The Spice Girls As a Case Study for Intersections Between Popular

Home , 2 Become 1, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell, If Only (book), Let Love Lead The Way, Melanie C

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Politics and Government

"Chicas to the Front":

The Spice Girls as a Case Study for Intersections between

Popular Culture and Feminism

Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Arts

Degree

Maayan Padan

Under the Supervision of Prof. Dani Filc and Dr. Catherine Rottenberg

January 2017

Abstract Recent years have seen the emergence of a new analytical category in the field of critical media and cultural studies – Post-feminism. This category is claimed to be a sensibility, in which feminist notions are brought to center of attention in various venues only to be treated as ridiculous, irrelevant and unattractive. At the expense of radical feminism political agenda, a message of individualism and consumerism is stressed, transforming every aspect of life into a commodity. Post-feminism draws its prominence mostly from girls and young women, as it promises them an individual subjectivity, if only they renounce collective political demands.

Many scholars argue that one of the main sites of post-feminism to operate is mainstream popular culture, due to its commercial character. This argument derives from the analysis of the moment of decoding messages from popular culture's texts.

This study examines this observation, by exploring the relationship between popular culture and feminism while focusing in the moment of encoding messages, drawing on the Spice Girls as a case study. The questions that stimulate this study are concerned with feminism and post-feminism, with popular culture icons and the messages they encode, and with girl culture and its agentive possibilities.

In order to conduct such an inquiry, an analysis of songs and videos by the band is performed. The findings show that the Spice Girls engaged in feminist debates, making clear statements regarding prominent feminist issues such as sisterhood, female sexual agency and the performative character of gender. Thus, this study shows that the Spice Girls, rather than embracing a post-feminist stand, actively embrace feminism and make it massively accessible.

III

Acknowledgments

This thesis could have not been written without the guidance and assistance of many people, to whom I wish to extend my gratitude. First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Catherine Rottenberg and Prof. Dani Filc. I thank both of them for their generous and sensitive guidance throughout this process and for engaging in conversation with my ideas until they were clarified and consistent. I am in awe of their knowledge, curiosity and dynamic thought. Catherine's intellectual influence on me spans over various fields, from feminist theory, through critical theory and cultural theory, just to name a few. Not only did she give me the tools to analyze the reality surrounding me with those theories, she also taught me how to posit myself in them, make a critical claim in regard to one perspective, as I draw on others, without compromising the integrity of my argument or that of the theories I was thinking through. This lesson has challenged me in various ways, as I needed to learn how to refine my thoughts and articulate what I saw clearly but was not obvious.

Thanks to Catherine's persistence and high standards, I acquired the skills I needed to question what seemed at first to be so simple, as she inspired me to do, and I am grateful for that. Dani's expertise in the fields of critical theory and popular culture enriched me tremendously, as did his commitment to the study of popular culture as an important political phenomenon. Investigating the intersections between culture and politics under Dani's guidance had truly been foundational for me, as a developing scholar who is interested in the possibilities for agency that I see in popular culture.

I am thankful to Prof. Neve Gordon, Dr. Iddo Nevo, Dr. Becky Kook, Prof.

Rene'e Poznanski, Prof. Sharon Pardo, Dr. Gal Ariely, and Mrs. Anat Segal from the department of Politics and Government, and Dr. Amalia Ziv from the Gender Studies

Program, who honored me with their interest and encouragement in different points of this process.

Special thanks are due to Atalia Israeli-Nevo, Tal'y Wozner, Shir Shimoni,

Elior Cohen, Guy Fassler, Liraz Yaffe and Nitsan Shaul who graciously agreed to think through my ideas, read and comment on different parts of this work, and reminded me the importance and value of this thesis. Your love and friendship mean the world to me. I thank Tal Frydman for her endless patience in motivating me to write. I also thank Asaf Pren\Celine Le Devine, my teacher and queen, who has equipped me with a colorful tool box to deconstruct gender with. I especially thank my love, Ofer Dagan, for enduring me throughout this process of writing. Thank you for your comments, ideas and most of all, for your love and encouragement.

To my wonderful family – my mom Riki, my dad Ori and my sister Hilla – thank you for supporting me through every step of the way, for your patience, for your encouragement, and for being proud of me and happy with my choices and accomplishments. Your love means the world to me.

Last but not least, I want to thank the Spice Girls – Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh and Sporty – for encouraging me to be a "power girl in a nineties world", an identity that has contributed significantly to the woman I am today.

Contents Preface ...... 2

Introduction – Girl Power and Wonder Bras ...... 4

Chapter 1– "Woman to Woman, We're Singing with You" ...... 9

Sisterhood as a Formative Principle of Feminism ...... 9

Sisterhood, Scholars and the Spice Girls ...... 16

Sisterhood and the Spice Girls ...... 19

Ordinariness and Stardom, Friendships and Heterosexual Relationships– "Wannabe" and "Stop" ...... 19

Founding Mothers and Trans-Generational Continuation – "Mama" and "The Lady is a Vamp" ...... 26

Conclusion ...... 34

Chapter two – "I Want a Man, Not a Boy Who Thinks He Can" ...... 37

The Feminist Sex Wars ...... 37

Sex, Scholars and the Spice Girls ...... 42

Sex and the Spice Girls ...... 44

Conclusion ...... 60

Chapter 3 – "It's a Celebration, Motivation, Generation Next" ...... 61

Gender, Performance and Parody ...... 62

The Characters ...... 66

Conclusion ...... 78

Conclusion – "So Glad We Made It, Time Will Never Change It" ...... 81

Bibliography ...... 85

Preface

May 29th 1998 stroke me as lightning. I had just turned eleven years old, and was already planning my Bat-Mitzvah party with my mother. It was obvious that its theme would be the Spice Girls, and that the school band I had formed with my friends, in which I had inhabited the role of Ginger Spice, would perform. My mother and I were debating on whether I can dye my hair red, orange and blond, to look exactly like

Ginger's, or not, as the news came in. Geri Halliwell, also known as Ginger Spice, had announced via her solicitor that she is leaving the Spice Girls for good. The look in my mother's eyes was ratification as much as a command for me to grief. My father's teasing, following the news, had ridiculed my profound and sincere sense of loss. This experience laid the first foundation for me to connect femininity with contempt. I felt lost and betrayed and cried for days on end, sincerely incapable of grasping how

Ginger Spice could do this to me, and why. As my tears started drying, a painful conclusion had come forth in my teenage ecstatic mind – women are not to be trusted.

This conclusion had paved my way as I distanced myself from every cultural aspect that I identified with femininity, while also denying charm, beauty and interest of bodily gestures, clothing styles, TV series, movies, and music genres. Instead, I became fascinated with upscale music genres attributed to and inhabited primarily by men. My growing interest in various sub-genres of Rock, classical, jazz, and electronic music has proven itself useful in various social situations, assisting me in achieving higher social status among my male friends. Only this illusion had eventually been pushed to its limits. As knowledgeable as I was, I was not a man myself and thus was never fully integrated as part of the male groups I longed to belong in; I was not paid a high salary as my male colleagues at the CD store where I

2 worked, and, most important, I could never be accepted as the protagonist of any event occurring, cultural or social, but only as a supporting actress.

It took me fourteen years to reembrace pop music as a genre and as an important cultural phenomenon. As I began my scholarly studies in the Gender

Program, I learned how complex femininity can be, how powerful and how attractive it is. Alongside my intellectual encounter with femininity, my previous rejection of pop music began to crack. And so, acceding to a close friend's request, I found myself at a pop party for the first time in my adult life. As I danced to its tunes, I began contemplating on the influence pop music has on its listeners and how it makes people move, smile, and flirt. The bodily joy I experienced became a big part of my identity, as I could finally find both intellectual and material joy in the genre I once rejected so stubbornly.

The Spice Girls pose a great challenge to critical analysis, being, first and foremost, the best-selling all-female group since their formation to this day. Their commercial character had brought scholars to debate on whether they can even be considered as a part of popular feminism, given that most of the adoration practices they evoked were rooted in consuming their merchandize. Consumerism, alongside their outspoken heterosexuality and their adoration of Margaret Thatcher, caused many scholars to understand them as complying with hegemonic, masculinist, and capitalist values, rather than taking an active part in feminist debates. The contradiction between the scholarly research of the band and my personal experiences motivated me to seek for answers in the Spice Girls' own lyrical and visual materials.

My query, being more than merely an opportunity to complete my mourning process and forgive Geri Halliwell, is a search for my own articulation of femininity and the possibilities it may hold.

Introduction – Girl Power and Wonder Bras

This study explores the relationship between popular culture and feminist ideals and practices, drawing on the Spice Girls as a case study. The purpose of such an inquiry is to shed light on the various ways in which the Spice Girls have engaged in feminist debates, making clear statements regarding prominent feminist issues by using their commercial character to reach wider audiences. In order to conduct such an inquiry, I will analyze the messages conveyed in the Spice Girls' songs and videos.

In his essay, "Encoding, Decoding", Stuart Hall famously argues that the process of conveying messages is built on four moments: production, circulation, distribution or consumption, and reproduction. Each of the foundations is autonomous in its articulation and interpretation, thus although all four are necessary for the circuit there can be no guarantee the message will be conveyed unequivocally. Hence, according to Hall, two determining moments can be identified at the ends of the circuit – the moment of encoding the message and the moment of its decoding (Hall,

1999: 508-509). In my thesis I am interested in the moment of encoding messages, as

I believe it reveals the agentive aspects of the Spice Girls in the intersection of popular culture and feminism.

More generally, this study is located in the field of popular feminism. Popular feminism is used here to describe a field of feminist theory and activism outside the academy, which is not necessarily well-informed but promotes feminist values on the grounds of political identification. Catherine Driscoll argues that 1990's feminism becomes intertwined with popular culture, due to feminists' interest in understanding how and what social institutions construct women's lives. Moreover, she argues that feminism has had a significant influence on popular culture and especially on pop music. Upon examining the juxtaposition of feminism and popular culture, Driscoll

4 explains how the encounter between feminism and popular culture focuses on girls as subjects of verbal and visual messages (Driscoll, 1999: 173-174).

Scholarly interest in girls derives from various strands; one main issue that attracts scholars is the reduction of girls to their consumption power by neo-liberal mechanisms (Driscoll, 1999; Davies, 2001; Lemish, 2003; Taft, 2004; McRobbie,

2008; Zeisler, 2016). This concern has brought about a variety of scholarly debates regarding post-feminism, its traits and strategies, and its prominent presence in different fields of popular culture. McRobbie defines post-feminism as a movement or sensibility that draws from the ideals and achievements of the feminist movement, especially during the period of the 1970's, but brings them into consideration only to dismiss them as irrelevant, no-longer necessary and not-sexy. Furthermore, McRobbie claims that the agents of popular culture, such as copy-writers, screen-writers and authors perform a constant de-politicization of the feminist project and reproduce an aversion to feminist politics by encoding the irrelevancy of feminism into every commodity they promote (McRobbie, 2008). The only alternative McRobbie sees to this mechanism is in non-commercial expressions of popular culture, such as the Riot

Grrl punk movement (Ibid: 158).

McRobbie's arguments are reinforced while discussing the term Girl Power.

Many scholars have been preoccupied by the slogan Girl Power, its meanings and consequences. Most scholars identify the subversive potential of the slogan in sites that are not part of mainstream popular culture, and specifically when it is attributed to the Riot Grrl punk movement (Davies, 1999: 169; Lemish, 2003: 18-19; Schilt,

2003: 5-9; Fritzsche, 2004: 155; McRobbie, 2008: 158; Zeisler, 2016: 173-177).

However, despite scholars' recognition of Girl Power's subversive potential, it is usually dismissed as a depoliticized post-feminist tactic to signify girls and young

5 women as a large group of consumers, due to the slogan's increasing infiltration into mainstream television and pop music (Driscoll, 1999: 174-175; Fritzsche, 2004: 156;

Taft, 2004: 72-75; Hains, 2009: 90-93; Bae, 2011: 28-31; Zeisler, 2016: 176-179).

This is particularly true when the term Girl Power was introduced by the Spice Girls, a band described by Andi Zeisler as "marketplace-feminist Frankenstein's monster"

(Ibid, 176), which aim for nothing other than commercial success by expropriating the political idea of the Riot Grrl movement and turning it into a sexually accessible, sugar-coated commodity. However, these arguments seem rather simplistic, as they draw on familiar significations of punk music as subversive and anti-hegemonic, and of pop music as asserting hegemonic social order (Railton, 2001: 323-324). Moreover, dichotomist divisions have been criticized for their contribution of both heteronormativity and patriarchy, which makes me wonder about this dichotomist distinction as well. Could Girl Power represent a plentitude? Can it be understood as a multifaceted idea, in which many contradictions are intertwined? And, if so, then how can the Spice Girls be understood? Are the Spice Girls the epitome of post-feminism, or do they represent a hybrid of popular culture and feminist ideology? In this thesis I examine what the Spice Girls said, lyrically and visually, with regard to feminism.

How did they articulate Girl Power and what did they make of it?

In order to answer these questions, I will examine the messages in the Spice

Girls' lyrics and videos, while asking what values are being charged to the slogan Girl

Power? Drawing on Hall's analysis of the process of conveying messages, I will focus on the action of encoding. My methodology draws on Hall's theory of encoding and decoding messages. Hall regards the use of language as charged with political meanings, thus denying the possibility of neutral signs; rather, signs are always connotative, while their denotative literality is intertwined with the complex

6 ideological system of meanings that produce and reproduce them. This notion is further enhanced in visual signs, as these always depict multiple strata of political, cultural and social instances (Hall, 1999: 511-514). Following Hall, I analyze the

Spice Girls' lyrics and music videos with an emphasis on their connotative messages, the verbal and visual origins they draw on, and their interpretive representations of the dominant social order. Following McRobbie (2008), I analyze the Spice Girls' musical texts as empirical data. I mostly focus on the Spice Girls' first two albums, "Spice" and "Spice World". One exception to this focus is the analysis of the song "Holler", written and recorded by the Spice Girls as a four-member group for their third album,

"Forever", which was released after Geri Halliwell's departure. Angela McRobbie is also pivotal to my reading of polysemy in the Spice Girls' messages, due to her meticulous analysis of post-feminism's mechanisms. While she suggests that commercial texts of this kind ultimately reinforce patriarchal capitalist hegemonic ideology, I suggest that commercial texts, when encoded by a group of politically conscious representatives of a disadvantaged minority, can hold the possibility to convey subversive messages regarding and from within the dominant social order.

Polysemy will be used as an analytical category in this paper, as it is used by John

Fiske. Fiske argues that polysemy is the possibility to decode a cultural message in opposite ways from its encoding, and thus it allows subversive interpretations to capitalist and patriarchal hegemonic values. The conditions that allow for subversive interpretation are contextual, deriving from the consumerists of cultural products – their class, race and gender (Fiske, 1999: 84-87). Further, polysemy will derive from multiplicity of characters, which provide different points of reference to a variety of issues that are both asserting and subverting hegemonic norms (Ibid: 193). Drawing on Fiske, the Spice Girls are examined in this thesis not only as polysemic in the

7 decoding moment, but also in the moment of encoding. Finally, Rosalind Gill's (2007) definition of post-feminism as a sensibility with specific epistemological characteristics assists me in determining whether the Spice Girls' messages, as encoded into their lyrics and music videos, comply with post-feminist sensibility. I argue that not only do the Spice Girls not comply with Gill's definition of post- feminist sensibility; they represent its complete opposition. Thus, my main argument is that the Spice Girls align themselves with feminism by drawing on, circulating, and celebrating key terms such as sisterhood and female sexual agency, while using their high profile status as international icons to reach as many girls and women as they can.

The chapters that follow focus on three debates that have their source in radical and post-structuralist feminism: sisterhood, female sexual agency and denaturalization of gender. The first chapter examines the unfolding of sisterhood as a key principle in radical feminism, and focuses on the Spice Girls' lyrical and visual interpretation of the term. The second chapter examines the feminist sex wars and the

Spice Girls' contribution to the sex-positive approach to women's sexual agency.

Finally, the third chapter focuses on Butler's notion of drag performance, drawing on drag's ability to destabilize normative gender intelligibility, while examining the five

Spice characters as drag. I suggest that these characters can be read as a conscious detachment of gender from the body, which entails a radical experimentation with the construction of femininity.

Chapter 1– "Woman to Woman, We're Singing with You"1

Since the late 1960's, sisterhood has been a major theme in the radical stream of the feminist movement (Lemish, 2003: 22-23), stretching from early manifestos of radical groups, such as the Redstockings and Radicalesbians to the more contemporary work of black feminist theorist bell hooks. Since its first formulation decades ago, sisterhood has become one of the main characteristics distinguishing the liberal activists of the feminist movement from their radical counterparts. In this chapter, therefore, I will begin by examining the way the notion of sisterhood as a feminist project in the radical stream of the US feminist movement unfolds, beginning in the

1970's and exploring - albeit briefly - the different perspectives that have shaped it.2

This genealogy, I suggest, will shed light on certain aspects of radical-feminism that the Spice Girls implement in their body of work. Arguing against other scholars who have criticized the Spice Girls for "(having) no shared experience or advice in how to move towards healing…" (Schilt, 2003: 14), I will show how the project of sisterhood is expressed and even valorized in the Spice Girls' songs and videos. This valorization of sisterhood resonate a wider aspect of the Spice Girls' contribution to popular feminism, which is their constant promotion of radical-feminist values into mainstream pop-culture.

