I Know You (DON'T) Want It: Using Music to Teach Women's Empowerment

When most of us listen to the strong beats associated with pop music, we want to get up and move! Most of the time, we don't take the time to actually listen to the lyrics of the songs to which we are dancing. The song, Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke and Pharrell, has been titled a "rape culture" or "victim blaming" song. And it is incredibly popular in Fiji.

I try to include women's empowerment in every class or meeting that I hold because Peace Corps Fiji is part of Let Girls Learn. Let Girls Learn is an initiative by the US government to try to bridge the gender gap in global adolescent education; for more information on Let Girls Learn visit, http://letgirlslearn.gov. This means that as Peace Corps Volunteers, we intentionally try to make sure we are including the girls in our curriculum and scheme of work. Here are a few examples of how I include this in my work:

• Intentionally choose girls to answer questions
• Make sure girls have the opportunity for leadership in class and at school
• Speak up at school to ensure that girls are included on all opportunities
• Educate staff through story-telling at lunch, or Talanoa
• Covering topics with both boys and girls about gender-based violence
• Attempting to make connections with the female youth in order to empower them in the village
• Use the PE/Music/Arts courses to teach culturally-appropriate women's leadership
• Use music to highlight gender differences in class through discussion

Often, this is as simple as adding an extra set of questions at the end of class. What did you learn? How can you apply this at home? How is how you apply it different from the opposite sex? Why does this song speak differently about girls versus guys? 

I've been working on teaching awareness about sexual assault, boundaries, trauma, resiliency, and reproductive health. Because I am a music therapist, I typically choose to do this through music; although, sometimes I use art and sometimes I do not use any creative arts techniques if I don't want to ingrain a scary topic into their head, like the definition of rape. I typically do not have access to where my students stand, so I have to teach to the middle and assume someone has been assaulted. I have to assume I will trigger someone. The statistic., according to the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, is that 64% of women, who have been in an intimate relationship will have been assaulted in some way. 

This topic is prevalent and it is powerful, but it is also, "taboo" or "tabu," in the Fijian language. Talking about sex is so scary and out of the norm, that it is almost anti-cultural. By using music, I am able to highlight the prevalence in the media and use a medium that is deeply rooted in the Fijian culture; it's also a safe zone. Using music from the USA typically allows me a little more room to talk about "tabu" topics because it's not quite as "tabu" in the USA. Typically, my students are fairly concrete learners and will take the songs used in class as literal meanings or they do not think about it much, if at all. This leads us into my "Blurred Lines" intervention; credit given to my former internship director, Tania Cordobés, MMT, MT-BC from the Children's Advocacy Center of Collin County for the inspiration for this intervention. 

I will get my "music box" ready and pass out the lyrics to the students or write them on the chalk board. I ask the students to underline one line from the song that stands out from them. We listen to the song and generally, my students will start either tapping in rhythm on their desk or singing along because Fiji is such a musical culture. They will then ask me to play it "Again, Madam" or for the "reggae" version. This is a song they hear on the bus, in the community halls, during grog sessions and everywhere. 

I ask them to tell me their lines for the songs and then I write the definition for rape culture and victim blaming on the board. I ask what they think these two definitions mean in regards to this song. I will say that this song made international news and ask them to guess why, but all the while, we point out that it has a fun, catchy beat. At this point, they start to grasp the concept and we discuss consent. Typically, I use something similiar to the "tea video" (find it here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fGoWLWS4-kU) because they drink tea all the time here. 

And they get it. Some students even get disgusted at the song. 

We discuss why boundaries are important and what would they do if someone said this to them?

You're a good girl. I know you want it. Come on, just give it to me. Everyone else does. Be a good girl and do what you're being told to do.  

Typically, then the girls will say, "tell them no." 

Okay, but this guy... He isn't taking no for an answer. He keeps pestering you and he won't leave you alone. What do you do now?

Then they start to talk about real solutions. What can you really do? With the guys, I usually have to change the scenario a bit to if a guy was flirting with them to drive the point home. Then, I will state that how you feel, that is how girls feel when you say things that they don't want to hear. And we discuss. 

I'm not sure why this intervention works as well as it does. Probably because music is the language of adolescents. Probably because there are people who really deal with this all the time here. Maybe it's because this is a topic I'm passionate about. For whatever reason, it works. And I am so thankful to be trained to use music therapeutically. 

I hope this gives you some insight into the Fijian culture, Let Girls Learn initiative, and our Youth Empowerment project here in Fiji. Comment below with what kinds of things you do to include girls or women's empowerment into your work!