If you’re not already familiar with the music videos for ‘Perfect’ and ‘Stupid Girls’ by P!nk, take less than 10 minutes out of your life right now ;

 -Perfect.

 – Stupid Girls.

Now explain to me why, even after much censoring (that’s the censored version) Perfect has been banned from so many different places, yet Stupid Girls hasn’t?  People got themselves worked up surrounding the displays of self harm in Perfect after the release of the uncensored video, yet there are blatant displays of bulimia in the Stupid Girls video and nobody seemed to bat an eyelid?

Is it because the entirity of the Stupid Girls song and video, although carrying a very serious message, is a mockery?  The whole video is clearly making fun of ‘Barbie’ type humans, girls who only care about the outside and nothing else.  Does this mean that nobody takes the video seriously, even though it poses some serious questions and carries an important message?  “I’ve eaten more than 300 calories today, how unsexy.” That’s anorexia promotion.  Then using a toothbrush to trigger her gag reflex? Bulimia.  I know the video is promoting to NOT be like these girls, but I can’t help feeling that the coverage of these issues in the video is a little insensitive.  There are people out there, girls and guys a like, who are facing a constant battle with eating disorders, who genuinely want to get better, but all this video does is fuel stereotypes.

The Perfect video is a complete contrast.  It’s serious from the off and really quite dark.  In a lot of ways, it’s a lot more like P!nk’s usual work.  Does this bare the message more strongly?  When she first released the video, Alecia wrote “Cutting, and suicide, two very different symptoms of the same problem, are gaining on us. (the problem being; alienation and depression. the symptoms; cutting and suicide). I personally don’t know a single person who doesn’t know at least two of these victims personally.”  I think that it’s wonderful that somebody is willing to stand up and promote these issues.  She does more than this though, for people who suffer from depression, or selfmutilation or suicidal thoughts.  She looks them in the eye and says that things CAN get better, if only you hold on for just that little bit longer.  Personally, I think that’s inspiring, but instead people are accusing her of encouraging impressionable and vulnerable young people to kill themselves, which anybody with half a brain could see the video is not about.

She intentionally set out to cause controversy, she wanted people to stand up and take note of the issues…and she succeeded.