Sisterhood as a Formative Principle of Feminism

In the early 1970's, one of the first feminist collectives to be formed in the US and challenge the social order was the Redstockings Collective. The manifesto of this collective sheds light on the way that these women comprehended normative gender

1 Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin, "Sisters (are doin' it for themselves)", 1985. Also appeared as a B-side track on the Spice Girls' Christmas 1998 single "Goodbye": http://www.allmusic.com/album/goodbye-mw0001887350 2 Although there is no written evidence, it is safe to assume that the Spice Girls were significantly influenced by American popular culture, which had brought them to identify with political messages such as radical feminism, rather than with British socialist-feminism of the second wave. This assumption draws on the band's enthusiastic adoption of the slogan Girl Power, which is originally attributed to American punk movement the Riot Grrl.

9 roles in dominant society. Indeed, as radical feminists who accepted the methodological tools and analysis of Marxism, they understood society as constituted by two antithetical groups – men and women, with the first being the oppressors and the second the oppressed (Willis, 1984: 94). The Redstockings Collective believed gender-based separatism to be a mandatory step in the feminist revolution in order to raise awareness among women and eventually to destroy the societal structure that benefits men. Two axioms stand out from the manifesto: the first is that all men, regardless of their race, age, sexual orientation or class, are privileged and therefore all men are responsible for women's subordination. The second is that all women, regardless of their race, age, sexual orientation or class, are deprived of privileges and suffer under the subordination of men. Due to male domination over women throughout history, women have been isolated and have not been able to share their life experiences with one another. Moreover, the manifesto underscores that this isolation has enabled the maintenance of women's subordination, and, as a consequence, the first goal of the collective was to end this isolation. The collective also insisted that ending women's separation was only possible through meetings built on trust and that this trust had to be based on the realization that all women are sisters and share the same fate. Furthermore, the Redstockings Collective stresses their willingness to give up any privileges they might have in order to create an honest and equal unification of all women (Redstockings collective, 1969 (2016)).

Soon after its establishment, however, other feminist groups began to challenge the Redstockings' vision, arguing that their version of sisterhood ultimately erased racial, class and sexual differences among women. White lesbian activists, who were driven out of the gay movement for equal rights because of its chauvinistic character and from the liberal movement for women's liberation because of its homophobia,

10 were some of the first to challenge the Redstockings vision of sisterhood. One such group called itself Radicalesbians, and they articulated the project of sisterhood in a relatively more inclusive manner. For the Radicalesbians, sisterhood is about sharing a life, love, sexual passions and political activism among women. As they declared in their writing, being a lesbian was the reclaiming of humanity for women. By creating a parallel universe, in which women define their own values and aspirations by discovering their true selves with the help of one another, they could reject women's second-class status and the oppressive conditions the masculine system created and dictated (Radicalesbians, 1970 (2016)). For Radicalesbians, a woman's complete identification with other women is based not solely on subordination, exploitation, exclusion and discrimination, but also upon the uniqueness of the female body.

While the Radicalesbians stressed that a lesbian identity should be the foundation for women's politics, women's passions and sisterhood, their vision also clearly draws on the basic principles of radical feminism. Indeed, they assume – like the

Redstockings before them - that male dominance is the primary oppression of every societal order from which all other oppressions emerge (Ibid: 2-3; Willis, 1984: 96).

In addition, the Radicalesbians implemented an ideology of gender-based separatism as a form of political action. One of the most famous feminist thinkers to emerge out of Radicalesbian politics is Adrianne Rich. Rich's arguably most famous feminist piece, "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence" (1980), is a vivid example of these debates inside the radical wing of feminism.

Rich's main argument is that heterosexuality is a social institution that has created a compulsory and unequal relationship between men and women. She adds that heterosexuality is the only acceptable option women ever learn about, and the deletion of any other intimate alternative serves as evidence that heterosexuality is a

11 compulsory, profitable social construction that serves patriarchy. In order to counter this compulsion, Rich offers a lesbian alternative which includes not only lesbian existence, namely, a woman who identifies as a lesbian and lives her life with another woman, but also what she terms the lesbian continuum – a wider spectrum of relationships, moving between friendships, familial and erotic bonds among women.

Rich argues that choosing to be a lesbian is taking part in a political and historical project of resistance to the most basic and deeply-rooted oppression – male dominance as manifested in compulsory heterosexuality. These arguments clearly reflect the deep influence that the ideas of the Radicalesbians had on Rich. Rich maintains the radical stand that the female body and sexuality are the central sites of male dominance oppression and of sisterhood alike, while contributing to an understanding of the variety of instances and effects that compulsory heterosexuality has on different women from different races and classes (Rich, 1980).

All of these feminist articulations of sisterhood – from the Redstockings through

Rich - are based on the radical feminist assumption that the primary and most basic oppression arises from male domination and is centered in women's bodies and sexualities. Moreover, as scholars have already pointed out, their theories posit a universal sameness to the category "Woman" and the nature of its oppression (Willis,

1984: 93-96; hooks, 1986: 125-126; Hillyard-Little, 1991: 85; Stone, 1991: 294-295).

These assumptions, along with the blindness to race among the vast majority of radical feminist activists, however, caused controversy between black and white liberationists. Black, Latin-American, American-Indigenous and Asian women quickly began challenging these assumptions.

The manifesto, "A Black Feminist Statement", written and published by the

Combahee River Collective, is one of the first documents to frame the intersection

12 among gender, race, class and sexual orientation, and to rearticulate a program for struggle. The collective included black lesbian women, who had left the white liberationist movement because of its racist and separatist principles, and then left the black feminist movement due to its liberal reformist aims and practices. The black women of the Combahee River Collective rejected sex-based separatism as a strategy, claiming that it was a form of biological determinism that might result in reactionary politics. Instead, they insisted on an analysis of their reality that brings into consideration questions of class and race in addition to gender. By analyzing their concrete reality as composed of the interaction among racism, sexism, classism and heterosexism, the members of the Combahee River Collective argued for a dual form of activism, fighting for economical and racial equality alongside black men, while at the same time, fighting white and black men's sexism and heterosexism. Thus, they position the politics of identity in the center of their struggle, and rephrase sisterhood to be a racial and communal project that draws its character from shared racial and communal experiences, at the expense of a universal project that argues an existence of "women's experience" based solely on the female physique. The Collective does refer to itself as an inclusive group, but it aims its inclusiveness to other disadvantaged groups such as third world women and not at white women (Combahee

River collective, 2014).

Soon after this statement, the book, The Bridge Called My Back (1983), was published. The book is a collection of radical writings by a wide range of women. The essays in this book describe the complex daily experience of intersectional oppression, while emphasizing the part white middle-class women take in oppression and expressing the tremendous disappointment women of color feel in regard to what the project of sisterhood has proven itself to be. Descriptions of exclusion and

13 contempt, of women being denied entry into the feminist movement and of the alienation that many women feel are all brought up in this book (Chrystos, 1983: 68-

70). A feeling of betrayal and loneliness, especially among the radical lesbians of color, is articulated throughout the book as it demonstrates how the separatist ideal was mostly an expression of white middle-class privileges more than anything else

(Moraga, 1983: xiii-xvii). Even though the messages in this book vary (Morales,

1983: 91-93), the anger all of its contributors express against white middle-class women is poignantly evoked, and it underscores just how profound the racial rupture was. In fact, the book discards white sisterhood completely, pointing out its hypocrisy, self-centered sense of victimization and its lack of self-criticism and reflection. This anger eventually concludes in a separatist notion that prefers the exclusion of white middle-class women.

In many ways, it is bell hooks who sums up the rich if contentious discussion about sisterhood in her 1986 article, "Sisterhood: Political Solidarity between

Women". Throughout this essay, hooks emphasizes the importance of sisterhood, insisting that it cannot be tossed aside so easily, since it is an essential strategy for the women's struggle against sexism. She explains how, by basing their notion of sisterhood on the notion of universal female victimhood, white liberationists avoided any responsibility for racial and class-based biases. For hooks, this is a token of the internalization and acceptance of patriarchal principles when confronting issues of gender, race and class. According to hooks, patriarchal values express themselves in suspicion, contempt, rivalry and a sense of superiority over others. hooks stresses just how powerful intersectional oppression is by explaining how homophobic, racist, classist and aesthetic prejudices are an internalization of patriarchal standards. These standards draw on the notion of hierarchy between people and on competition

14 between women over a variety of resources, all attempting to prove they have succeeded in making themselves equal to men while measuring themselves and other women according to male-based criteria. For hooks, then, the acceptance of patriarchy compels a hierarchical segregation between women of different races, ethnic backgrounds, classes and sexual orientations; because such segregation maintains patriarchal standards. By contrast, the elimination of this hierarchical segregation would constitute a fundamental challenge to patriarchal standards and would result in a new social order (hooks, 1986).

According to hooks, the solution to this problem is not to separate the movement into groups who share common backgrounds, but to commit to working together in order to unlearn sexism, racism and other forms of supremacist beliefs. This solution obliges not only white women, but also women of different racial and ethnic groups, such as Black women, Latin-American women, Asian women and American-

Indigenous women, to eliminate every racist prejudice they were taught and to study other women's histories and cultures, not in order to create a unified culture of women, but in order to know, understand, respect and enjoy the company of one another. In other words, the solution hooks offers is sisterhood based on diversity.

This form of sisterhood has to draw on an understanding that hostility is a form of sexism and confrontations are a legitimate part of political struggles and need to be resolved on the basis of mutual respect and equal status in any organization. The foundational condition for the existence of such organization is political solidarity based on commitment to one another and not on alienation of men or mutual victimization. hooks' political doctrine demands solidarity among women based on difference, respect and reciprocity; hooks does not call for a separatist strategy, but rather strives for women's ability to mobilize as a group to become one of their

15 highest priorities, regardless of men's approval, standards and values (Ibid: Ibid). This re-articulation of sisterhood that hooks provides positions the sisterhood project as a still relevant strategy for the feminist struggle during the late 1980's and onwards.

This cursory genealogy of how the notion of sisterhood has developed since the

1970's in the US demonstrates how central the notion has been for the construction and contestation of feminist identifications, particularly within radical feminism.

Given that it has been such a central if contested term in the formation of feminist history and consciousness since the 1970's, I suggest that its manifestation in popular culture – and particularly in the various songs of the Spice Girls – cannot be unmoored from this context. In other words, the analytical framework for understanding the Spice Girls' relationship to feminism must draw on this complex notion of sisterhood. With this assumption in mind, I will now turn to examine the

Spice Girls' relationship to this key feminist term.

In the next section, I first review the academic analyses that have been written about the Spice Girls, arguing that scholars have not taken into consideration the variety of lyrical and visual references the Spice Girls have made to sisterhood. If sisterhood is central to many feminist understandings of political identity and activism, then the embrace of such a term as part of their public identity poses a serious challenge to critics who consider this all-female group to be anti, or at best, post-feminist.

Sisterhood, Scholars and the Spice Girls

Many feminist critics, such as Angela McRobbie, Dafna Lemish and others, consider the Spice Girls to be one of the biggest challenges to the feminist struggle in the late

1990's. This argument is based on their understanding of the slogan Girl Power, which has come to be inextricably identified with the band. For many scholars and

16 journalists, the band's use and marketing of the slogan emptied it of any meaningful content, and by doing so, the Spice Girls transformed Girl Power into a profitable, meaningless commodity. More specifically, the Girl Power slogan is perceived to be a reduction of feminist politics to a slogan that promotes individualism and consumerism (Driscoll, 1999: 174-175; Boone, 2002: 49; Schilt, 2003: 13-15;

Fritzsche, 2004: 156).

This claim of anti-feminism has often been based on examining the various strategies the band used to attract fans. One of these strategies was the insistence, promoted by the Spice Girls themselves, that the group was made up of ordinary young women. Ordinariness is perhaps the main node through which the Spice Girls addressed their audience, and this notion sold and became their biggest commercial asset (Davies, 2001: 164-166; Leach, 2001: 149). Ordinariness was promoted as synonymous with authenticity, and these links were enhanced with constant and repetitive assertions about the Spice Girls' intense involvement in writing their own songs and producing their music (Leach, 2001: 151, 161). The message of ordinariness served their popular appeal by not only diffusing any kind of perceived distance between them and their audience (Ibid: 149), but also attempting to create identification between the two. Ultimately, this identification allowed them to invite their audience to become like them by consuming Spice Girls' merchandise (Driscoll,

1999: 174-175; Fritzsche, 2004: 156).

Due to their clear interest in commercial success, many scholars have debated whether the Spice Girls as a band as well as a phenomenon are a reflection of popular- feminism, populist-feminism, post-feminism or anti-feminism (Driscoll, 1999: 190;

Schilt, 2003; Lemish, 2003; Fritzsche, 2004: 156; Taft, 2004: 70-71; McRobbie,

2009: 158; Hains, 2009: 92). Indeed, it has eventually become common among

17 scholars to frame the Spice Girls' actions and messages as anti-feminist, mainly due to their enormous commercial success, as exhibited in the mass sales of their various merchandize and memorabilia (Driscoll, 1999: 174-175; Fritzsche, 2004: 156; Taft,

2004: 70-71). Part of the feminist critique of the Spice Girls, as seen in McRobbie, as well as in Lemish, Taft, Fritzsche and Schilt, is the argument that by constructing girls and young women as consumers, the Spice Girls are sending a neo-liberal message of individualism, rather than a radical message of collective political struggle. For these critics, messages that assert consumerist individualism damage the feminist project of creating a movement based on solidarity and joint struggle.

However, I suggest that these scholars' complete dismissal of the Spice Girls is too hasty, since it neither takes into account the feminist principles the group stands for, such as sisterhood, nor the various ways in which they align themselves with the project of female empowerment, particularly healthy self-esteem and the importance of a female peer-group as a constructive and supportive space for women. In order to demonstrate that the Spice Girls' messages and performance cannot be so neatly described as post-feminist, I examine what the Spice Girls have actually articulated in their lyrics and their video performances. I suggest that such an analysis exposes the constant negotiation in which they had to engage between the mainstream commercial industry and the feminist project they contend with, one aspect of which is promoting a notion of sisterhood. Such an inquiry allows me to study the complexity of the band's messages and representations without ignoring the influence economical profit has had on their self-representation. Indeed, I demonstrate how they intertwined profit-aimed commercialism with a feminist notion of sisterhood. Therefore, the next section will comprise an analysis of lyrics of four songs and three video-clips in which I see expressions of sisterhood.

Sisterhood and the Spice Girls

This section examines four songs and three video-clips the Spice Girls released throughout their career as a group. Out of fifteen songs that discuss female friendship and emphasize the radical-feminist principle of sisterhood, I chose to focus on these specific songs particularly because the majority of them have accompanying videos.

One additional song that does not have a complimentary video has been included in this discussion due to the way it elaborates on the band's treatment of women's trans- generational relationships. The analyses are divided according to themes that connect different songs and videos and not by chronology.

Ordinariness and Stardom, Friendships and Heterosexual Relationships–

"Wannabe" and "Stop"

Arguably the most recognizable song of the 20th Century (Locker, 2014), "Wannabe"3 is the first single the band released on July 8th 1996 and became a massive hit immediately, going to number 1 in the charts of 32 different countries (Dibben, 1999:

343). The first verse repeats itself twice more through the song. This verse sets the opening conditions for communication with every one of the bandmates – they're all women who know what they want and they demand their wishes to be heard and recognized:

"(Yo!) I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want\ so tell me what you

want, what you really really want (X2)\ I wanna Ha, I wanna Ha (X2)\ I wanna

really really really wanna zig-a-zig-ah"

Although the group does not detail their demands at first, their choice to open a pop song with a clear declaration that centers on their own wishes is not obvious at all.

