I don’t write or reflect enough on women’s issues, but Brit K.T. Tunstall has lyrically provoked my thinking on the feminine appeal and beauty. In “Suddenly I See” (a great song), Tunstall sings:
And she’s taller than most
And she’s looking at me
I can see her eyes looking from a page in a magazine
Oh she makes me feel like I could be a tower
A big strong tower
She got the power to be
The power to give
The power to see
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
These lyrics are, I take it, are satirical. They construct feminine identity upon airbrushed beauty and success of a magazine model, who promises the self-esteem power of self-reliant significance, sufficiency, and benevolence (to be, to give, and to see). Living with a very fine yet fallen woman for almost seven years, I would conclude that Tunstall has seen what many women want to be, a strong tower–beautiful, successful, benevolent.
Do such images possess such power? A penetrating gaze, that defines what feminity should be? Is there a modicum of truth and virture in these things or are they all cosmetic and of no substance? What might a woman with Christ as her strong tower look like compared to Tunstall’s satirical diva?