CWW: Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato was born on August 20, 1992 and raised in Dallas Texas. She is an actress, singer, song writer, and musician. She rose to fame with the help of Disney. She had the lead role in Camp Rock and soon after earned her own show on the Disney Chanel called Sonny With a Chance. Besides acting, her biggest passion is for music. She currently has three albums released. She was climbing higher into fame, until her personal issues caught up with her. On October 30, 2010, Demi Lovato voluntarily entered herself into a treatment facility for her eating disorder issues and self harm. She stayed for 3 months, and when released she also shared with the world that she was diagnosed as Bipolar. She is a strong, young woman who shares her story to help other girls (and boys), who are going through similar issues. Before and after her treatment, she has been involved in many organizations. She is a spokesperson for an anti- bullying group (PACER), a spokesperson for Dosomething.org, a contributing editor to Seventeen Magazine to discuss personal issues like her own, a spokesperson for an organization called "Love Is Louder Than the Pressure to be Perfect," was given The Honorary Ambassador of Education Award from the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders, and much more. Out of her three albums, she has many songs that pertain to the themes discussed in our class as well as empowering lyrics. Some of them include Skyscraper, Every Time You Lie, Believe In Me, and La La Land. I chose La La Land to share with the class.
Here is the music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmjO1p9Oxrk
Some lyrics I want to point out are:
"I'm not a supermodel. I still eat at Ronald's. Baby, that's just me."- I related this to our class discussion on Jane Kilbourne's presentation. We constantly are bombarded today with advertisements of photoshopped, skinny women. We devalue curves today and have an unhealthy idea that consists of " the skinnier the better." Demi Lovato points out her curves all the time and takes pride in them.
"Who said I can't be single and have to go out and mingle?"- I related this to Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own because on page 35, she wrote about how it was a normal part of life to beat of woman if she refused to be with the man picked out for her. We even discussed in class on Friday how in today's society, no one thinks anything of a man wanting to be single, but if a woman does, it is a confusing concept.
"Tell me do you feel the way I feel? 'Cause nothing else is real in the La La Land appeal."- She is trying to help females ban together to say that the pressure on girls to look and act a certain way are not okay. I related this to our discussion on George Eliot's piece when we were asking the question about whether she should be bashing other women or not. Demi Lovato is for coming together.
"I won't change anything in my life. I'm staying myself tonight."- I related this to Bell Hooks's Talking Back. She wrote a lot in this piece about speaking up, no matter the consequences, and to resist the people who break your spirit. She says on page 76, "Moving from silence into speech is for the oppressed,... and those who stand and struggle side by side a gesture of defiance that heals, that makes new life and growth possible." Demi Lovato is speaking out against our societal norms of what a girl should look like, and she is trying to be a positive role model for other girls to look to, so slowly societal norms will change.