3 The Spice Girls, "Wannabe", 1996: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ (last accessed 27.1.2017)

More importantly, this is neither an obvious nor a common opening for a hit single sung by an all-female group. This is a declaration the pop industry rarely provides its audience with (Dibben, 1999: 334-337; Boone, 2002: 49; Mcmullin, 2002: 50; Lowe,

2003: 123-124). Davies argues that this verse is an outspoken criticism to patriarchal construction of femininity as mysterious (Davies, 2001:162). Following an opening that criticizes patriarchy by putting the young women's wishes and demands in front and center, the song specifies the wishes and desires they first declared. They do so when referring to their male counterpart's wishes. While stating what he wants, each line conditions the fulfillment of these desires with terms set by the young women:

"If you want my future – forget my past\ if you wanna get with me – better

make it fast\ now don't go wasting my precious time\ get your act together we

could be just fine"

Eventually, the chorus, which is repeated three times in the song, conditions a heterosexual relationship with one of the young women on accepting, respecting and befriending her friends:

"If you wannabe my lover, you gotta get with my friends\ make it last forever,

friendship never ends"

The sentences that follow summon up what can be understood as the crucial difference between female friendship and a heterosexual relationship:

"If you wannabe my lover, you have got to give\ taking is too easy but that's

the way it is"

By tying the two references one after the other, the Spice Girls imply that they have experienced female friendships as mutual and equal, whereas heterosexual relationships have proven to be unequal and maybe even exploitative. Therefore, they

20 pose their romantic demands and the primacy to their female friendships as the only option to engage in a relationship with each band-member.4

A clear indication that the friendships that are being referred to are female comes in the last verse:

"So here's a story from A to Z\ you wanna get with me you gotta listen

carefully\ we got Em [Emma Bunton] in the place who likes it in your face\ we

got G [Geri Halliwell] like MC [Melanie Chisholm] who likes it on an easy,

V [Victoria Adams] doesn't come for free she's a real lady\ and as for me

you'll see"

Other than asserting the female bond between the bandmates, this verse introduces the five members in the group. Given that this is their first single, the bandmates identities as "Spices" have not yet been invented. This distinguishes between "Wannabe"'s video and others yet to come.

When examining the video, I trace the roots of the "Spices", as well as a leitmotif that will repeat itself again throughout all the videos that the Spice Girls release as a quintet. I call this leitmotif the playful takeover of spaces, which is performed together as a group. This element of the playful colonization of space, in its turn displays a variety of visual interpretations to sisterhood.

This leitmotif is visualized in "Wannabe"'s video through the element of ordinariness, a characteristic that stands in complete contrast to the different characters shown in the video. This ordinariness is presented as an asset, rather than an inferior position. The ordinariness is conveyed through visual and behavioral elements, such as Melanie C's sweatpants and exercise bra, Mel B's saggy pants and

4 Exactly the same messages regarding unequal experiences in heterosexual relationships and safe and empowering experiences in female friendships are expressed in the band's song "Love Thing", which was never released as a single but is included on their first album, "Spice".

21 spaghetti tank, Geri's sequin leotard and Emma's plain white dress. Judging by their outfits, it seems Victoria, wearing a little black dress, is the only one who is dressed similarly to the other guests in the fancy hotel they burst in on. This first impression is strengthened by the group's behavior. They are first seen running from the street towards the camera, then circling a car that pulls next to them, and finally, jumping around well-dressed parents and their two young sons. After the family avoids them, they run in to a fancy hotel's lobby, where an exclusive party is being held. This seems to be an unwelcome action of crashing an event, with Emma and Mel B scattering the guest-lists from the doorman's stand. Only at this point does the song begin to play, and as they appear singing and dancing; they also run around the lobby, flirting and interrupting the guests' various interactions. Victoria and Emma are being flirtatious, to an extent of sexual aggression, with some of the young male guests who are seen in the video during the first part of the song. After violating etiquette, with

Melanie C performing a back flip on a dinner table, Victoria sitting on the lap of a priest and Geri picking his hat from his head, Mel B dancing on a table and Emma pulling drinks out of guests' hands, they storm out to catch a bus home.

Leach argues that the narrative described above is used partly as an elaboration of the lyrical character, one that shows the band as a group of independent women, each with her own individual personalities. They are also demanding an equal place in the world, not merely at the crashed party, but – as the lyrics underscore – particularly when entering into a romantic relationship. This demand is one that not only seems to presuppose female friendship and present it as empowering, but also, in many ways, presents sisterhood as more important than heterosexual coupledom. The video also critiques classism, a critique best demonstrated by the different characters that are at the party. Leach argues that this differentiation between the-rich-and-the-

22 famous and the band is a part of a wider strategy performed by the band, a strategy in which ordinariness is the main attribute the band mobilizes. This attribute, as I mentioned above, encourages fans to become active consumerists under the illusion of an actual possibility of being the sixth Spice Girl (Leach, 2001: 152-156). This strategy, Leach contests, is constantly stressed in different documentaries, videos, interviews and etc., which then operates to defend the ostensible ordinariness of the

Spice Girls as they gain fame and stardom (Ibid: 156-161). Leach argues that this strategy is feminist and can be understood as challenging the modernist binary of authenticity and manufactured commodity in the pop industry (Ibid: 161-162).

Leach's reading of "Wannabe" and the Spice Girls' ordinariness highlights the double trajectories that their performance encompasses: on the one hand, commodification, as pop culture's main attribute, is a central element of the Spice Girls' work and interest, best exemplified in their enormous variety of merchandize and memorabilia. On the other hand, the Spice Girls' chosen strategy to achieve this goal undermines many of the essential biases that categorize different aspects of popular culture as high and low, good and bad, authentic and inauthentic. Leach stresses that the Spice Girls' undermining of the creation process of writing and producing music challenges the division of quality between artists and pop stars, which usually acknowledges the former's superiority due to their involvement in the creation process, in opposition to signifying the latter solely as another aspect of a wider marketing strategy. By undermining the essential biases of popular culture, the Spice Girls engage in yet another aspect of feminist politics, thus challenging both the differentiation between them and their audience (Ibid: 161), and undermine masculinized hierarchies of quality and creativity (Railton, 2001).

"Wannabe" is the first single to take on the multifaceted challenge described above. Its symbolic status does not draw only on its chronological place in Spice

Girls' history, but also on its significance in forming the Spice characters, especially because they do not exist as such in the video.

This symbolic status is later addressed in their eighth single, "Stop",5 which can be read as a tribute to "Wannabe", both in lyrical and visual respects. Like

"Wannabe", the lyrics for "Stop" deal with the tension between romantic, heterosexual expectations and female friendship. Like "Wannabe", the subject-position each of the members holds is of an empowered, independent woman, someone who is not desperate for a man's attention. The group is mentioned only once as a source of strength, which each individual member can draw on in the face of a keen pursuer/pasty lover. This mention occurs at the end of the first chorus and the beginning of the second verse:

"(Do do do do) – Always be together\ (Da da da da) – Stay that way forever\

and we know that you can go and find some other\ take or leave it 'cos we've

always got each other"

One explanation for this subtle reference to female friendship might be that the ideal has become less important for the bandmates. But such an interpretation would ignore the body of work the band built throughout their career. In this body of work, every discussion regarding heterosexual relationships is embedded in and can only be an addition to female friendship. Thus, there is no other context other than female friendship in which heterosexual relationships are addressed in Spice Girls songs.

When regarding "Stop" as a tribute or a continuation of "Wannabe", a song mostly

5 Spice Girls, "Stop", 1998: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JD6ejmlpa8 (last accessed 27.1.2017)

24 dedicated to female friendship and its empowering character, this explanation is validated.

An argument for the correspondence between "Wannabe" and "Stop" is justified when observing the video for "Stop". The video takes place at a small town, where a town fair is being held. The video opens with a view of wide fields and small, old houses. As the camera closes in on a small street, Geri is shown leaving a house following a friendly conversation with an older woman. She then turns to knock on a door, answered by Melanie C. Melanie C then turns to knock on a door, answered by

Emma. Emma knocks on Victoria's door and Victoria on Mel B's. The familiar atmosphere that frames the opening lasts throughout the video, as the band members sing and dance together in the middle of a main street. Shots of them singing, dancing and fooling around are mixed with shots of them mingling with the town's people, playing with girls, riding ponies, hoola-hooping and playing different games at the town fair. Eventually, they run holding hands into a small local pub. Next, they are seen on a stage in this pub, singing and dancing to the chorus of the song. Towards the end of the song and the video, Melanie C over-voices her bandmates, while changing the lyrics for the chorus and singing:

"Stop right now, we wanna thank you, wanna thank you\ Stop right now, thank

you very much, thank you very much"

This change is not coincidental. Indeed, it can be understood, in the framework of the video and even more so in the framing of both song and video, as a tribute to

"Wannabe", as a direct expression of their gratitude to their fans. Given the mass success of the band, which transpired precisely between the first release of

"Wannabe" and the release of "Stop", the latter can only pay a tribute to the ordinariness and anonymity that symbolize "Wannabe" to some extent. Thus, "Stop"

25 mirrors many of "Wannabe" most memorable assets by acknowledging the changes that have occurred in the band's career and validating them as desired and respected behavior even after the band has gained fame and fortune. That is shown in Geri's casual conversation with the anonymous woman in the beginning of the video, in the different games Melanie C and Emma play with the town girls, in their active participation in the town fair and mostly in their "live gig" in the town pub.

"Stop", like "Wannabe", sets a different framework for heterosexual relationships and romantic love than is usual in pop lyrics. Moreover, both songs reprioritize the source for intimacy, self-assurance, self-esteem and self-worth, placing sisterhood in the form of female friendships as a primary source for these feelings, superior to romantic heterosexual relationships. By doing so, the Spice Girls express their alliance with radical-feminist principles. The prioritization of female friendship and support over heterosexual romance, and the centering of equal and honest relationships as preconditions learnt and provided by female friendship cements the notion of sisterhood as a prominent principle in the Spice Girls' messages.

In the next section, then, I examine how this alliance is expressed when placed in the context of trans-generational relationships between women.

Founding Mothers and Trans-Generational Continuation – "Mama" and "The

Lady is a Vamp"

The Spice Girls' fourth consecutive number 1 single deals with a topic usually left untouched in pop music – daughters relationships with their mothers. Not only did they choose to write a song about their relationships with their mothers, but the song depicts these relationships as a source of empowerment and pride. The song,

"Mama",6 which was recorded for the band's debut album "Spice", describes the evolvement of these trans-generational relationships. The first verse opens with a description of a relationship based on misunderstanding and mistrust:

"She used to be my only enemy and never let me be free\ catching me in

places that I knew I shouldn't be"

At first, the relationship is described as based on animosity and dishonesty, choosing harsh words like "enemy". This choice of words serves to facilitate the description of a profound transformation the daughter has made in her perspective. This becomes clear in the first verse, the bridge and the chorus:

"Every other day I'd cross the line, I didn't mean to be so bad\ I never thought

you would become the friend I never had\ back then I didn't know why, why

you were miss understood\ so now I see through your eyes, all that you did

was love\ mama I love you, mama I care\ mama I love you, mama my friend"

The reasons for the daughter's change are not explained. Whatever the reasons may be, the change described in the daughter's perspective has consequences for her behavior, as described in the second verse:

"I didn't want to hear it then but I'm not ashamed to say it now – every little

thing you said and did was right for me\ I had a lot of time to think about,

about the way I used to be\ I never had a sense of my responsibility"

The second verse, unlike the first one, does not recall difficulties the daughter had with her mother, but, rather, focuses on how the daughter's behavior caused strains in the relationship at times. For the daughter, the process of understanding, of accepting responsibility for her behavior and of changing it is significant, both because her

6 Spice Girls, "Mama", 1997: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsNbhwSXDB8 (last accessed 27.1.2017)

27 relationship with her mother is a source of pride and joy and because it is a chance for her to return the love she has received from her mother:

"But now I'm sure I know why, why you were misunderstood\ so now I see

through your eyes, all I can give you is love\ mama I love you, mama I care\

mama I love you, mama my friend\ you're my friend"

The description of the daughter coming to terms with her mother by understanding the mother's motives and by taking responsibility for her own actions is the framework of the song. I argue that the narrative the lyrics tell constitutes a significant message, one that revolves around the centrality of female bonds and the importance of women's work. As many feminist scholars have already demonstrated, motherhood is perceived as a part of women's natural tendencies and their nurturing nature (Rich, 1986 (1978);

Chodorow, 1978; Crittenden, 2001). The song "Mama" is a statement of gratitude, which chooses to make the transparent work of nurture visible, while acknowledging how this work usually gets taken for granted. Thus, the declaration of gratitude should be understood as a political action.

Thus, on the one hand, the lyrics of the song do not question the naturalness of motherhood or the choices the mothers in the song have made. This is manifested in ignoring motherhood as an institution and not problematizing the notion of motherhood as natural. This, in turn, could be seen to strengthen conservative perspectives that perceive motherhood as sacrosanct. On the other hand, the lyrics can be read as representing the daughter's maturing process, namely, her growing understanding of the complexities of being a mother and her awareness of the ways in which women's care work is often made invisible. These two sensibilities, one being progressive and the other conservative, create a polysemy character to the song, leaving the responsibility for interpreting it to its listeners.

When laying the foundation for understanding post-feminism, McRobbie contends that post-feminism's most successful tactic is to signify feminism as old, and thus, as not sexy (McRobbie, 2009: 11-12, 24). McRobbie's claim, in short, is that feminism has become a generational issue, and this repositioning of feminist politics obliges girls and young women to distance themselves from it in order to be viable subjects of a new social order. This new social order invites girls and young women to take an active part in different sites of the public sphere and succeed in them, but under the condition that they do so as individuals and renounce any political identification as women, who have collective political demands (Ibid: 13-16, 25-26).

Thus, being a girl or a young woman calls for a dismantling, or as McRobbie puts it – disarticulation, of feminist values, feminist practices and feminist struggles. Thus, post-feminism, as a cultural sensibility produces a dichotomy between feminism and femininity, pushing girls and women to choose the latter in order to lead a successful life as individual subjects (Ibid: 20-30, 40-41).

The lyrics in "Mama" challenge McRobbie's arguments. As I have suggested above, the song acknowledges the culturally invisible work women do as mothers, thus undermining McRobbie's claim of generational alienation. Moreover, this is further enhanced in the song's video. The video depicts the band in a TV-studio filled with girls, adolescents and women, among them the mothers of the five bandmates.

The narrative combines a live performance of the song with pictures and home- movies of the Spice Girls as children and of their fans. When the focus shifts to the events occurring in the video, the members of the group are depicted approaching their mothers during the show at the studio; when the former perform on stage, the camera cuts to the mothers as they are invited to stand up from the sitting crowd, while a red sign of the word "APLLAUSE" is lit. The video emphasizes trans-

29 generational bonds, which are epitomized by the presence of girls, adolescents and women of all ages. Furthermore, a sense of familiarity is created through the depiction of the band sitting in a circle, looking at photographs of themselves as children while surrounded by their young fans. This sense of familiarity suggests - alongside the comfort and safety of familial bonds - an acceptance of the trans-generational presence of girls and women, thus enabling significant trans-generational bonds to form. The video also depicts the members of the Spice Girls as being proud of their mothers, putting them at the center of the video, which was released in time for 1997

Mother's Day (Leach, 2001: 161). Other than a marketing strategy, the release of the single "Mama" on Mother's Day can be understood as calling attention to the otherwise transparent work of mothers. This calling of attention does not necessarily translate only into urging daughters to function as consumers by buying their mothers flowers or gifts, but can also be understood as a reminder of the importance of recognizing one's relationship with one's mother.

It should be noted that the video for "Mama" also reveals another aspect of sisterhood that involves the presence of other girls and women. Indeed, I suggest that it shows how the togetherness of the band as a group is not jeopardized when women from outside join it, but rather the video appears to underscore the necessity of having other women in and around the group.

Another version of a trans-generational inclusiveness is manifested in "The

Lady is a Vamp". This is the closing song of the band's second album, "Spice World", and is dedicated to the founding mothers (and some fathers) of pop culture. The references in the song stretch throughout the 20th century Anglo-Saxon pop idols both explicitly and implicitly. The first reference is found in the song's title: the title can be understood as a reply to the song "The Lady is a Tramp", that was released in 1937 as

30 a part of a musical called "Babes in Arms" that was written by Rodgers and Hart (The

Guide to Musical Theatre, 2016). Lyrical references include the first Bond girl Honey

Ryder, Charlie's Angels, Diana Ross and the Supremes and Twiggy during the first verse:

"She's a bond babe, kick some ass\ Doctor No this girl's got class\ Charlie's

Angels, girls on top\ handbags, heels, their pistols rock\ Baby Love are so

glam queen\ sing the blues a love supreme\ sixties Twiggy set the pace\ way

back then she had the face"

The second verse includes references to Jackie Kennedy-Onassis, Norma Jean (also known as Marilyn Monroe) and Grease's lead female character Sandy Olsson:

"Jackie O we loved her so\ sorry Mr. President, as far as we know\ Norma

Jean had a seven year itch\ Some Like It Hot to a Fever Pitch\ Sandy Denny

summer love\ and Grady's t-birds to the moon above"

Both quotes above demonstrate how the Spice Girls attribute vitality and vigor to women, and, even more specifically to what women like Marilyn Monroe, Twiggy,

Diana Ross had accomplished. These references stand in opposition to the traditional path of attributing vigor and initiation to men, the lyrics assign these features to women. The attribution of activeness to women is especially apparent in the second verse, while referencing female sexual desire in its subtext when mentioning, albeit implicitly, the romance between President Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe.

