9. I am Woman – Helen Reddy 1972
You can bend but
never break me
'Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
'Cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul
The world lost Helen Reddy last week.
Her iconic song
I am Woman came about as a result of Reddy’s search for a song that
would express her growing passion for female empowerment. In a 2003 interview in the Sunday Magazine (published with the Sunday Herald
Sun and Sunday
Telegraph), Reddy explained:
“I couldn't find any songs that said what I thought being
a woman was about. I thought about all these strong women in my family who had
gotten through the Depression and world wars and drunken, abusive husbands. But
there was nothing in music that reflected that. The only songs were 'I Feel
Pretty' or that dreadful song 'Born A Woman'. (The 1966 hit by Sandy Posey had
observed that if you're born a woman "you're born to be stepped on, lied
to, cheated on and treated like dirt. I'm glad it happened that way".)
These are not exactly empowering lyrics. I certainly never thought of myself as
a songwriter, but it came down to having to do it.”
Reddy also credits her years on stage as fuelling her contempt
for men, she’d said:
"Women have always been objectified in showbiz. I'd
be the opening act for a comic and as I was leaving the stage he'd say, 'Yeah,
take your clothes off and wait for me in the dressing room, I'll be right
there'. It was demeaning and humiliating for any woman to have that happen
publicly."
This week, amongst other things,
the Q+A panel - which included some extremely accomplished women, discussed thepassing of Helen Reddy. During this episode the panel discussed how far society
has moved since women’s lib in the late 60s to early 70s. Perplexingly, the
panel also discussed the very disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 and the
Australian Government’s economic stimulus to reboot the economy from COVID-19, on
‘Oh my God! A woman!’.
So, almost 50 years after Helen Reddy first belted out this tune, the lyrics of
I am Woman are still relevant today as women watch their male
contemporaries gain many forms of government support while we miss out.
That said, and while not meaning
to take away from Helen Reddy, no man could sing I am Woman with the
power of Mahalia Barnes at the end of this Q+A episode.
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