, Jennifer Lopez uses this song along with its music video to illustrate how women need to learn how stand up for themselves and not bow down to everything that the male figure is imposing on them.