The argument for attributing vitality to women rather than men is further demonstrated when examining the way the lyrics refer to iconic male figures in pop culture. The opening sentence of the first verse mentions two significant male pop icons:

"Elvis was a coola shaker\ Marley, Ziggy Melody Maker"

The second part of the second verse refers to iconic male and female characters:

"Sandy Denny summer love\ and Grady's t-birds to the moon above"

As both quotes demonstrate, the lyrics refer to Elvis Presley, Ziggy Marley and

Danny Zuko and his Grease entourage in order to acknowledge their contribution to pop culture. Nonetheless, the references to these contributions are neutral; they do nothing but mention the male icons in a specific context without praising or criticizing them. This neutrality combines with the outnumbering of male icons by female icons, which are described in more detail and praised for their talents and achievements.

The tribute-character of the song is in itself an implicit reference to Madonna's

1990 hit single "Vogue"7, that itself pays tribute to pop-culture icons of America using a similar structure for the lyrics and a similar Big-Band pop style, thus adding

Madonna to the list of founding mothers acknowledged in the song. The lyrical framework of "The Lady is a Vamp" is explicitly one that articulates a chronology of figures who have laid the foundations for Girl Power:

"That's all in the past\ legends built to last\ but she's got something new\ she's

a power girl\ in a nineties world\ and she knows just what to do"

This bridge between verses and chorus is repeated twice during the song, with a change in the last line of the second bridge:

"That's all in the past\ legends built to last\ but she's got something new\ she's

a power girl\ in a nineties world\ she's a downtown swinging dude"

7 Madonna. 1990. "Vogue" Official Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuJQSAiODqI (last accessed 31.8.16)

The change corresponds to the title of the song, its chorus and verses, drawing on the tradition of attributing sexual freedoms and desires to men, but reclaiming them by attributing them to women.

Additionally, the song shifts between iconic cultural points while disregarding the accurate chronology in which they occurred. The strategy that serves this constant movement and blurring of different historical points is the use of outdated and modernized words, as demonstrated in the chorus:

"Cos the lady is a vamp\ she's a vixen not a tramp\ she's a ta-da-da-da-da-da-

da\ come on fellows raise your bets\ cos you ain't seen nothing yet\ she's the

top of the top, she's the best"

Positively referring to women as "vamp" and "vixen" draws from the musical genre period, while reclaiming these attributes and making them sources of power for women is a present-day action. The constant movement between past and present references both lyrically and musically also serves to facilitate the grand finale in the closing verse of the song:

"Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh, Sporty, yes now that's your rush\ we're the Spice

Girls ready to go\ ladies and gents can you please take your seats and we hope

that you enjoyed the show\ (Thank you very much)"

Given that the lyrical structure of the song entails a chronology of pop icons who have had a profound influence on pop culture and most of whom are women, the last verse can be read as the completing part of this chronology. In this closing verse, the articulation of girl power chronology is completed, aligning the band along with those whom they perceive as the founding mothers of a continuing project in pop-culture, namely, Girl Power, in which sisterhood is a main attribute.

When examined side to side with "Mama", "The Lady is a Vamp" appears to be an extension of the trans-generational alliance the band continuously reaffirms. By choosing to refer to past and present mother-figures, while highlighting their sexuality and success as the two main components in the establishment of girl power, the Spice

Girls undermine the notion of generational alienation and the negation of sexuality in mother-figures. Moreover, by acknowledging their pop-culture founding mothers as sexual and attractive, they acknowledge the sexuality of different women of different ages and different body shapes. Most importantly, the Spice Girls' acknowledgement of their cultural mothers and their biological mothers alike stresses the significance they see in all kinds of women's work and all kinds of women's achievements. Thus,

"Mama" and "The Lady is a Vamp" can be understood as a continuum, on which trans-generational identification, alliance and solidarity are basic elements in the construction of one's own identity as well as a central aspect of Girl Power. This analysis stands in opposition to Lemish's argument about the band's ratification of the ideal of the asexual mother (Lemish, 2003: 25).

Based on the analyses presented here, I conclude that sisterhood is a central element in the Spice Girls' Girl Power ideology. However, it is noteworthy that the band's invocations of sisterhood were severely damaged as a result of Geri Halliwell's departure from the band in May 1998 (BBC, 1998). Her departure resulted in various complications to the Spice Girls' optimistic notion of sisterhood.

Conclusion

The analyses of songs and videos above reveal a complex system of contradictory messages the Spice Girls have conveyed through their lyrics and in their videos. On the one hand, their economic interest that led to their hyper-commercialist character is complicit with patriarchal principles of utilization, as hooks clarifies. On the other

34 hand, they insist on stressing radical-feminist principles, such as sisterhood and the personal is political, thus putting their foot in the heavy door of mainstream pop industry, and forcing it to give way to ideas that undermine its foundations, such as the centering of relationships between women over heterosexual love (Davies, 2001:

162-164). In this instance, considering Hall's theory of encoding and decoding messages in popular culture is pivotal. Although Hall considers each of the moments in the circuit of messages to be autonomous, and he identifies the production moment in the message circuit process to be the point where hegemonic norms are packed and delivered to the consumers of popular culture (Hall, 1999: 508-509), one must consider that the Spice Girls are, also and already, decoders of cultural messages. As five different women of different races and classes, their potential of subversion decoding is prominent, as Fiske argues (Fiske, 1999: 84). Thus, it is in the moment of reproduction, when they inhabit the role of the encoders, that they can be argued to fuse subversive interpretation with hegemonic messages and impose a polysemy at both ends of the circuit process. This polysemy explains the contradictory messages found in their lyrics and visuals.

In a way, this is an articulation of Girl Power, the slogan the band had used since their breakthrough. Given that Girl Power was defined very abstractly by the

Spice Girls themselves (Ibid: 163), it thus maintained an ambiguous status of being everything and nothing at the same time (Ibid: 168-169; Dibben, 1999; Driscoll, 1999;

Leach, 2001; Lemish 2003; Schilt, 2003; Fritzsche, 2004; Taft, 2004; Hains, 2009;

McRobbie: 2009; Bae, 2011; Zeisler, 2016). In order to understand what the Spice

Girls mean when they use the Girl Power slogan, one should ask what the Spice Girls choose to say and how. An answer to that question, as seen in the analyses above, consists of messages stressing strong and secure individuality that finds a place within

35 a group of female friends. The centrality of the group is as essential as individual identity, and the two combined give power to a "girl" subject when dealing with men, with her sexuality, or with any other challenge that might cross her path. Thus, Girl

Power can be read as subjectivity, but it is never an individual position. This leads to complex relations the band has with its fans, relations that consist of the tension between the economic interests they have and the responsibility they accept when bringing into focus feminist issues and desires (Driscoll, 1999: 175). The dismissal of the Spice Girls as post-feminist is a failure to recognize their declarative alliance with feminist principles, which they center from within mainstream while constantly negotiating the limits to this political action.

Chapter two – "I Want a Man, Not a Boy Who Thinks He Can"8

In the previous chapter I discussed sisterhood as a crucial element of radical feminism, showing how the Spice Girls' decision to place female alliances as a priority is a key if overlooked aspect of the band's cultural message and perhaps even success. Given that sisterhood is articulated by the Spice Girls as identification with other women and girls and constitutes a distinguishing feature of female friendship, relationships with men are only referred to as romantic ones. Thus, the group's perceptions of heterosexual relationships touch upon topics such as equality and respect between two partners as well as sexual desire. This chapter will examine the

Spice Girls' interpretations of sexual desire and behavior, drawing on feminist conceptualizations of sex and sexual relations. Thus, I begin this chapter by examining – albeit briefly - what has come to be known as the feminist sex wars. This review, I suggest, can shed light on the complexities embedded in the Spice Girls' interpretation of sexual relations, and their potentially liberating character. I will also show the connections between the Spice Girls' inclusive project of sisterhood and the way it constructs a female sexual subject; it does so by articulating positive and empowering possibilities for women to initiate, enjoy and celebrate sexual pleasure.

The Feminist Sex Wars

Feminist dispute around sexuality, sexual preferences and sites of sexual pleasure have been part of feminist discussion, disagreement and activism since the first wave of feminism emerged. However, since the second wave of feminism and the sexual revolution these discussions have become even more central to feminist debates, both in the US and the UK (Hunter, 2006). On one end of this dispute are the groups who identify heterosexual sexual relations as the epitome of women's victimization,

8 Spice Girls, "Too Much", 1997: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4VoZ6afztc (last accessed 27.1.2016)

37 subjugation and degradation, and believe that male dominance is maintained and most clearly expressed in sexual penetration to the female body (MacKinnon, 1989;

Dworkin, 2006). On the other end of this dispute are the groups who identify sex and sexual relations as sites that enable individuals and groups to act as agents and subvert social imperatives (Hunter, 2006). According to this latter stance, the anxiety caused by sexual pleasure and the multiple coercive sexual apparatuses that prevent them from experiencing this pleasure testifies to the subversive and resistant potential sex and sexual relations bear (Rubin, 2011).

One of the first feminist scholars to argue that there is a constitutive link between male domination and sexual relations was Kate Millett. In her 1969 book,

Sexual Politics, Millett analyzes a variety of literary texts written by men, which describe sexual arousal as the consequence of acts of male domination over women - depicted either as females or as feminine males. The division between dominant and subservient, however, is not based on male and female anatomy, but on the identifying characters of femininity and masculinity. Millett concludes that the epitome of "performing" masculinity is in the violent, degrading and exploitative

"doing of sex"; while the epitome of femininity is by being the one sex is being done to (Millett, 2000). Millett argues that within contemporary sexual politics women are reduced to their bodies, thus denying them of subjectivity, wishes and ambitions.

Hence, the base structure of gender relations is identified by Millett as the manifestation of power in sex, which, in its turn, sets the terms for other material conditions such as economic and social dependence of women on men, resulting in women's acceptance of their inferiority. This assumption and its conclusions are further elaborated by Andrea Dworkin.

Dworkin's main argument is that intercourse is a repeated violation of the female body, which aims to mark it as weak and inferior, thus maintaining male domination in every aspect of social life. Dworkin contends that intercourse constitutes for women the interruption of their physical and mental wholeness, denying them the opportunity to enjoy freedom of any kind, thus, denying them of subjectivity. Intercourse is a mechanism that coerces women into femininity, which is submissive compliance with the expectations and demands of men, who embody freedom in their being. Drawing on analyses of literary, historical, legal, religious, and sexology texts, Dworkin identifies the sexual functions of the female body as mere expressions of male domination (Dworkin, 2006). Dworkin further elaborates Millett's notions of the exploitative nature of heterosexual relations, arguing that the core of social structure is not in gender relations that are expressed and reproduced in sexual intercourse; rather, it is sexual intercourse that defines every aspect of social relations.

Dworkin's cultural conclusions are adapted by Catherine MacKinnon, whose basic assumption is that intercourse and rape bear significant similarities, reiterating the idea that under patriarchy the two are actually indistinguishable. This assumption derives from her analysis of social reality as one dictated by men, in which men define women's options, limitations, complexities, desires, aesthetics and so on. In this reality, women are powerless objects capable only of responding to the conditions to which men subject them. MacKinnon thus contends that the root to the gendered division of power and resources and to the social structure is found in what is perceived as erotic, i.e., the subjugation, humiliation and exploitation of women.

Hence, sex is political and has to be examined, interpreted and understood as a political tool meant to maintain male dominance and female submission (MacKinnon,

1989). Drawing on Millett's conclusions about sexual politics and on Dworkin's

39 conclusions about the female body as the site of male violation, de-humanization and exploitation, MacKinnon concludes that "so long as sexual inequality remains unequal and sexual, attempts to value sexuality as women's, possessive as if women possess it, will remain part of limiting women to it, to what women are now defined as being"

(Ibid: 344).

These three feminist thinkers all share a basic assumption about sexual intercourse, as property owned by men (Rubin, 2011), and therefore, as meant to serve men's interest, which is also what maintains their dominance over women. The ultimate way to subdue women is by wielding a constant threat over their body and well-being, leading them to live in constant fear, which in turn, leaves them no choice other than to accept their status as property of men, since only neb can provide women with protection from other men. All three of these theorists draw on Marxist methodology, which argues that materialist conditions, namely masculine domination, serve as the source of dominant and subservient consciousness. While Millett,

Dworkin and MacKinnon are prominent representatives of one side of the sex-war debates, the opposite side is divided between different stances of objection to the linkage between sex and violence. These stances vary from a critique of the political strategy used by sex-negative feminists such as the three mentioned above, to a theoretical and political position which emphasizes the advantages and possibilities embedded in sexuality and sexual pleasure (Ziv, 2015: 48-53).

The theorist who coined the phrase pro-sex is Gayle Rubin. Her article,

"Thinking Sex", originally published in 1984, contends that a feminist theory of sex must liberate itself first from Western imperatives that treat sex as sinful, shameful, dirty and harmful. The first consequence of such liberation would be a denial of sex as essentialist, a-historic and transcendent, assumptions that serve, in their turn,

40 patriarchy's hierarchical notions of men and women. According to Rubin, the impediments standing in women's way of enjoying sexual freedom and pleasures are not sexual practices, but the prevention of women from taking an active part in articulating normative desires. Thus, women's estrangement from sexual contents as creators is the root cause of sexual inequality. Women's sexual initiations, be they sex work or activism, are the solution for the present unequal sexual system. Rubin's arguments are fundamental in the debate regarding sexual intercourse, their possibilities and consequences. Amalia Ziv elaborates on these arguments, while examining them vis-à-vis the arguments of their sex-negative opposition.

Ziv shows how the fundamental assumption to scholars like MacKinnon is identical to the masculine notion of subjectivity, which derives from an impermeable body, thus depriving women of their subjectivity and agency. Ziv stresses the dismissive character of both Dworkin's and MacKinnon's analyses of heterosexual and non-heterosexual intercourse, focusing on their constant and repeated denial of women's pleasure, agency and subjectivity, even in situations where the woman's position erodes the division of power. Ziv demonstrates how the perception of penetration as violation of the body's completeness and thus as revocation of subjectivity serves to reinforce patriarchal definitions, while discussing theoretical and literary alternatives to understanding penile penetration as a reciprocal act of intimacy, pleasure and commitment. Ziv's analysis concludes by insisting that an active role of desiring, initiating, instructing, and performing intercourse enables women to use their agency and claim an equal position in sexual relationships, whether lesbian, queer or heterosexual. It is the notion of sexuality as a field where women can perform their agenct that, I suggest, the Spice Girls emphasize and reinforce in their songs. In the next section, then, I review how scholars who have

41 written about the Spice Girls understand the band's treatment of sex, both lyrically and visually.

Sex, Scholars and the Spice Girls

As I showed in the previous chapter, many feminist scholars have identified the Spice

Girls as a challenge to the feminist struggle, stressing that the commodified character of the band encourages a post-feminist subjectivity in which female independence is routed through consumerism. This criticism draws on a critique according to which,

"[the Spice Girls] do not deny the dominant ideology but work within it and therefore reinforce and sustain it" (Lemish, 2003: 18). However, other scholars have argued that the group's sexual display complicates this post-feminist reading of the Spice Girls.

Andi Zeisler considers the Spice Girls' pro-active sexuality as one of their many strategies that promote neo-liberal consumerist ideology, which negates any political message regarding women's lives, needs and struggles. Thus, she does not recognize any polysemy in their lyrical and visual texts, but rather sees them as a one- dimensional profit-aimed message, substantiated by their complementary merchandize, memorabilia and commercials (Zeisler, 2016: 171-179). Similarly,

Jessica Taft argues that the Spice Girls' signification of sexuality is a part of their anti- feminist character, and it serves to facilitate non-political consumerist individualism

(Taft, 2004: 71). The dismissal of the Spice Girls as one-dimensional profit-aimed manufactured group fails to acknowledge the complex polysemy of their messages and actions, which stress inappropriate sexual behavior in terms of heteronormative standards.

Nicola Dibben argues that the Spice Girls' visual display of sexuality using costumes, hairstyles, makeup and bodily gestures contributes to their polysemic character, which can be understood as complying with the male gaze but can also be

42 understood as autoeroticism. Dibben argues that the group's feminine types and stylization invoke tropes from porn magazines, as each is supposed to bear a "unique" erotic quality. However, Dibben also suggests that the band's constant stressing of

Girl Power problematizes this interpretation, as Girl Power stands, among other things, for women and girls' right to celebrate their bodies and sexualities. Thus, the choice of costumes, makeup and hairdos constitutes a simultaneous compliance with patriarchal aesthetics and values, while simultaneously negating them (Dibben, 1999).

Lemish follows Dibben's footsteps, as she acknowledges the Spice Girls' confidence and proclaimed self-esteem, which can be seen in the celebratory character of their visual performances. But, this celebratory display, Lemish concludes, must be understood as part of the many cultural contradictions that characterize the Spice

Girls, since they display their sexuality within the boundaries of male authority, bowing to its aesthetics, its categorization of women, and its consumerist ideology

(Lemish, 2003).

