In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on March 8, I feel compelled to honor the late Australian musician Helen Reddy.

Baby boomers will fondly sing along to Reddy’s powerful song “I Am Woman,” which was pivotal for the feminist movement in the 1970s. In an early interview, Reddy explained her motivation for the song by stating,“I realized the song I was looking for didn’t exist, and I was going to have to write it myself.” The song was used in protest and advocacy for women’s rights and gender equality.

Recently, two new renditions of Reddy’s song have surged in popularity thanks to the app TikTok. “I Am Woman,” by Emmy Meli, has created a trend where women and nonbinary individuals proudly upload an assortment of photos of themselves where they feel beautiful, expressing their version of femininity. Meli sings, “I am feminine, I am masculine, I am anything I want,” praising women by emphasizing that femininity is not linear.

Closer to the original yet a modernized rearrangement of the instrumentation, vocals and tempo, TRIBE released “I AM Woman.” This rendition directly imitates the similarity of Reddy’s lyrics, sticking to the original message of pivotal feminism. TRIBE begins with the original lyrics, “I am strong. I am invincible. I am woman.”

Not only do these two renditions reiterate Reddy’s female empowerment, they solidify the updated progressive idea that femininity is up for interpretation and self-expression. Helen Reddy’s song “I Am Woman” lives on optimistically.

Bhavana Scalia-Bruce
Portland

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