What Are These Song Lyrics Really Teaching Us?

We've all heard those love songs: Guy thinks girl is hot. Girl doesn't think girl is hot. This makes guy think girl is even hotter. So what is this teaching girls? That being insecure is attractive. Thankfully, Daysha Edewi answers the question "What if you do know you're beautiful?" with her latest spoken word poem. Throughout the video, Edewi highlights song lyrics that ostensibly "reassure" women of their beauty while also transmitting the message that not recognizing your own beauty makes you more attractive. And she's right — it's messed up.

Think about it: We have One Direction coming at us with, "You don't know you're beautiful, but that's what makes you beautiful!" Bruno Mars is all, "When I compliment her, she won't believe me, and it's so, it's so, sad to think that she don't see what I see." Ne-Yo hits us with, "Girl, let me love you and I will love you until you learn to love yourself." What is it with these songs telling us that the only way for a woman's beauty to be validated is through some sort of male reassurance? And let's not forget that they're also teaching boys a problematic lesson — that an insecure girl is desirable, because she's ready for you to mold as you please. I'm not saying that being insecure shouldn't be desirable; I'm saying that maybe we shouldn't be teaching girls they'll be more attractive to someone else if they deny their own beauty. Maybe, instead, we should be teaching them that they're the ones who get to determine their own beauty and self-worth — not some external force.

Here are the main takeaways from the video; scroll down to watch the whole thing.

What If We Did Know We Were Beautiful?

"You say I don't know I'm beautiful, but what if I did? Wouldn't you just call me a bitch? Wouldn't you just say I was stuck up or vain or some other kind of unnecessary bullshit?"

We Don't Need A Hero

"Wouldn't you try to cut my confidence down to half its size so you could swoop in and tell me I don't know I'm beautiful?"

We've Got News For You

"I am not a parking ticket looking for your validation."

What If...

"What if I looked in the mirror and actually liked what I saw? Makeup or no makeup, flaws and all? What if I woke up really feeling myself?"

All We Need Is Me, Myself, And I

"The only person's confirmation I would need is my own."

We Can Take Things At Face Value

"What if I accepted compliments at face value instead of constantly feeling the need to devalue myself for the sake of someone else?"

We Are Not Afraid

"Don't be afraid to be a woman who likes herself. There is no need to love your body with trepidation because that bottomless-pit of hesitation that you feel are only false expectations appearing real."

See the whole video in all of its amazing glory here:

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