You're Perfect

Remember the other day when I was saying that it's harder to affect people through literature than it is through music or art, simply because people don't give it the time? Well, I want to demonstrate that point by showing you all a video. (However, I should warn you first that some may find the content triggering.)

I think P!nk is a bit of a Marmite artist; people tend to either love her or hate her. Personally, I love her. I think she's one of the few current mainstream artists who represent something positive and empowering for (mostly) young women, in a music industry saturated with sexually suggestive lyrics and dancing. That's not to say that I necessarily agree with everything she says or does, but she makes an effort to be a positive role model and talk about something other than sex, sex and... Shoot, I always forget what the other thing is... Oh yeah, that's right: sex.

Back in 2009 I saw her live at the O2, and it was clear to see just from the fans standing around me the impact she has on young, vulnerable women. I saw that her music is not only an art, but a message. And because she can sing (and sing live, too), because she can dance, and because she has the balls ovaries to stand up and say whatever the hell is on her mind, with her loud tattoos and (at times) eccentric hair, people listen to her. She's said in numerous interviews that each of her records has been a therapeutic experience for her, and I think that's true for the fans, as well. It reminds me of that line in Eminem's Stan: "I can relate to what you're saying in your songs so when I have a s**tty day, I drift away and put 'em on/ cause I don't really got s**t else, so that s**t helps when I'm depressed."

This song, to me, encapsulates what P!nk is all about. Maybe for the occasional listener she's all about the no-nonsense attitude and giving men the middle finger, but for the real fan she's an example of someone who's experienced a lot of pain and come out of it a stronger person. She's about the insecurity we all feel sometimes, and I think you'd be hard-pushed to find one single person who can't identify with at least one of her songs. In fact, I think you'd be hard-pushed to find one person who doesn't identify with the message in Perfect. That's not to say we all have weight issues or a history of self-harm, but all of us, at some point in our lives, have felt as if we're not good enough.

So maybe your friend, your boyfriend/girlfriend, sister/brother, mother/father, son/daughter or whoever won't listen to you when you tell them they're perfect - but I'm holding out some hope that this song and its video are able to begin to counter the effects of some of the socially damaging content that both the music industry and the media put out these days.

P.S. If you're past all that 'Parental Advisory' stage, I'd point you in the direction of the uncensored version of the song (F**kin' Perfect), but I don't really feel it's necessary to watch that video to really get the message. In fact, I think I prefer the clean version.