Jude Davies argues that the reciprocal connection between Girl Power and consumerist ideology nourishes the commodification of feminist ideology, on the one hand; but, on the other hand, Girl Power, as it manifests itself in their lyrics and visuals as well as in unofficial publications, such as gossip columns, becomes a subversive rebellious way of being a girl, since these various manifestations of Girl

Power connect it directly with sexual agency that undermines heterosexual norms

(Davies, 2001: 159-162). I believe Davies' arguments shed light on another significant contribution the Spice Girls made to popular feminism, and this is the resignification of women's sexual desires as legitimate and healthy. This resignification, in turn, calls into question what popular culture usually presents as preconditions for heterosexual encounters. Indeed, if one surveys the many TV shows created for teen audiences, it is

43 the male characters that are depicted as having sexual desires, sometimes to the extent of being sexually aggressive. When a female character is depicted as having sexual desires, she is usually presented as manipulative and mean, usually as a result of suffering negligence and\or sexual abuse as a child (IMDb, 2017).9 Thus, I suggest, the Spice Girls' articulation of their sexual desires and pleasures, in which they are the sexual initiators, is a feminist act on its own. Moreover, it complements their interpretation and manifestation of sisterhood, which stresses mutual responsibility and the importance of a female peer-group as a source of power, thus allowing for the exploration and articulation of sexual desire in a safe and welcoming environment. In the next section I will examine two songs and video-clips that exemplify the band's sex-positive approach.

Sex and the Spice Girls

This section will examine two songs and video-clips the Spice Girls have released in two very different points in their career as a group. The Spice Girls have recorded eight songs throughout their career that explicitly thematize different aspects of sexual desires, sexual experiences and the actual or imaginary dialogue between a woman, her friends and societal expectations with respect to her sexual behavior.10 Of these eight songs, only two were released as singles with complementary videos, "2

Become 1" and "Holler", both of which be analyzed here. My analysis understands the songs' lyrics and videos to be in a certain dialogue with one another, emphasizing different elements and negating others. Thus, they are not divided by theme but presented as a unit.

9 Valerie Malone in "Beverly Hills 90210; Jen Lindley in "Dawson's Creek"; Julia Salinger in "Party of Five" are just a few eminent examples. All characters mentioned here are depicted in series considered to be among the most popular teen TV-shows during the 1990's (IMDb, 2017). 10 The six songs that are not discussed in this chapter are: "Last Time Lover" and "Naked", from the band's debut album "Spice" (1996), "Do It", from the band's second album "Spice World" (1997), and "Get Down with Me", "If You Wanna Have Some Fun" and "Weekend Love" from the band's third album "Forever" (2000).

Released December 1996 (Spice Girls, N.D.), "2 Become 1"11 was the band's third consecutive single to top number 1 in the charts. The song's title implies its intimate character, while the lyrics describe sexual lust rooted in familiarity and trust.

The song opens with a setting that describes the yearning for an intimate encounter and a wish for the addressee to share the same wish:

"Candle light and soul forever\ a dream of you and me together\ say you

believe it\ say you believe it\"

This opening sets a soft though assertive tone that reveals the anticipated encounter to be rooted in the female speaker's desire. One of the main components of this desire is reciprocity, as the female speaker asks her addressee to pronounce his mutual interest in their encounter. The verse continues with a description of what the addressee must do in order to enjoy the encounter:

"Free your mind of doubt and danger\ be for real don't be a stranger\ we can

achieve it\ we can achieve it\"

This description conditions the encounter on honesty and intimacy, conditions which are implied in the lyrics to be posting a challenge to the situation of a sexual encounter, but met with an immediate calming statement from the female speaker, believing that with her assistance, the two can overcome the challenge. This statement is backed up by the seductive character of the bridge:

"Come a little bit closer, baby\ get it on, get it on\ 'cause tonight is the night

when two become one\"

The bridge invites the addressee to take action, stating clearly that the female speaker desires physical intimacy. Though the verse and the bridge do not show willingness to

11 Spice Girls. 1996. "2 Become 1" Official Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA5jsa1lR9c (last accessed 20.12.2016)

45 actively initiate physical intimacy, thus maintaining a traditional division of gender roles with regard to sexual initiation, they do underscore sexual desire, albeit positioned in acceptable scenery, namely, candles and intimacy – tropes of heteronormative romance. The tension between romance and sexual desire is resolved in the chorus, where the female speaker clarifies her aims and wishes from the encounter with the addressee:

"I need some love like I never needed love before\ (wanna make love to you

baby)\ I had a little love, now I'm back for more\ (wanna make love to you

baby)\ set your spirit free\ it's the only way to be\"

The chorus highlights one of the main objects of the female speaker, which is her own sexual satisfaction. In it, the female speaker reveals that she has enjoyed previous sexual encounters with the addressee and that she wants him to answer her pressing needs. The encoding of sexual intercourse as love can be understood as mediation between normative gender expectations of sexual behavior, while at the same time, these links can also be understood as subverting heterosexual female sexual desires and the traditional way they intertwine with femininity. On the one hand, the encoding of sexual desire as acts of love limits subversive potential of the lyrics. On the other hand, this choice allows the Spice Girls to walk the thin line between what is perceived as legitimate vis-à-vis female sexuality, and what is perceived to be promiscuous. This negotiation, I suggest, enabled the infiltration of the band's messages, conditioned by dominant norms as they may be, into sites of mainstream popular culture.

The tension between a soft and seductive tone and an assertive and conditioning tone is kept throughout the second verse. Its first part emphasizes the soft and seductive tone:

"Silly games that you were playing\ empty words we both were saying\ let's

work it out boy\ let's work it out boy\"

Although she ascribes the failure of the couple's first attempt to create intimate relations, the female speaker immediately suggests reconciliation, to which she is already committed. This tone slowly changes in the second part of the verse, adding conditions to the viability of the suggested reconciliation:

"Once again, if we endeavor\ love will bring us back together\ take it or leave

it\ take it or leave it\"

It begins with a subtle revision of the invitation to reconcile, this time stressing the necessity for it to be a reciprocal action with a promise at the end of it. This subtlety transforms into an ultimatum, implying the female speaker knows her own worth and is not willing to settle for anything less than what would meet her needs and demands.

Her needs and demands are stressed in the second bridge, which also explains the speaker's devotion to her addressee:

"Are you as good as I remember, baby?\ get it on, get it on\ 'cause tonight is

the night when two become one\"

The second bridge undoubtedly determines the character of the anticipated encounter between the speaker and her addressee, bluntly implying that the speaker is interested in the addressee satisfying her sexual desires immediately, and as good as he had already done before. This impression is ratified in the third bridge, sung between two choruses:

"Be a little bit wiser, baby\ put it on, put in on\ 'cause tonight is the night when

two become one\"

This line clearly refers to the use of a condom, thus to the female speaker's motivation when she engaged in a dialogue with her addressee, namely, having sex. In this bridge the identity of the addressee as male is asserted, thus asserting the desire as heterosexual. While on the one hand, this assertion assists the Spice Girls to win legitimacy; while on the other hand, this assertion subverts gender roles without complying with the image of the prostitute, positioning the female speaker as a delicate predator. This bridge can also be seen as having an educational significance, especially since it is isolated from verses in the song and thus is more prominent. The delicate though clear and assertive demand to use a condom as a precondition to sexual intercourse positions, yet again, the female speaker as an equal partner in the sexual relationship described in the song; it also stresses the entitlement one has in making this kind of demands.

The video for "2 Become 1" reinforces the tension between a stereotypical feminine fantasy and a statement of independent desire, deriving from a sense of equality. The video opens with a moving shot of an endless ocean at night, lighted only by the moon, to the sound of the melody. Eventually, the camera captures a frame of New-York City, showing the city's skyscrapers gently lighted. Throughout the song, Melanie C, Mel B, Emma Bunton and Victoria Adams appear individually, while in the background a variety of visual tropes famously identifying it as New-

York City are played in a time-lapse photography technique. This technique is used in the video to distinguish between the fast pace and the demands public sphere imposes on individuals, as opposed to the intimacy the private sphere - as described in the lyrics - allows them to enjoy.12 Choosing New-York as the background image for this

12 This technique was used by Madonna to convey the same message of an aggressive and fast-paced public sphere in her video for "Ray of Light", 1998: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXCDxvnsOQg (last accessed 20.12.2016)

48 video serves to convey a message of universalism regarding the topic of the song, given that New-York is perceived as the epitome of a cosmopolitan center in a globalized world. The claim of universalism serves to reproduce the normalization of heterosexual coupling within a monogamous structure, which is depicted with six couples, some racially mixed, who similarly to the Spice Girls, stand eminently out of the temporal rush of the public sphere as they share intimate moments such as hugging and kissing.

The temporal deviation of the band and the couples alike serves to reiterate a conservative conception of heterosexual relationships as a primary staple, located outside the hectic pace and the demanding necessities of everyday life. As such, the intimate space created between two lovers becomes sacred, and this sanctity, in its turn, glorifies the private sphere as a safe space where the ideal of happiness, which is an intimate relationship between a man and a woman, can be celebrated with the physical becoming of two into one, i.e., sexual intercourse. Thus, for instance, the band's a-temporal and a-spatial location enables an image in which cars run over them but they are left unharmed. But, the external position the Spice Girls and the couples share regarding the temporal representation of the city also bears significance as it visualizes resistance to the cold, alienating and hectic pace that the public sphere imposes. As such, the prominent presence of the Spice Girls in the "masculine" public sphere complicates the implied demand that intimacy and tenderness should be limited only to the private sphere. Masculinity is depicted in the video both in the public sphere, visualized by the city, and as embodied in male characters that are part of the couples. The positioning out of time and the representation of the various characters can be understood as blurring the distinction between private and public.

Moreover, the male characters' masculinity is challenged by the ambiguous

49 androgenic appearance they all share, hence challenging the type of desired male counterpart, though not the heteronormative romance as a whole. I therefore suggest, alongside Dibben, that the use of time-lapse technique enables a polysemy visualization of both compliance and resistance (Dibben, 1999: 348).

Unlike other videos of the Spice Girls, "2 Become 1" depicts them wearing long winter coats, their mini skirts and dresses are not extremely short and their cleavages are not as exposed. The two members who wear pants, Melanie C and Mel

B, both stand out, Melanie C for wearing a long-sleeved velvet shirt and a vest on top of it, thus her body is completely covered; and Mel B, who wears a crop-top and baggie pants, has her stomach uncovered. The colors of their costumes vary between black, brown, green and purple, using gentle and darker shades at the expense of vivid and colorful costumes. Their makeup and hairdos are complementary to the subtle tones of their costumes and the atmosphere in the video, using natural shades for makeup and leaving Mel B's and Victoria Adams' hair naturally loose, while depicting

Melanie C, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell with seemingly effortless ponytails.

These relatively simplistic looks serve to re-inscribe heterosexuality and monogamy sexual desires through a show of naturalness and modesty.

However, the costumes, hairdos and makeup of the Spice Girls can be also understood as an attempt to differentiate sexuality from female nudity. Alongside the prominent presence of sexually charged gazes and bodily gestures, the choice of simplicity to represent the band serves to convey a message of assertion with regard to their sexuality and attractiveness, rather than one that links female sexuality and attractiveness to exposure of the female body. While linking between exposure and sexuality can be understood as a form of commodity display and the sole option of seductiveness, the detachment of the two can be understood as action of agency that

50 resists the signification of female sexuality as commodity. Despite its conservative subtext, this choice, I argue, actually reinforces messages of self-confidence, a sense of worth and high self-esteem, which are also expressed in the lyrics. Thus, while the video clearly wishes to distance the implied message of promiscuous sexual behavior which is embodied in the lyrics and to distinguish the message of the song from sexual permissiveness, it does not negate the pleasurable connotations of sexual intercourse for women, nor the sense of entitlement and self-confidence that are prominent in the lyrics.

The polysemic character of the song can also be identified in its complementary video, which, on the one hand, stresses conservative values, but on the other hand, suggests a reinterpretation to what is perceived as sexual in both physical and behavioral aspects. The video, I suggest, reinforces the educational import, and while glorifying a heteronormative and monogamous ideal of sexual relationships, drawing on each of the Spice characters to ratify conservative and racial norms. Thus, it reiterates Dibben's and Lemish's critique. Simultaneously, however, the video also uses its educational tone to deny the division between corporeal and spiritual and between public and private, and it obliges its viewers to identify eroticism and passion with women but not necessarily with female nudity.

The video can therefore be seen to maintain some of the subversive elements the band promotes, first and foremost sisterhood. The pairing of Melanie C and

Victoria Adams and Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell is depicted as close and intimate, though not erotic. When all five are depicted together, they are sheltering each other from the cold weather outside, thus implying that though sexual relations are preserved for male partners, they are not depending on men to provide them with warmth and comfort, but, rather, are relying on each other for closeness and

51 protection. Furthermore, the video stresses the bandmates as they portray self- confidence and a sense of being comfortable in their own skin in their bodily gestures, while blatantly flirting with the camera. This is an expression of their interpretation for inclusive sisterhood, as they consider themselves experienced women who know how to set boundaries in a situation where power relations usually tilt in favor of men.

Thus, they explicitly define which boundaries must be kept in order for the situation to allow for an equal division of power and thus desire. This, I suggest, enables them to set a positive example to their fans, conveying a positive message about how to create sexual encounters that they desire and feel comfortable and confident in. Thus, the video, like the lyrics, must be understood as polysemic. Even though the video complies with certain norms regarding acceptable female sexual behaviors, it does not repudiate the sex-positive origin of the song, an origin that stresses self-confidence, bodily indulgence, and a celebration of female sexual desires, even if these are circumscribed by dominant norms.

Other than "2 Become 1", only one other song that addresses sexual desires was released as a single with a complementary video, entitled "Holler". Released

October 2000 (Spice Girls, N.D.), "Holler" was the band's ninth single to top number

1 in the charts and the comeback single by the four-membered group, after taking a break for two years. With a title implying its character, "Holler"13 is the band's explicit take on sexual desires, expectations, needs and demands. The opening segment of the song, captured in the chorus and repeated at the end of the song, positions the singing women in clear terms of setting the tone, being the initiators of the sexual encounter:

13 Spice Girls. 2000. "Holler" Official Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFBWbH5CeRE (last accessed 27.1.2017)

"I wanna make you holler\ imagine us together\ don't be afraid to play my

game\"

By mentioning at the outset that the partner is invited to "play (the woman's) game", i.e. to engage in a sexual encounter based on the woman's desires and preferences, the whole frame of power relations in the encounter is set as one in which the woman is making demands and wants to act on her desires, but only under her terms and in order to satisfy her needs. The first verse validates this impression:

"Boy don't you hesitate\ I won't keep waiting for you\ to come and let me

take\you to my fantasy room\ you're gonna like it there\ and all the things that

I do\ I'll treat you right\ all through the night\"

This verse clearly positions the woman as the one that pursues the sexual encounter, inviting her male object of desire to fulfil her fantasies. Although she bluntly states her wish to satisfy herself in a sexual encounter with the particular addressee of the song, she also clarifies that she does not have patience and thus will not wait much longer for him to accept her invitation. The inversion of power relations is prominent in the speaker's assertion that the male addressee will enjoy the encounter, which is a masculine speech-act, which refuses to negotiate the terms and character of the encounter.

This assertion is followed by a softer and more seductive tone, aimed to alleviate any doubts and inhibitions the addressee might have, stating an interest in fulfilling his fantasies as well, but conditioning all of it in the satisfaction of the female speaker:

"We can do anything\ I'll take you all the places you wanna be\ (I'll take you

there, I'll take you there)\ I'll be your fantasy\ everything you want you will

find in me\ if you play my game\"

The softening of the tone seems to invoke the feminine stereotype of women attempting to satisfy a man, represented here in the statement that sets no limitations on fulfilling the addressee's fantasies. However, this promise is actually undermined by an insistence that the fantasy can only be fulfilled if the addressee plays by the female speaker's rules.

The chorus ratifies these preconditions, while detailing the wishes and desires of the female speaker:

"I wanna make you holler\ and hear you scream my name\ I'll give you rules to

follow\ so you can play my game\ imagine us together\ me driving you insane\

you will give into me\ don't be afraid to play my game\"

The scene that is described in the beginning of the chorus is a relatively reciprocal one, prioritizing the pleasure of the male addressee as part of what the female speaker wants to accomplish. Although the addressee's desire is prioritized, the female speaker does not renounce her position as powerful in the situation, clarifying her desire to dominate her male counterpart. The structure of the description validates the reversal of the power relations, epitomized in the female speaker's need to once again alleviate doubts and fears her addressee might have. This is a complete inversion of the normative gendered division of sexual relations.

