We all know at least one song we’ve heard where we think we know the lyrics and later learn we were wrong. I’ve been guilty of this many times and it was not until last weekend I learned of one lyric I had wrong for years now.
My oldest daughter recently had her first dance recital. We got to watch some of the older dancers perform in her show as well. One of the songs an older group danced to was the Pussycat Dolls “When I Grow Up.”
For years I have thought the lyrics to the chorus include “When I grow up I want to be a star, I wanna be in movies, I wanna have boobies.” Turns out the correct lyrics are “When I grow up I wanna be a star, I wanna be in movies, I wanna have groupies.”
I realized my mind automatically thought they were singing about growing up and wanting boobs. Is that really what we women all want?
As an athlete I’ve never wanted big boobs because well you know they get in the way and move too much. But we all know how much guys obsess and notice big boobs. And because of this don’t we secretly all want to grow up and have boobies?
And that’s why I had to laugh that I thought the lyric to the song was boobies and not groupies. It’s not like boobies wouldn’t fit right? Who wouldn’t want to be a star in movies with boobies? But it turns out the Pussycat Dolls were singing about being a star, in movies with groupies.
This is all even more ironic as I will be losing my boobies soon as I will be having a bilateral mastectomy. It’s hard because they are one of the defining features of us as females.
But during this cancer battle, I’ve realized how unimportant looks are. I learned it’s not about the boobs or hair, it’s about staying alive. If I have to l lose my hair (which I know is temporary) and boobs to do so, who cares. Looks aren’t what matters in life, it’s what is on the inside that counts.
And that’s why I find this whole lyric discussion so funny. I’m 40 and still think girls all dream of big boobs. Can we change this mindset? Can we respect girls and women and their bodies and not project what we want their bodies to be?
Thankfully Barbie is more proportionate now and comes in everyday professions like doctors, scientists, veterinarians, yoga instructors, soccer players. We are finally making Barbie not about the perfect figure but more realistic.
The reality is women are more than their bodies and we need to continue to change the mindset that our bodies define us. We should want to be movie stars with groupies not boobies as the Pussycat Dolls sang.
#misheardlyrics #pussycatdolls #groupiesnotboobies #whenigrowup
#youcanbeanythingBarbies
