MATERIAL GIRLS

On November 30, 1984, the American singer Madonna released the song  “Material Girl’ from her second album “Like a Virgin”. The lyrics of the song identifies with materialism associated with women. Even the video of the song was a mimicry of Marilyn Monroe’s performance of the song “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”.

Madonna is reported to have remarked that she regrets recording the song “Material Girl” because the name became a pseudonym for her in the main stream media. The song has been labeled an empowering influence for women and it became a subject of debate. 

After listening to the lyrics of this song, it becomes clear why the song could have raised some debates. 

“...if they don’t give me proper credit, I just walk away.
They can beg and they can plead
but they can’t see the light, that’s right
‘cause the boy with the cold hard cash
is always Mister Right, cause we are 
living in a material word
And I am a material girl...”

There is a whole lot of truth in the song. Everyday we all strive to do some work to help us get some food, clothes or anything that we may need to use in our daily lives. We are truly living in a material world and we need material things to survive or entertain ourselves. 

A number of female musicians have sung songs similar to Madonna's song. The American soul diva Gwen Guthrie’s “Ain’t Nothing Going On But The Rent” was released in 1986  and it became her biggest hit. The line “No romance without finance. You gotta have a J.O.B if you wanna be with me” became a very famous catchphrase among many women in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The reason was simple. The song said exactly what every woman was thinking but did not have the courage to say it. 

In 1999, the group Destiny’s Child, comprising Beyonce Knowles, LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson and Kelly Rowland, released a song “Bills, Bills, Bills”. The song was a success and it provided the group their first chart topper. 

“At first we started out real cool
Taking me places I ain’t never been
But now, you’re getting comfortable
Ain’t doing those things you did no more
You’re slowly making me pay for things
Your money should be handling ...

Can you pay my bills?
Can you pay my telephone bills?
Do you pay my automo’ bills?
If you did maybe we could chill
I don’t think you do
So, you and me are through”

Like the other two songs, "Bills, Bills, Bills" also talked about not going into a relationship where the man can not afford to pay or buy anything on behalf of the woman. 

Although the lyrics from these famous songs could have provided women with catchphrases, I am sure the same lyrics could have been intimidating to a lot of  men. When these songs came out, I was young and they never really got to me. I was not in a relationship and I was not even planning to have one. All I did was listen and sing  along. But now, like any other mature male, I can relate to them.

It is only now that I have come to realise how accurate those lyrics were. Women have always looked for a men who can provide them with some kind of security. This has been the norm for ages and ages and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that because men also enjoy spoiling women by giving them gifts and taking them to place they have not been before. The only problem we have now is that some women have taken this gone out of hand. 

These women go into relationships purely to gain wealth.  It would be great to be in a relationship where you have every material thing that you wanted and on top of that you also have lots of love. But this new breed of women are excessively concerned with physical comforts or the acquisition of wealth and material possessions, rather than with spiritual, intellectual or cultural values. 

Some women may be even be employed and they get a salary of their own at the end of the month but they do not even bother to share the house-keeping expenses with the husband because they believe that it is purely a man’s responsibility to take care of such things. When such a woman gets paid, she spends her money on shoes, cosmetics and her own clothes only. 

Others have made a vow that they will only date someone that has a great job and drives an expensive car. These women’s top priority is money. Relationship is second. This is the type of woman who will even date married men as long as he can give her a lot of money. 

In our modern world, there is a lot of pressure on women, especially those who do not have a steady source of income. A woman must look great. Her hair must be well done and her clothes must be clean and fashionable. Therefore it is understandable that if a woman can not afford to make herself look presentable, it would be right to find a man who can assist her. It makes perfect sense that such a woman must look for a man who is bale to provide her with all the necessities that she requires.

Materialism is a huge part of our modern living. Everyone is materialistic to a certain extent but why does most of society think there are more women who are materialistic than men? The answer is simply because  there are a lot of women who go overboard. Another reason is that more women put material things first before love. 

The most common name used for such women in Zambia is 'Gold Digger'. Many women hate this name because it puts them on the spot. A gold digger is a woman whose prime interest in a relationship is material benefits. A woman who cares more about a man's bank account than she does about the man.

Gold diggers do not stay in a marriage when a man becomes broke. He may have been doing everything for her but the moment the money finishes due to some unforeseen circumstances, she will run away just like the line from the song "Bills, Bills, Bill" which says "So, you and me are through”.

Gold diggers do not even like a man who buys them cheap presents or men who bring flowers on special occasions instead of an expensive neck chain. Some women will be elated when you write them a sweet poem but a gold digger will hate you for that. Poems and cards mean nothing to her. 

One thing worth remembering is that men are naturally providers. A man will give a woman what he thinks she is worth. 


Image courtesy of stockimages, freedigitalphotos.net