The Spice Girls further resist notions of entrenched female inferiority and sexual subjugation as they repeat the active and agentive character of their sexual desire in the second verse. Here the anticipated encounter finally takes place, and as it unfolds, the importance of satisfying the female speaker's desire is, once again, stressed:

"So what you gonna do\ now that I got you with me\ you've gotta show me

boy\ 'cause nothing comes for free\ start from the bottom and\ work your way

absolutely\ don't be afraid to play my game\"

While both parts of the first verse were shaped as an invitation, slightly aggressive and slightly seductive, the first part of the second verse does not evoke gratitude, thus reiterating self-confidence and a sense of self-worth. This notion coincides with yet a new set of conditions and demands, which denies the option of treating the female speaker as taken for granted.

Similarly to the structure in the first verse, in the second part of the second verse the tone is softened and more seductive, detailing the speaker's satisfaction of the addressee and her wish to continue the encounter:

"We can go all night long\ doing things you thought you would never do\ (and

I won't tell you now)\ I won't tell anyone\ what we do, it's just for me and you\

so come and play my game\"

The hesitant tone of the second part of the second verse can be read as a withdrawal from the affirmative and assertive tone of the song, thus weakening the strength of the female speaker and her active demand to satisfy her desires. But it can also be read as yet another act of conditioning of the sexual encounter, in which she defines the limits to the actions, insisting on privacy. Understanding this part of the second verse as the closest point to the fulfillment of the female speaker's desire bolsters the claim that

"Holler" is one of very few pop songs that proudly present female sexual desire and its celebratory character, and that does so without linking its existence and legitimacy to romantic love or to a monogamous injunction. By separating female sexual desires from intimacy and emotions, the Spice Girls deny the assumption of female sexual passivity, thus negating patriarchal sexual essentialism and enabling the expansion of

55 what is perceived as acceptable feminine behavior. These characteristics are presented in the song's video as well.

The video depicts the four-member band as isolated inside a lighted pyramid in the desert. In the opening scene of the video, the outside world is depicted as deserted and lifeless. As the camera focuses on the top of the pyramid, the latter opens and reveals the four standing with their back to each other, all wearing black dominatrix pants and tops. As the first verse begins to play in the background, the four are separated into four different locations, signifying the four natural elements each of the members is meant to embody: Mel B being Fire, Melanie C Earth, Emma Bunton

Water and Victoria Beckham Wind. When depicted once again inside the pyramid, the members are seated in futuristic chairs; in front of each of their eyes is a fixed small glass rectangle that enables each of them to choose her preferable male figure to dance with on a square-shaped stage located in the middle of the chair-circle. The men are swapped with just a blink of any of the members' eyes, and the choosing member of each dancer is presented as drawing pleasure from observing a man of her preference dance in front of her. The swapping process does not result in discomfort, as each of the group members get a chance to summon her object of desire and draw pleasure from looking at him. The video ends with the four members by themselves inside the pyramid, stand with their backs to each other but holding hands, an action that leads to the release of a mass of colorful energy onto the outside world. After that, they turn to each other and hug, as the pyramid closes on top of them. The video emphasizes two main themes: first is the combination of sisterhood and female friendship as part of female sexuality; second is the question of who the spectator is and who the spectacle is.

The first theme draws on arguments made in the previous chapter, regarding the Spice Girls' verbal and visual interpretation of solidarity and group identity. In

"Holler", the verbal aspect of sisterhood is absent, mainly because the song lyrics address heterosexual female desire, where the object of desire is a man and the content of the desire is preserved for the two partners alone. Yet, when the visual interpretation of the song is brought into account, different aspects of sisterhood emerge. First, the choreography in the video signals a negotiation between the group's identity and the autonomous space each member occupies within it. In addition, the attribution of the four natural elements to each group member implies the wholeness each represents by herself, but the strong connections and even complementarity between all four of them as a group. Furthermore, the casting of four men to depict each of the members' different objects of desire is a choice that emphasizes both the autonomy each member preserves as an individual but, also, it resists the common signification of male objects of desire (or love) as the cause of female rivalry and competition. This argument is best demonstrated when the members are seated on the futuristic chairs, swapping men according to each of their preferences. Each one has an equal opportunity to draw pleasure from watching a man work to seduce her, while at the same time sending revealing, amused or embarrassed glances to her female friends. In many ways, then, the video problematizes feminist psychoanalytic theories of the male gaze (Mulvey, 1999; Mulvey, 1981), introducing a variety of options vis-

à-vis the role of the object of spectacle and the role of the spectator.

Following Mulvey's analytical framework, it is easy to detect the gendered division of roles in the video, in which the Spice Girls' members are spectacles that evoke pleasure in the male-identified external spectator of the video. But this sort of analysis is too simplistic when examining the gender relationships in the video's

57 narrative as well as when examining the gendered identification of the Spice Girls as female protagonists. Mulvey argues that female protagonists fail to make a complete identification with their feminine gender due to femininity's passiveness characteristic, which is a complete opposite of the role a protagonist fulfills. Hence, female protagonists can never be perceived as feminine (Mulvey, 1989: 29-30). This analysis is palpable in Melanie C's solo depiction during the video. She represents

Earth of the four natural foundations, and thus surrounded with phallic symbols such as a thick branch of wood and a snake. Furthermore, she is also the only member of the group that arguably does not comply with feminine aesthetics, as she is the only member of the group with short and spikey hairdo, dressed in a masculine "wife- beater" top in both her solo shots and the group shots.

Additionally, the costumes the Spice Girls wear in the video, both the dominatrix costumes and the solo costume referencing the natural elements in their colors, can be understood to satisfy the male gaze, as Dibben argued when analyzed a previous video by the band (Dibben, 1999: 346-348). As Evans and Gamman have argued, however, Mulvey's male gaze can be adapted to explain any given visual representation of women, thus becoming a tautological explanation that denies acknowledgment of female subjectivity, on screen and as a spectator (Evans and

Gamman, 1995: 23).

It is crucial to note that "Holler" depicts Mel B, Emma Bunton and Victoria

Beckham as active and initiatory with regard to their male counterparts in their solo shots and all four members of the group clearly convey female desire. The latter is especially evident in the scene where the bandmates are seated in the futuristic chairs, swapping male dancers according to each of their personal preferences. Not only are the Spice Girls those who take part in an active and sexual looking, they posit their

58 male objects of desire under an obligation to arouse and entertain them in compliance with what can be understood as a form of female gaze, i.e., dancing, flirting and asserting interest in each of them. In their solo shots, both Mel B and Emma Bunton present different illustrations of female desire, while Mel B is depicted as enjoying the soft and intimate touch of her male counterpart, Emma Bunton is depicted as closely and gluttonously measuring her male counterpart. It is by drawing on a notion of the female gaze that a full understanding of the video is possible. The video combines autoeroticism, the objectification of a male spectacle and the conditioning of this spectacle on the desires and expectations of the female spectator who is, in this case, also the protagonist.

"Holler" differs from "2 Become 1" in the general positioning of the sexual scene it describes, detailing the location of the scene, the power relations in it, while replacing descriptions of intimacy with descriptions of desire. Similarly, the video for

"Holler" situates the four-member band in an opposite location from the one presented in "2 Become 1": the former is located in an isolated pyramid in an arid desert, while the latter is located in the middle of the crowded city of New-York. This juxtaposition allows for an interesting dialogue between the messages conveyed in each of the songs and the locations of their visualization. As far as the differentiation between public and private spheres, "2 Become 1" maintains the presence of the Spice Girls' sexual desires outside of the public sphere but, simultaneously, embedded into the public sphere as an intrusion to its pace and a part of its corporeal scenery. By contrast, "Holler" isolates the Spice Girls' sexual desires, locating them in uninhibited futuristic scenery, where the legitimacy of their blunt expressions of sexual fantasy and the preconditions for their fulfillment cannot be denounced by outsiders. In a way, the choice of locations for both videos reveals a conservative stand the Spice Girls

59 take regarding the proper scenery in which to negotiate and practice sexuality, leaving the actual deed in the sanctity of the private sphere. Having said that, it is also important to emphasize that the band chose to release both singles into the public sphere, namely, mainstream media channels, thus ensuring that the textual, vocal and visual documentations of their sex-positive stand would circulate widely.

Conclusion

Four years and many experiences stand between "2 Become 1" and "Holler". But even though the differences between the two songs are significant, both reveal a sex- positive approach, and it could be argued that the blunt lyrical and visual messages in

"Holler" were possible due to the success of "2 Become 1". Through the Spice Girls' interpretation and depictions of sexual desires and pleasures, they prove, yet again, how they managed to use mainstream venues to stress values and behaviors that subvert and question the limitations and obstacles that popular culture, as a field of patriarchal hegemonic ideology, placed in front of them. Regarding the contradictions between promiscuity and conservativism, it is useful to consider the discussion in production and reproduction of cultural messages presented in the previous chapter, which maintains the possibility that the contradictions in both lyrical and visual aspects of the songs analyzed above might draw on the junction in which encoder and decoder merge. Thus, similar to their articulations of sisterhood, their focus on women's needs, desires and sexual agendas have been dismissed too easily by scholars such as McRobbie, Lemish, Dibben and Davies. This dismissal ultimately elides the Spice Girls' important contribution to popular feminism.

Chapter 3 – "It's a Celebration, Motivation, Generation Next"14

In the previous chapter, I discussed the Spice Girls' contribution to the ongoing feminist discussion regarding sexuality. I demonstrated how the articulation of sexuality and sexual relations as pleasurable and empowering for women constitutes a feminist act, since it construes and represent women as agentive and powerful in a field often understood to be exploitative for women. When examined together with the Spice Girls' inclusive notion of sisterhood, which I analyzed in the first chapter, we see that there are a number of intersecting themes. Moreover, these emphases – on sisterhood and healthy sexuality – are shared with their fans, inviting and encouraging them to define their own limits, boundaries, and, perhaps most importantly, their desires. In this way, as a hugely popular band, the Spice Girls can be understood as setting standards or serving as models for their fans, thus challenging basic presuppositions about female sexuality and friendship.

If in the first two chapters I argue that we must understand the Spice Girls as actively intervening in two central radical feminist debates and thus contributing in various important ways to popular feminism. In this chapter I turn to examine how the

Spice Girls "perform" their femininity. I suggest that each member's ostensible embodiment of one aspect of normative femininity is a conscious act of gender parody, and, as such, subverts the notion of femininity as natural, which is an act that draws on post-structuralist feminism's notion of denaturalizing gender. In order to demonstrate this argument, I focus on the videos the band released throughout the years, in which the members are depicted as five different "Spices", each with her own set of specific visual and behavioral characteristics. Drawing on Butler's analysis of drag performances, I show how the Spices facilitate a conscious subversion of

14 Spice Girls, "Move Over", 1997: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnuCDXMoZd4 (last accessed 27.1.2017)

61 gender performativity, thus undermining normative feminine ideals. This, I argue, is another significant contribution of the band to popular feminism, as it demonstrates the expandable character of femininity, thus revealing the performative nature of gender and possibilities this nature embodies.

Gender, Performance and Parody

In Judith Butler's groundbreaking book, Gender Trouble, Butler lays the foundations for undermining the division between the natural body, in the form of sex, and its cultural inscription, in the form of gender. Instead, Butler articulates a new understanding of the relationship between sex and gender, in which sex is always already gendered. Drawing on the Foucauldian notion of discourse, Butler questions the notion of any natural body which might be discovered underneath the layers of cultural significations. She argues that the body is shaped and made intelligible through cultural signifiers such as gender. Indeed, it is impossible to understand the body without naming it, and every attempt to delimit or name the body is a further act of what Butler calls "materialization".

For Butler, gender categories are contingent rather than a-historic and essentialist, and are spawned and maintained in order to bolster existing dominant power relations, namely heteronormativity. Thus, gender is a performative act, which suggests that "it [the gendered body] has no ontological status apart from the various acts which constitute its reality" (Butler, 2010: 185). Gender, then, can be understood as a manifestation of Foucault's notion of productive power, which operates primarily through normative injunctions and by shaping subjects' desires, aspirations and behavior. And, yet, it is precisely due to their performative character, and thus their dependence on endless citation, that gender norms bear the potential for subverting hegemonic cultural discourse (Ibid).

This possibility of subversion can be seen in the form of drag queens. Drag, according to Butler, is a locus where the manufacturing mechanism of gender is revealed, while parodying the notion of true, inherent, and natural gendered core located in a subject's psyche. While drag can also be understood to be a misogynist practice that ridicules women, Butler contends that drag reveals the performative character of gender, denaturalizes the term "woman" and challenges the imagined coherence that connects sex and gender: "In imitating gender, drag implicitly reveals the imitative structure of gender itself – as well as its contingency" (Ibid: 187). Thus, drag is always a gender parody, unraveling the notion of an original gender while drawing on the hegemonic image of gender attributes. Thus, drag performance has a subversive potential, as does gender performativity, and this potential is made manifest by parodic exaggeration and inaccurate repetition of norms.

The parodic repetition of gender is a political act that can potentially enable a proliferation of gender formations by re-signifying cultural signifiers. More importantly, it is a political act that can, in certain circumstances and in particular contexts, constitute resistance to the heterosexual binary, which preserves a gendered hierarchy, which simultaneously encourages and compels heteronormative identities. I suggest that the Spice Girls' enactment of the Spices ca be read as aligning with

Butler's analysis while utilizing the carnivalesque elements of pop music.

Lemish has focused her analysis on the Spice Girls' invocation of femininity and their interpretation of the category. She opens her analysis with a presentation of the five Spices, stressing that the five Spices represent five architypes of femininity, each strictly circumscribed by its particular characteristics (Lemish, 2003: 19-20).

This argument is further developed in Lemish's article, which argues that the Spices are presented in a way that prevents the possibility of change and to develop a

63 complicated, multi-strata identity, thus encouraging young women to invest all their efforts in their appearance while accepting their personalities as fixed and static (Ibid:

27). In her analysis of the group's film, "Spice World - The Movie", Lemish argues that separately, each of the Spices fails to represent a holistic model of Woman, thus necessitating the amalgamation of all five in order to have a complete feminine identity (Ibid: 26). This, in turn, means that ultimately the Spices encourage the embrace of "shallow, uni-dimensional" and unchangeable identities (Ibid: 27). Dibben further elaborates Lemish's arguents. She refers to the Spices as an affirmation of patriarchal constructions of femininity, comparing the five types to the portrayal of different types of women in pornographic magazines, who serve only to stimulate masculine erotic arousal by depicting a variety of options. Furthermore, Dibben argues that the architypes represent racial and class prejudice, which is reinforced by the singing genre to which each type is assigned (Dibben, 1999: 343).

Both Lemish and Dibben conclude their analyses by arguing that despite the

Spice Girls' polysemic messages regarding patriarchy, this polysemy ultimately reinforces patriarchy due to the band's failure to make a clear antithetical statement to its values and hierarchical logic. In other words, the Spice Girls represent and encourage a subordinated, hyper-sexualized, one-dimensional femininity and thus serve as a tool of compliance to patriarchy. Their emphasis is on the importance of appearance over a constant quest for a development of character, and they reinforce this compliance through the group's commodity character and encouragement of consumerism as a strategy of nurturing individuality. Hence, the subversive potential of the band is eventually denied.

Arguments such as Lemish's and Dibben's draw their strength and logic from an understanding of the Spices as serious and monolithic identities, a conclusion

64 which is underscored through Lemish's quotations from the band's autobiography. I suggest that this reading fails to recognize the parody that characterizes the Spices.

Given that the exposure of the imitative and performative character of gender does not necessitate the subversion of hegemonic patriarchal norms (Butler, 1993b: 22), I argue that the subversive character of the Spices emerges not only from their parodic performance of feminine traits, but, also – and perhaps most importantly – from the way their drag performances are inextricably linked to inclusive sisterhood, and to sex-positive approach. In other words, the drag identities enable the Spice Girls to try on a variety of identity traits, to examine the extent to which each of them is comfortable with manifestations of her sexuality, and to explore how different constructions of femininity can express and celebrate their sex appeal. With regard to sisterhood, the Spice Girls portray a group constituted by equals, where each woman is a unique individual. Yet, despite their differences, they are committed to their friendship and share responsibility for one another. This portrayal in itself is significant when directed to an audience of girls and young women, but is further enhanced when understanding the Spices as drag characters. Thus, the Spice Girls invite their audience to participate in an experimental construction of femininity. As I will demonstrate in the next section, a significant portion of this performance is dedicated to an exploration of each of the characters' boundaries in relation to the display of her sexuality. Such an exploration underscores sisterhood, since it stresses the multiplicity of different femininities and celebrates each other's differences. It also stresses sexuality as an empowering and pleasurable asset that is defined by each woman and what she desires. In the next section I examine the formation and citation of the Spices in the band's videos. 15

15 I will not discuss merchandize, memorabilia, commercials, the group's autobiography or movie, due

The Characters

In order to understand the intricacies and challenges embedded in the Spices, it is worth noting the Spices were not a chosen marketing strategy from the start. Rather, these characters emerged in the wake of an interview conducted by the editors of Top of the Pops magazine when the band first performed on the show (Railton, 2001: 328;

Spice Girls, N.D; Spice Girls Net, 2014). Being one of the high-profile TV and printed magazines for popular culture in Britain, Top of the Pops' assignments of the

Spices could not have been ignored, compelling the Spice Girls to either adopt or renounce them. Similar to the process described by Butler while referring to gender identities (1990, 1993b) and sexual identities (1993a), this signification was reclaimed by the Spice Girls, and they redefined it, making these identities "parodic replays and resignifications", expropriating them from the reductive interpretation that formulated them in the first place (Butler, 1993a: 314). This manifests itself in the various ways that they have articulated their characters, cited them and deliberately failed to cite them.

