The early 2000s to 2010s introduced multiple female talents in the music industry.  

Women like Haley Williams, Avril Lavigne and Cheryl Loyd were dominant voices during this time, and their music videos topped the YouTube trending page for weeks.  

Upon my yearly rewatch of music videos of my youth, I became hyperaware of how the women were treating the other women.

“Paramore: Misery Business” showcases a woman walking the halls of her high school in a not-so-school-appropriate outfit. 

As she walks the halls, she torments her classmates and brings the women down by cutting their hair and trying to steal boyfriends. 

Avril Lavigne has multiple music videos where other women are the laughing stock, but “Girlfriend”  is the best example. 

How would you feel if you went on a date with your boyfriend and this other girl followed you and embarrassed, harmed and kissed your boyfriend while he did nothing to stop it? Then they try to make us think that Avril is in the right.

Finally, as the night ends, you are pushed into a porta-potty as it tumbles. Safe to say this was not very women-supporting-women.  

Imagine you are a waitress at a diner and you flirt with a customer who is also flirting back. Suddenly, you are pushed to the ground while holding food and they throw milkshakes at you.  This is Cheryl Loyd’s “Want You Back” music video. 

 Cheryl and her friends absolutely wreck this girl at work, destroying everything around them as they are cheered on.  

The girl is doing nothing wrong, and there was no indication that she knew the two were together previously or currently. 

 These music videos transcend view counts and have created harmful traits that are mirrored in their young viewers. 

 Showing these talent-filled women, bashing women.  These are artists who were looked up to and admired. 

Obviously, younger girls watching would mirror the behavior being shown, and that leads to a crash.  

In the media, we hardly see women supporting each other, and this creates harmful views of women seeing the other as enemies. 

You can pinpoint the ‘pick me girl’ stereotype rising here as well. 

 Avril had little to no other women in her group of friends in her music videos, always associated with men instead — this would change later.  

Showing this rocker woman who dominates the media, only having male friends, imprints on a child’s mind. 

 They grew up to think that associating themselves with women made them weak and boring, when in reality, it was pushing their internalized misogyny to the surface. 

In no shape or form am I saying that these women are responsible for the rise in harmful women friendships; that isn’t their responsibility.  

They are just products of an industry that is run by men, directed by men and produced by men. They were talented musicians who were sent out to share their craft with the world and succeeded. They created amazing music that has a lasting impact to this day, good and bad.