I recently hear Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”. It has a catchy beat, and at first I was happily dancing to lyrics like “If you liked it then shoulda put a ring on it,” reveling in the idea of girl telling her ex off. Then after listening to it for awhile, I got the same feeling I got after repeated listening to “Irreplaceable”, another song that at first I really dug.

What was a talented, beautiful, successful woman doing with this jerkoff in the first place? In “Irreplaceable” she’s living with a guy, buying him expensive presents… and he’s so special she can have another guy just like him “in a minute?” It begs the question, is it feminist to be proud of yourself for dumping a guy you never should’ve gone out with to begin with? Now, all of us have those relationships… the “what was I thinking” times. And we all should be proud of ourselves for getting out of that. But to feel feminist for dating a low rent, cheating gigolo, ditching him, and then writing a chipper song about how he never meant anything to you… well, I dunno. There seems to be a fundamental flaw there.