I now turn to describe the characters and their attributes, in order to demonstrate the way in which each Spice can be understood to cite her Spice attributes in parodic and exaggerated ways, as well as how we find many deliberate failures of these characters to live up to their idealized forms. Finally, I will discuss the political implications of the drag characters, their citations, and the subversive possibilities they embed.

The first character to be analyzed is Posh Spice, since she appears to embody hegemonic femininity. Posh is a thin white woman, her dark hair is straight and kept at shoulder-length and her makeup usually emphasizes her eyes and lips, and the

to space and range limitations, although all of these will further support my argument.

66 colors of her costumes are usually dark. Her premium attribute is her taste and interest in fashion, usually expressed through a reiteration of Chanel's famous endorsement of the little black dress as a key article in a woman's closet. The little black dress emphasizes Posh's thin physique, her elegant posture and her upturned nose, which all compound her snob appeal, as much as her identification with the elite designer Coco

Chanel. This look is usually completed with black high-heel shoes, which compel specific bodily gestures either when the body is still or when in motion. Reinforcing this interpretation, Posh Spice's trademark is a catwalk stand as she displays her body, while keeping a sealed facial expression and pointing a commanding finger to the horizon. This gesture is prominent in all of the band's videos as a quintet, with the exception of "Wannabe", which was before the Spice Girls inhabited the Spice identities. The condescending character of Posh also has to do with the attribution of

Victoria Beckham to an aristocratic background, which enhances her encoding as a cold, distant snob. However, Posh is also depicted as the least vivid member of the group, as she occupies space with her motionless presence, avoiding bodily activities such as running, jumping and goofing around, in contrast to her other four bandmates.

Each of the other four bandmates represents a digression from the hegemonic feminine model. Of all the four, Sporty Spice represents the complete opposite to

Posh. First and foremost, Sporty is not a typically feminine character; rather, she exemplifies the image and traits of a "Tom Boy" girl or woman (Davies, 1999: 166).

She is a fit white woman, her brown straight hair kept in a ponytail and her makeup is modest compared to her bandmates, emphasizing only her eyes. The colors of her outfits vary, but the style is kept sporty, namely, sweat pants and a sport bra, complemented with a variety of sneakers. This costume enables Sporty to move freely, run, jump, fool around and thus, her bodily gestures are not restricted like

Posh's, or any of the other group members. Her facial postures usually comply with her bodily gestures, conveying convenience and reflect emotions stimulated by the lyrics or video narratives. Her premium interest is sports, mostly soccer, and she demonstrates her own athletic skills in some of the videos. Sporty is signified as a simple, working-class woman, which is evident by her appearance, tattoos, and language. While Sporty's class is not a defining aspect in her character, it is a profound trait of her bandmate's character, Ginger.

Ginger Spice is also referred to as Sexy Spice. Her hair is dyed red, blond and orange, and is usually puffed; her makeup is usually loud and colorful, emphasizing her eyes, lips and cheekbones. Her costumes vary in colors and shapes, rendering the sexy quality of the character by exposing her arms, legs and especially her cleavage.

Complementing these costumes are colorful high-heel shoes, high-platform shoes and high-heel boots. The combination of the costumes and shoes produces a specific set of bodily gestures that recall Posh's, but Ginger's exhibitionism and crudeness are meant to signify her low-class status. Thus, she does run, jump and fool around playfully, but her display of her body is signified as sexually seductive. These bodily gestures are accompanied by flirtatious facial postures, most prominent of which is her imitation of a kiss. Like Sporty, Ginger's facial expressions change according to the lyrics and video narratives, but she is most often interpreting them as an invitation to flirt. Ginger is also the Spice that reiterates the slogan Girl Power, thus binding sexuality and empowerment. The voluptuous physique of Geri Halliwell, who inhabited the role of Ginger, adds another component to this linkage, distinguishing sexuality from gauntness, in contrast to the 1990's ideal feminine body type.16

16 Basic Google search gives ten names of supermodels of the 1990's, all of them are extremely thin women. In the Marie Claire piece attached here it is even mentioned that Tyra Banks "allowed herself

Another attribute of Geri Halliwell is her tattoos, which are emphasized or concealed in different contexts. While Ginger is presented as the sexy member of the group, connecting her sexuality with strength and capability, Scary Spice is signified as a wild, anti-establishment character, and her sexuality and power are connected with her willingness to break social rules.

Scary Spice is the only black member in the group. Her curly afro is kept puff and untamed, her makeup colorful and loud, emphasizing her eyes and occasionally her lips, her costumes usually reveal her abdomen, cleavage, legs and arms, and are mostly made up of leopard pattern print, complemented with high-platform shoes and high-heel boots in leopard pattern as well. It is prominent that the original signification of Melanie Brown as Scary Spice, done by the editors at Top of the Pops, is a result of racial prejudice. The interesting issue to be examined here is whether the acceptance of the term has reproduced this prejudice, as Lemish argues (Lemish,

2003: 27), or reclaims and re-signifies the name. Scary Spice as a character is loud and blunt, playfully occupying space while running, jumping and fooling around.

Scary's bodily gestures vary between feminine self-assured dance and masculine flirt; she expresses the emotions the lyrics and video narratives stimulate in her, and she uses androgynous postures that distinguish her from the rest of the group. These arguably contradictory attributes suggest racially-based indecisiveness. On the one hand, judging from her costumes and makeup, Scary is subjected to the sexualization of the black woman (hooks, 1992). On the other hand, Scary's self-portrayal as an androgynous rather than a feminine character fractures hooks' claim about the internalization of the objectifying white gaze at the black woman's body. Scary Spice is not hyper-sexual, her costumes, as revealing as they are, are not met with bodily

to gain weight… as her career flourished": http://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/g2173/supermodels-of- the-90s/ (last accessed 27.1.2017)

69 gestures or facial postures that reinforce seductiveness. Furthermore, Melanie Brown has various tattoos that are revealed through her costumes, and her tongue is pierced.

Both attributes were considered as markers of anti-establishment aesthetics, rather than a sexual one (Dibben, 1999: 345-346; Lemish, 2003: 19). Thus the question of whether the adoption of certain attributes and the name Scary Spice simply reinforce racial prejudice is not so straightforward. Finally, Scary's ultimate oppositional character is Baby Spice, representing the sweet and innocent child.

Baby Spice is a blue-eyed, blond white woman. Her straight blond hair is usually kept in pigtails, and her makeup is usually subtle, emphasizing her eyes and cheekbones. Her costume colors vary on a scale of delicate pastel shades, including mostly white, pink and light-blue, as the articles she wears are usually short dresses that reveal her arms and legs. Complementing the costumes are Mary-Jane high-heel shoes, high-platform shoes and high-heel boots in various pastel colors. Like Ginger and Scary, Baby's motion is not impeded due to her shoes, and she is free to run, jump and fool around, occupying space in playful restlessness. Baby's main attribute is her childish sweetness. She is portrayed as delicate, polite, happy and energetic, traits that comply with Emma Bunton's sweet voice, lack of tattoos, age and middle-class background. Baby's sexuality is implicit, as demonstrated in her bodily gestures and facial postures. She appears spontaneous and informal, but at the same time she avoids explicit displays of her body, both in her costumes and her bodily gestures; and her most recognized facial posture is of her smiling shyly, tilting her head a little to her shoulder, in a childish manner.

What distinguishes the five Spices as drag characters from feminine architypes is, first and foremost, their independent existence, one that can be separated from the woman inhabiting the role in the band, and the ability to imitate them, as so often seen

70 in drag performance events.17 The independent existence of the characters derives from their expansive, abstract and open quality, seen in the general portrayal of apparent styling and fields of interest, leaving enough space for anyone to fill them with their own interpretation; this also allows the repetition of these ideal types while constantly expanding and redefining them. This trait is not only a possible outcome of fans inhabiting the Spice roles, but it is also evident in the band's videos. Thus, following the presentation of the five Spices, I now turn to examine their citations as presented in the band's videos as a quintet. This examination excludes the videos for

"Goodbye", "Holler" and "Let Love Lead the Way", due to the renunciation of the

Spices, following Halliwell's departure in May 1998. Moreover, this examination excludes the video for the band's comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never

Ends)", due to the attempt to rebrand the five members, thus, again, renouncing the

Spices. An exclusion of the band's first video, "Wannabe", here is due to the fact that while the video was produced the Spices had not yet been born.

The epitome of the Spice characters is depicted in the video for their ninth single "Viva Forever",18 in which they are represented by wooden dolls but neither one of them participates in it in the flesh. This video presents each of the Spices

"essential" traits in costumes, hairstyle, makeup and bodily gestures, as it draws from the most memorable performances of each of the Spices.19 In a way, this video strengthens Butler's claim regarding the impossibility of ever approximating once and for all gender ideals, as well as her claim regarding gender as performative, as the

17 A recent example can be found in the auditions for the reality show, "America's Got Talent", where Melanie Brown is a judge, when five guys went to audition as Spice Girls drag queens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=988KFI-picw (last accessed 27.1.17) 18 Spice Girls, 1998, "Viva Forever": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wkuqRFXNvI (last accessed 27.1.17) 19 This is especially true in regard to Ginger, as her doll is depicted with Union Jack wings, referencing the Union Jack dress Ginger wore for the band's opening performance of the 1997 Brit Music Awards ceremony: https://vimeo.com/17399309 (last accessed 27.1.17)

71 most accurate of the representations of the Spices is created by wooden dolls. On the other hand, if the notion of the Spices as feminine architypes or essential attributes is replaced with a reading of these characters as drag, the video also provides an interesting summary of the wide variety of interpretations each of the characters has provided throughout their videos. "Too Much",20 the band's seventh single, focuses partly on scenes from the band's movie, "Spice World", thus ostensibly representing the Spices accurately. For its other half, the video presents each of the members in a different location, stressing their prominent attributes not only in appearance, but also in the cinematic scenes in which they are depicted. As such, the video enables the absence of some of the apparent traits attributed to the characters, such as Baby's pigtails.

It is interesting to note that since this video attempts to imitate the ideal

Spices, it seems to reinforce the notion that Scary's representation is informed by racist assumptions, since it positions her in a military base, covered with chains of bullets. Although this scene does not depict Scary dressed in a leopard-printed costume, but, rather, in military pattern wide pants, the reference to her black origin is stereotypical, associating the image with danger and belligerence. In this instance,

Scary's indecisive character, which as I have argued emerges from her androgynous performance, appears to be depicted in a racist fashion. However, Scary's depiction in the video for the band's fourth single, "Mama", stands in complete opposition to this depiction, as will be discussed later. Moreover, other videos of the band maintain

Scary's indecisive character, and generally distance themselves more from an attempt to accurately cite the Spice characters.

20 Spice Girls, 1997, "Too Much": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4VoZ6afztc (last accessed 27.1.17)

The videos for "Say You'll Be There"21 and "Spice up Your Life"22 both draw their implicit encoding of the bandmates from the Spices, but deliberately expand the boundaries of their ideal model. Both videos depict the bandmates wearing black articles of clothing, using colorful accessories, bodily postures and facial expressions to indicate their Spices. In both videos there is a decided emphasis of the sexual attractiveness of all members of the band, expressed in hairstyles and makeup along with bodily postures and self-assured flirtatious gestures directed at the camera.

Moreover, both videos connect between sexual attractiveness, which is encoded as a unique and individual trait for each of the characters, and being a part of a group of female friends, as in both videos the band is depicted together, and while different soloists stand out, they are backed by their enthusiastic friends.

While both videos take on a sexual tone, "Spice up Your Life" depicts Ginger as a Goth version of the Statue of liberty: her hair is shown under a black thorn crown and she holds a baton, replicating the original torch. She is wearing a black fishnet cloth on top of a black bra and a plastic black short skirt adorned with plastic spikes.

The linking of the Statue of Liberty, as a cultural and political symbol of freedom, hope and opportunity, with a character embodying "sexiness" and who has adopted the slogan Girl Power as her main attribute, bears great significance. The symbolic coding of Ginger and Girl Power as representing liberty weaves the sex-positive ideology of the Spice Girls into a song that is an invitation to join in the celebration and dance. Lyrically, the song focuses on the joys the body can and should indulge in, while visually it connects that joy with a message of sexual expressiveness as enabling and empowering.

21 Spice Girls. 1996. "Say You'll Be There": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ro0FW9Qt-4 (last accessed 27.1.17) 22 Spice Girls, 1997, "Spice up Your Life": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wfpXI5PKlw (last accessed 27.1.17)

This example of Ginger highlights the calculated process of establishing the characters, and at the same time, of expanding each of their possible performative interpretations. This image of Ginger stresses both her sexy character and her outspokenness by using familiar traits for her appearance, while referencing a universal symbol of freedom in order to expand the implicit meanings of her character. This is evident in the video for "2 Become 1": whereas all the costumes tone down the Spice traits both in color and form, Baby's role is accentuated with her solo parts, where she sings explicit lines about the anticipated sexual encounter.23 The combination of the identification of Baby Spice with innocence and purity, alongside her short dress and high boots and her dark purple coat, her hair in a mature Bun coiffure, and the text she sings, inverts and disrupts the coherence of the character, thus allowing it to expand beyond her performative boundaries. At the same time, thanks to the mature visual attributes mentioned above, the visual display challenges a sexist interpretation of her as a Lolita. Similarly, in "Who Do You Think You Are", the band's fifth video,24 a disruptive inversion of Sporty is depicted.

"Who Do You Think You Are"25 depicts all five bandmates in two different costumes, one in compliance, at least to a certain extent, with their Spice characters, and one in opposition, again, to a certain extent, to their characters. However, both of

Sporty's costumes challenge the familiar patterns and styles the character is known for. despite the relatively elaborative costumes Sporty wore in videos such as "2

Become 1" and "Mama", and her sexy encoding in the video for "Say You'll Be

23 The lines: "Come a little bit closer, baby\ get it on, get it on\ 'cause tonight is the night when two become one\"; "Are you as good as I remember, baby?\ get it on, get it on, 'cause tonight is the night when 2 become 1\"; and "Be a little bit wiser, baby\ put it on, put it on\ 'cause tonight is the night when 2 become 1\" are all Baby Spice's solo lines. 24 The song was released as a double A-side single, along with "Mama", hence, it cannot be referred to as the fifth single. 25 Spice Girls, 1997, "Who Do You Think You Are": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YriinrRGug (last accessed 27.1.17)

There", the character maintained as constant certain identifiable traits of appearance and behavior, while restricting her bodily gestures and facial postures to specific ones that reiterate the notion of a-sexual, tom-boyish woman. In "Who Do You Think You

Are", Sporty is wearing a colorful short dress decorated with lace, her hair loose and she appears dancing sensually against a wall. Her alternative costume consists of corset-like black tank-top and tight transparent black pants, her hair in a loose ponytail and her shoes bear significant similarities to the Dr. Martens brand, thus referencing a punk's look, rather than a pop star's. She is depicted joyously flirting with the camera, emphasizing her fit physique and flaunting her sex-appeal. Given

Sporty's usual identification with ostensibly masculine fields of interest such as sports and athletics, and her identification with masculine-like costumes that reduce her feminine attributes, Sporty's uncharacteristic costumes and bodily gestures in this video challenges the coherence of the character, thus allowing it to expand beyond her performative boundaries. At the same time, this video underscores Sporty's agency, expressed in her ability to use practices of performative repetition to question and blur the boundaries of her identity. In addition, it is in this video as well that the traits of

Posh Spice are explored and elaborated.

Posh's attributed short black dress is completely absent from the video, and furthermore, none of her costumes consist of black articles at all, unlike any of the band's videos released before. Her first costume consists of a white bikini, covered in silver metal rings, and silver high-heel sandals. Her alternative costume consists of a silver tight jumpsuit and silver high-heel boots, as long hair extensions are added to her familiar bob cut. The renunciation of every aspect in Posh's appearance is enhanced by her vivid dancing during the video. Although Posh uses her trademark pointing posture during her solo, it is reframed due to her costume and vividness, thus

75 creating a simultaneous correspondence and disjuncture between her attributes as distant, cold and condescending, and her playful celebration of her body. Despite the subtle quality of the resignification of Posh's character, it is still worth noticing that like her other bandmates, she, too, introduces a dynamic interpretation of her traits.

