Identity Remix - Girls Just Want a Fair Run

Girls Just Want a Fair Run

I wake up in the morning light
My mother says, "How you gonna live your life right?"
Oh mother dear we can be fortunate ones
If we focus on an equitable run
Oh girls just want a fair run.

The phone rings in the middle of the night
My father calls, "What you gonna do with your life?"
Oh daddy, you taught me to walk in the sun
And that we deserve an equitable run
Oh girls just want a fair run.

That's all they really want
A fair run
When the working day is on
Oh girls, they want a fair run.
Oh girls just want a fair run girls (girls, they want a, want a fair run, girls want a fair--)

Some boys see a beautiful girl
And never let her establish her place in the world
I want to be the one to get the job done
Oh girls, they want a fair run
Oh girls just want a fair--

That's all they really want
A fair run!
When the working day is on
Oh girls, they want a fair run.
Oh girls just want a fair run (girls, they want a, want a fair run, girls want a fair--)
They just want a, they just want a (girls)
They just want a, they just want a, oh girl (girls just want a fair run)
Girls just want a fair run

We’re all different! We’re not the same,
We all have different calls to fame,
What one person can another person can’t,
But we all deserve an equal chance.
Girls just want a fair run

When the working
When the working day is on
Oh when the working day is on, oh girls
Girls, they want a fair run, everybody

They just want a, they just want a (girls)
They just want a, they just want a, oh girls (girls just want a fair run)
Girls just want a fair run

when the working
When the working day is on (they just want a, they just want a)
Oh when the working day is on, oh girl (girls just want a fair run)
Girls just want a fair run (they just want a, they just want a)

Photo by Samantha Sophia on Unsplash

Author note: I've always really liked this song. I think it's fun, and it's all about girl empowerment. But as I listened to the lyrics, and especially watched the music video, I realized how volatile it is. Cyndi Lauper, while certainly projecting her personality, was super aggressive and asserted over and over that she was there to "have fun." And that apparently that's all that every girl ever wants. I understand the underlying message of the song, but I didn't like the superficiality of its goal. Their claim is that girls should be allowed to do anything that a guy can do. My claim is that girls shouldn't be denied the chance to have equal opportunities. My version focuses on equity versus equality, because equity acknowledges that there are inherent differences between women and men. It talks about a "fair run" because we can compare life to a race, and sometimes it seems like all odds are stacked against women. Sometimes we're in it to win the race, but sometimes we're just there to run and pull our weight--and it feels like sometimes even that is denied us. I personally feel overlooked, specifically in sporting situations, because I'm a girl. All girls really want is to be noticed and given the chance to prove ourselves in any situation, whatever it may be. Thinking about this as a response more than just taking something that I'd encountered and altering to fit a message that I wanted to portray changed the way I thought about my work. I could have changed the words to any song to give it this meaning, but I purposefully chose this one because it was one whose message I ultimately found faults with. I think that encouraging students to do something similar and to "rewrite" the media of something that both resonates with them and turns them off can be empowering and help them to critically respond to texts in analytical and creative ways.