At a time when women were struggling to gain the same respect as men, emerged singer Cyndi Lauper, motivated to use her fame as leverage for the feminist movement. In 1983 when Lauper’s famous hit, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” was released, women were kept from obtaining high-level jobs at corporations and issues such as abortion and sexual harassment flooded the US Congress. According to Lauper’s book, I Want My MTV, Cyndi specifically intended her song to be a “message that we [women] are powerful human beings.”

In her video, Cyndi wears brightly colored clothing and struts down the streets of New York, pushing men to the side.  Cyndi accessorizes with a chastity belt symbolizing her entrapment in a society dominant by men. Cyndi’s music video included her friends and family instead of actors or models because, “when a women saw the video, she would see herself represented, whether she was thin or heavy, or glamorous or not, and whatever race she was.”

As Cyndi sings, “some boys take a beautiful girl and hide her from the rest of the world,” a growling man appears, wearing a gorilla suit and scoops up a woman as if he’s capturing a princess.  This reinforces Lauper’s idea that men dictate society and women must oblige to their standards or face punishment. The contrast of black and white shows this outdated view juxtaposed with the idea for gender equality. As the sun beats down on Lauper’s face, she sings, “I want to be the one to walk in the sun,” implying her pride to be a feminist.  

Cyndi’s mother and father demonstrate the old fashioned views perfectly. The mother’s repetitive glances at her watch add a quirky touch yet insinuate her disappointment that her daughter does not come home until the next morning. As Cyndi argues with her mother, the older woman grasps her chest, shocked at her daughter’s attitude. Cyndi wants girls to embrace this attitude and liberate oneself of society’s influence to “live your life right”.

Although not widely know, Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” was a cover of Robert Hazard’s song. Hazard told the story of a young man who enjoys taking advantage of girls every night.  Hazard’s lyrics include, “Father dear, you are the fortunate one. Girls just want to have fun.” Cyndi switches the position of these lyrics to say that she and her mother are not the fortunate ones because they must fight for equality. Although the verses are almost identical, this small change makes a big difference in significance. Simply shifting the phrases she found degrading, Lauper created an empowering feminist anthem in response to an insulting song.  For this reason the song lives on through generation of women.