There’s always a bit of an off-kilter edge to Katy Perry when she’s at her best, which is when she gets campy, frothy, and over the top. We know she’s capable of true pop greatness — revisit “Teenage Dream” if you need proof — but lately, as she gears up for a September album titled 143, things haven’t been looking so good.1
Perry’s 143 chapter is kicking off with “Woman’s World,” a release that just might have been doomed from the jump. The moment the first clips hit the internet, teasing lyrics that genuinely felt AI generated, the comeback was on shaky ground. Then came the reveal that the song, an attempt at a feminist anthem, was co-produced and co-written with Dr. Luke, a producer who has been accused of sexual assault, harassment, and gender violence in a lengthy series of lawsuits from singer Kesha. (The suits were dismissed, and Dr. Luke denied the allegations.)
But beyond the pitch-black irony of creating a women empowerment song with someone tied to such disturbing accusations, the song is just plain bad — and the music video is worse.
We start off with Perry in Rosie the Riveter glam, as she and a crew of ultra-toned backup dancers insert themselves into what could traditionally be described as “men’s spaces.” They recreate the iconic Builders of the City Enjoy Luncheon, drink whiskey, and wave around tools. They stand confidently at urinals. Do you feel empowered yet?
What’s so head-scratching about this set of visuals, which Perry never fully commits to as satire, is that this is not how feminism should ever feel. Perry told Apple Music2 that her decision to focus on this theme was because “this is the first contribution I have given since becoming a mother and since feeling really connected to my feminine divine.” Connecting with the feminine divine doesn’t mean co-opting traditionally masculine spaces; ideally, it means celebrating the unique joys of womanhood. Feminism isn’t about proving we can do everything men can do — these days, the road to empowering women shouldn’t be centering men at all. Plenty of women drink whiskey and know how to operate power tools, but that’s not even the core of the issue here. It’s that this is the most baseline, tip of the iceberg, generic attempt at feminism, and the result is Perry never actually saying anything of substance.
Everything about the focus of the track feels 15 years too late to be interesting, and the music video doesn’t help. There’s obviously something to be said for escapist pop or harkening back to the sounds that dominated charts through the early 2000s, but “Woman’s World” is a nothing burger served on a chrome plate. Take out any of the fun arena energy of “Roar” and you’ve got this chorus: “Celebrate! ‘Cause, baby, we ain’t goin’ away/ It’s a woman’s world and you’re lucky to be livin’ in it.” Doesn’t the visual of jade rollers on Perry’s face make you feel lucky to be alive? This isn’t camp; this is boring.
In a world where very few structural or institutional systems make us feel like we’re strutting sexily through a “Woman’s World,” no part of me wants to turn up the volume on this one. The timing is bad, and so is the song. This reality might be something Perry tries to touch on in the muddled second half of the video, when an anvil crushes her and turns her into a reanimated, inflated version of herself that wields the gender symbol for woman in the form of an influencer’s ring light — and, bafflingly, linking up with YouTuber Trisha Paytas.
But whatever her intentions were, the song never comes together. This release falls as flat as the bottom of that anvil crushing Perry midway through the video.
1This is putting it lightly; things have been looking bad. Super bad.
2I checked my email to verify this quote, then discovered that one press release sent out about “Woman’s World” was left with the sample text instead of including information about the track: “Your press release should read like a news story, broken into several paragraphs,” the email tells me. It was definitely an honest mistake, and solidarity with whoever is responsible, but it’s also pretty funny.
