Women Are No Longer a Commodity

“Sit Still, Look Pretty” by Daya is a song about a women sitting in a glass room where she is being portrayed as a commodity that men are looking at in order to admire. In the beginning of the video is sitting in a chair, helpless, as men stare at her. With the electronic devices the men have, they are able

to change her appearance in her clothes, her makeup, and her hair based on what they want to see. In seeing her in different outfits, it is exemplifying the idea that women are made to please men in their appearance and are simply supposed to adhere to what men want. In the last part of the video the system overrides and Daya is set free from her glass box and is seen wearing the clothes that she wants to wear and her hair is done according to how she wants it. She is then seen dancing around the men with their shirts off showing that she now has the power and is in control of them. The last scene of the music video shows the men now being trapped in the glass box with Daya looking and laughing at them contrary to how the music video first begins. This song and music video have a strong feministic viewpoint that is portrayed through the reversal of gender roles starting with the beginning of the song and finishing with the end.

Feminism is a political movement that stemmed from women lacking the equal treatment as men. Through generations, women have taken it upon themselves to portray themselves in numerous different ways from dressing like men to dressing like women to create their standpoint on how they think feminism will successfully be portrayed (Rakow). The oppression of women has been portrayed in numerous types of media examples such as songs, movies, and flyers. However, each example takes its own twist and has its own individualistic view of how women should be treated and how to gain that acceptance and equality.

In “Sit Still, Look Pretty” Daya uses the empowerment of women is the main theme throughout the

entire video. The video starts with a strong picture of male gaze by the men surrounding Daya around a glass box. The constant staring is a symbol of men being infatuated by the sight of women, but not necessarily seeing them on an equal level (Rakow). Although women have been portrayed throughout time as subjecting to men, Daya creates a way in which she can escape the stares and control of the men.

The image of the woman being trapped and surrounded by men conveys the message that women should think twice before becoming involved with someone who could possibly be controlling. Within relationships, men should treat women as equals, for women have just as much to do with the relationship as men do. Also, Daya also indicates that being a wife or a girlfriend to someone does not mean that all they are there for is to look pretty and complete tasks around the house like cooking and cleaning (Rakow). In her lyrics, “…Snow White did it right in her life, had seven men to do the chores” she indicates that men are just as capable of doing household chores as women are.

The overall message trying to be conveyed is that women should be subject themselves to men despite how women generations before them were treated. Hundreds of years ago women were treated completely different from how they are treated today. As cultural aspects of society continue to change, so will the customs of how people are supposed to act and adhere to one another will as well.