Two videos reveal the drag character of the Spices and the various significations these drag characters enable, "Mama" and "Stop". The exposure is done by distancing, to a point of renouncing, the Spices. "Mama" walks the thin line between renunciation and reiteration of the Spices, as it includes explicit references to these identities, both in the picture-album the band looks in and in weaving into the video's narrative a video that depicts fans of the band that take on the Spice roles as they dance and fool around. This thin line is also prominent in the members' appearances, which, to a certain extent, reiterate their Spices, mostly in colors and hairdos. However, the video depicts an intimate situation as the members' mothers are present on set, which seems to cause the members to behave differently than when they are "in character" and performing as Spices. The different behavior is more restraint and reticence, thus reshaping the members' bodily gestures and facial expressions. For instance, Posh's sealed expression is replaced with Victoria

Beckham's smiles and head-nods directed towards her mother. Scary's familiar wardrobe of leopard-printed articles is replaced with Melanie Brown wearing a short blue one-piece decorated with a striped red and while belt, revealing only her legs and arms. Although her afro is kept loose and puff, her makeup and bodily gestures are subtle. This depiction is interesting due to its renunciation of an essentialist signification of the only black member of the band as the wild, untamed, hyper-sexual and masculine, thus revealing Scary as an avowed and calculated drag character that draws her traits from social imagery regarding black women. In a way, this depiction

76 of Brown, as a differentiated entity from that of Scary, raises a subtle criticism regarding this imagery and its racist prejudice. Like Scary, all the other four members are depicted as differentiated independent entities from their Spices as well, revealing the intentional game of identities the band has performed. It is interesting to note that the distancing from the Spices in the video does not compromise the group's visualization of their intimate friendship and commitment, thus stressing their support in sisterhood as a prominent value to them, rather than a mere marketing tool connected solely to the Spices. Similarly to "Mama", the video for "Stop" further reveals the independent existence of two differentiated identities – i.e. each member and her Spice, by avoiding depiction of any performative trait of these characters.

"Stop" depicts the members with traits that hardly resemble any of their Spices attributes. Although Victoria Beckham uses her trademark pointing gestures in her solo, it does not convey a message of a condescending command but, rather, of communication and involvement. Moreover, Beckham is depicted vividly dancing, fooling around and participating in various activities with the town's people during the video, along with her other bandmates. In this video the members' sex appeal is implicit, while the visualization of inclusive sisterhood is centered, as the video's narrative stresses friendship and playfulness depicted between the group members and as they engage with the town's people. It is again the depiction of Melanie Brown that problematizes the video, as she is depicted wearing a yellow bikini covered with a big brown coat, while her afro is tamed into a Bun-braid coiffure. Although her appearance is relatively modest, she is the only member that has mass portions of her body exposed in this video. This represents a withdrawal from the depiction in

"Mama", due to the video's character as one that depicts the bandmates rather than their Spice characters. Thus, the implication of this depiction legitimizes a white racist

77 social expectation that black women be sexual accessible regardless of context. On the whole, "Stop" reinforces the understanding of the Spices as carefully planned and playful drag characters, as "Mama" had implied before it.

Considering my analysis of "Stop" in the first chapter, the video's message of gratitude, aimed at the band's audience, required the band to step out of the Spice characters, as it wishes to make a gesture to their fans. "Mama" is both lyrically and visually a gesture of gratitude to the bandmates' mothers, thus it requires as well to step out of the Spice characters. In both instances, leaving the Spices out of the visual narrative exposes their qualities as drag characters, which enable the exploration of different femininities, thus questioning an essentialist notion of femininity as a coherent identity that derives from the female body, and connecting bodily gestures to a constructed femininity. 26

Conclusion

Butler contends that "gender is an assignment which is never quite carried out according to expectation, whose addressee never quite inhabits the ideal s/he is compelled to approximate" (Butler, 1993b: 22). In Gender Trouble she explains that

"'agency', then, is to be located within the possibility of a variation on that (the gender assignment) repetition. If the rules governing signification not only restrict, but enable the assertion of alternative domains of cultural intelligibility… then it is only within

26This process is further developed in Geri Halliwell's first solo single, "Look at Me". In the video, Halliwell explores who Geri Halliwell is, using four different feminine types. As a part of her efforts to establish her solo career, Halliwell is interested in clarifying that she is not Ginger Spice anymore, thus in the middle of the video a funeral ceremony is depicted, in which the word Ginger is written on the wagon that drives the corpse to the cemetery; moreover, footage from inside the wagon reveals Halliwell with orange stripes in her hair, lying awake in the wagon and laughing. Other than the adoption of the method of exploring identity through the avowed creation of it, this video prominently reveals Ginger as a character rather than an essence, thus validating the understanding of the Spices as drag and not as feminine architypes. Geri Halliwell, 1999, "Look at Me": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31mlEEs9_Vk (last accessed 27.1.17)

78 the practices of repetitive signifying that a subversion of identity becomes possible"

(Butler, 2010: 198-199).

It is noteworthy that the Spice Girls exemplify Butler's argument regarding the possibility of gender variation, as they created a range of multiple interpretations and performances of femininity while exploring, questioning, and structuring it (Davies,

1999: 166-167). Clearly, as both Lemish and Dibben argue, the citation of the Spice

Girls is not free of racial prejudice, as Melanie Brown's character, Scary Spice, presents indecisiveness rather than a decisive representation of an equal black woman.

This relatively static performance in some ways challenges their inclusive sisterhood as well as their ability to subvert hegemonic norms. I suggest that the racist notions inscribed on Scary's character are the bargain the Spice Girls were willing to make in order to be accepted in to the mainstream. This bargain problematizes the band's contribution to popular feminism, but it does not dismiss it completely. Rather, it can imply that popular feminism is inflected by racism, and so are the Spice Girls.

However, it is important to underscore that I agree with both Lemish and

Dibben that the Spice Girls display polysemy as a group. On the one hand, their hyper-commercialism and its involvement in every aspect of the band are prominent, thus creating a justifiable suspicion with respect to their claim to encourage Girl

Power. It is easy to conclude from this perspective that the polysemy reveals a post- feminist sensibility, namely, considering feminism only in order to dismiss it, thus serving to bolster the masculinist hegemony, as McRobbie argues. But, on the other hand, I think the extent of their feminist messages have been underestimated, due mostly as a result of their being a pop band rather than "serious" musicians, as Diane

Railton establishes in her analysis of music genres and their popular and scholarly acceptance (Railton, 2001). The question of polysemy in the encoding moment arises

79 here again. It is prominent that the Spice Girls have, indeed, cooperated with the neo- liberal mechanism that augment individualism and consumerism, and that stress de- politicization of women's lives. Moreover, they have incorporated racism into their visual messages and ruptured their notion of sisterhood and equality between women.

I argue that it is in these examples that the tension between the roles of encoder and decoder is revealed, emphasizing the boundaries that limit the decoder's subversive interpretation of messages, and revealing the contradictions that constitute the reproduction moment of cultural messages. In other words, the Spice Girls' polysemy does not necessarily imply that they are post-feminist, but, rather, that they have absorbed hegemonic messages and are limited in subverting them.

The Spice Girls' contribution to popular feminism consist of their representation and enhancement of radical feminist ideas such as sisterhood as well as their active participation in articulating and portraying sex-positive ideology. Their reclamation, interpretation and experimentation with their drag characters can also be read as challenging gender hierarchies by undermining notions of natural gender identity. Finally, given the great extent of their success, the Spice Girls presented their subversive messages to huge audience of loving fans, mostly young women and girls.

These examples reveal how the Spice Girls used the very instruments with which masculine hegemony equipped them to challenge that same hegemony and thus brought various key feminist issues to the center of attention. Moreover, their enormous commercial success enabled their messages regarding friendship, sexuality and identity to infiltrate deeper into the mainstream, and helped to circulate alternative norms of femininity, which have, at the very least, unsettled dominant assumptions about female sexual agency and lack of female solidarity.

Conclusion – "So Glad We Made It, Time Will Never Change It"27

In the previous chapters I have examined how the Spice Girls took an active part in the discussion regarding core issues in feminist thought and activism. Drawing on the works of scholars such as Angela McRobbie, Nicola Dibben and Dafna Lemish, I identified the polysemy in the Spice Girls' performance, while suggesting a different reading from these scholars, one that focuses on the messages the Spice Girls' performance encodes. Thus, I demonstrated how the group actively aligned itself with feminist ideology and practice, while questioning patriarchal norms - stretching from sisterhood to female sexual agency and drag performance. I suggested that the Spice

Girls incorporated ideals such as sisterhood, denaturalization of gender and female sexual agency, both in their lyrics and in their performances, inviting their audience to participate in their celebratory experiments in and with femininity and feminism.

In my thesis I suggest that groups like the Spice Girls can be used as an example of how the subversion of mainstream values is possible from within mainstream itself, while economic profit and capitalist marketing strategies serve to further widen the audience exposed to their messages – even as such marketing serves to increase their economic profit. Thus, the feminist critics who claim that the Spice

Girls were detrimental to feminism's agenda create a class-based distinction between high-profile popular feminism and academic feminism; this distinction assumes that popular feminism's acceptance of capitalist principles means that it is harmful to radical feminist struggles. I argue that this exclusion is in itself rooted in patriarchal discourse, which uses hierarchical ranking methods to determine whether women can or cannot be considered members in the distinguished fraternity of feminism.

27 Spice Girls, 1998, "Goodbye": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eegDtyrSUZw (last accessed 17.1.17)

Inclusion is thus determined by women's compliance with a specific group's norm, which then rewards or punishes them accordingly.

The thin line between popular feminism and post-feminism is weaved into the inquiry performed here. Whereas feminist critics such as Angela McRobbie (2008) and Rosalind Gill (2007) identify the post-feminist sensibility in the enhancement of consumerism and individualism, thus focusing on the practices that constitute moments of decoding popular culture's messages, they renounce an examination of the messages encoded into the products that are being consumed. This method, in turn, serves to distinguish feminists and feminist practices from anti-feminists who misuse, and to some extent abuse, achievements made by the second wave of the feminist movement. In spite of the great importance this category bears, as it enables the critical analyses of popular culture texts while focusing on strategies that harm feminist goals and developing strategies to undo these damages, it can also serve to reinforce patriarchal notions of hierarchy and exclusion. Hierarchy and exclusion serve, in turn, to distance and isolate feminism from mass audiences, as Catherine

Driscoll argues in her article: "…there is something productive about girls acting on the world in ways that are widely accessible to the everyday lives of their audience. If this everydayness conforms to generic expectations for girl music, or even for girls, that does not define it as conservative or reactionary, or not without also being a vivid recognition of, and accessible commentary on, the way power and identification work" (Driscoll, 1999: 190). Drawing on Driscoll's conclusion, I argue that this is why the Spice Girls' polysemy is powerful and enhances popular feminism rather than post-feminism.

A recent example for the band's polysemy emerged during 2016, the year that marked the 20th anniversary for their debut single, "Wannabe". To honor the occasion,

Brown, Bunton and Halliwell made an attempt to reunite and tour; yet, it was legally blocked by Beckham (Nattrass, 2017; Starkey, 2017). The orchestration of this reunion has, in many ways, justified the band's critics, especially those portraying them as profit motivated and lacking any ideological commitment to feminism, women or girls. This criticism gained force when Brown, Bunton and Halliwell insisted on going on a reunion tour, with or without their two other bandmates,

Chisholm and Beckham. Furthermore, their idea to launch a reality show where women can audition for the roles of Sporty and Posh (McCahill, 2016) strengthens my reading of the Spices as drag characters rather than representations of each of the bandmates' identities on the one hand, but severely damages the sense of sisterhood that was once a prominent attribute of the band as a group of friends on the other. At the same time, celebrating the launching of the United Nations' project "Project

Everyone", a remake video was made, in which the song "Wannabe" was used in order to promote girls' and women's rights for equality in salary, education, and physical and sexual security. The video was welcomed with enthusiasm by the former bandmates, popular magazines and social media alike (Nesvig, 2016).

These examples highlight how the band's polysemy had enabled their understanding as profit-aimed on the one hand, while also representing the empowering of women and girls on the other hand. Bringing these examples into consideration, I would like to conclude by stating that the Spice Girls used the mainstream to promote feminist ideals and aesthetics in their lyrics and performances, contributing to a wide distribution of messages of sisterhood, female self-confidence, sex-positivity while encouraging a conscious, even if partial, challenge to normative femininity. I believe the contribution of this study is crucial both to scholarly discussions about the various ways resistance can be shaped from within mainstream

83 sites of hegemony, and to an activist debate regarding how to mobilize such mainstream embrace to challenge normative assumptions.

I would also like to suggest that further inquiry is needed regarding the relationship between popular culture and academic feminist debate. Given that mainstream popular culture is based on commercialism, and given that scholarly critique draws many prominent arguments from socialist theory and the critique of capitalism, it is palpable that mainstream popular culture will be considered as a field that reinforces values that maintain the social order. Albeit, I think that the increasing presence of women in popular culture, and especially in pop music, demands a further investigation as to the possibilities embedded in this field. Throughout the 20th century, many of the most prominent feminist theorists discussed the importance of economic resources and the consequences of women being prevented from accessing such resources. The stark inequality in accessibility based on gender often means that women can either compromise some of their political agendas or stay dependent on men to support them. I suggest that arguments that deny the subversive potential of pop music fail to take into account continued economic inequality between men and women. Indeed, in order for women to gain influential positions in the public sphere, they must have significant economic resources. Yet, in order to earn money they must often compromise at least some of their ideals. This entanglement may result in an ideological and practical abandonment of radical feminist political struggles, but not necessarily.

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תקציר

הקטגוריה האנליטית פוסט-פמיניזם זוכה בשנים האחרונות לתשומת לב מחקרית רבה בתחומים כגון לימודי תקשורת ולימודי תרבות. חוקרות מרכזיות טוענות כי קטגוריה זו מייצגת נטיה

תרבותית, במסגרתה עקרונות פמיניסטיים זוכים לעמוד במרכז תשומת הלב של התרבות הפופולארית אך ורק על-מנת להיות מסומנים כמושא ללעג, כלא רלוונטיים וכל מושכים. כך, על חשבונה של פוליטיקה פמיניסטית רדיקלית, זוכים ערכים כגון אינדיבידואליזם וצרכנות להדגשה והערכה. מהלך זה מוביל להמרתם של כל תחומי החיים לסחורות, אותן מוזמנים צרכני התרבות לרכוש. הפוסט-פמיניזם נשען על לגיטימציה מילדות ונשים צעירות, מאחר והוא מגלם בתוכו הבטחה לסובייקטיביות אינדיבידואלית, בתנאי שהתארגנויות פוליטיות דוגמת פמיניזם יידחו על-ידי נשים וילדות אלו.

חוקרות רבות טוענות כי הזרם המרכזי בתרבות הפופולארית הוא אחד האתרים המרכזיים בהם מתרחשת פעולתו של הפוסט-פמיניזם, וזאת בשל אופיו המסחרי של זרם זה והאינטרס שלו בעידודה של תרבות הצריכה. טיעון זה נובע ממיקוד הניתוח הביקורתי ברגעי הפענוח של מסרים בטקסטים בתרבות הפופולארית. מחקר זה בוחן אבחנה זו, על ידי חקירה של

מערכת היחסים בין תרבות פופולארית לפמיניזם תוך התמקדות ברגע קידוד המסרים. המחקר

נשען על להקת ה-Spice Girls כמקרה בוחן. השאלות שמנחות מחקר זה עוסקות בפמיניזם

ופוסט-פמיניזם, בקידוד מסרים על-ידי כוכבים של תרבות פופולארית, ובתרבות של ילדות ואפשרויות הסוכנות שהיא מכילה.

על-מנת לבצע חקירה שכזו, המחקר מציע ניתוח למילות השירים והוידאו-קליפים של

להקת ה-Spice Girls. ממצאי המחקר מראים כי הלהקה השתתפה באופן פעיל בדיונים

פמיניסטיים ונקטה עמדה ברורה בנושאים פמיניסטיים דוחקים דוגמת אחיות )sisterhood(,

סוכנות מינית נשית ואופיו הפרפורמטיבי של מגדר. על-כן, המסקנה העולה מן המחקר היא

שלהקת ה-Spice Girls אימצה עמדה פמיניסטית ואף הנגישה אותה לקהל הרחב.

אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב

הפקולטה למדעי הרוח והחברה

המחלקה לפוליטיקה וממשל

"בנות קדימה":

להקת ה-Spice Girls כמקרה בוחן למפגש בין תרבות פופולארית

ופמיניזם

חיבור זה מהווה חלק מהדרישות לקבלת התואר "מוסמך למדעי הרוח והחברה" )M.A(

מאת: מעיין פדן

בהנחיית: פרופ' דני פילק ודר' קתרין רוטנברג

ינואר January 2017 2017