For those who are not familiar Olivia Rodrigo’s second album GUTS is about being a teenage woman, in that she is both infantilized, sexualized, and criticized for everything all at the same time. This vague sort of womanhood compounded with the lens of fame creates a specific bubble of control that she both has because of money plus relatability and does not have because of media and perceptions. The introductory song on GUTS titled “all-American bitch” highlights the sort of pressure that has become a part of life for her and many others. The track primarily has a soft and dainty sound with semi-satirical lyrics that project an “I’m always perfect and amazing” kind of mentality with lyrics including “I feel for your every little issue, I know just what you mean” and “Coca-Cola bottles that I only use to curl my hair”. The very feminine sound of the verses is contrasted by the anger and resentment in the chorus where Rodrigo proclaims herself “a perfect all-American bitch/ with perfect all-American lips/ and perfect all-American hips”. She must be perfect both in the soft girlish way of being a great listener as well as in sexy objectification way of her body being “all-American” too. Being perfect in two seemingly contrasting ways is emotional labor to me. While she can write a song that a lot of women relate to the industry and the world still looks to her to be all-American. To not complain in interviews and when compared to others, to not feel her emotions and heartbreak through songs, to not be too sexy or too unappealing. Even in song writing and singing as the Beck article put it, she is “monitored for [her] ability to produce an emotion”. As touring kicks off in February Rodrigo will be compelled to sing with the same emotions of heartbreak, anger, and love as she did when first producing the album even if she feels none of those in the present moment.
The outro perfectly sums up the emotional labor of feeling like you must be perfect, so much so that it was a TikTok trend to put your own scenarios and frustration over the lines “All the time/ I’m grateful all the time/ I’m sexy, and I’m kind/ I’m pretty when I cry”. Not everyone is always a pop star with millions of eyes on them and has making others feel things as a full-time job, but the pressure to be perfect in every situation is one that many relate to.
Unruly Bodies 
This had to be one of my favorite trends on Tiktok, the song speaks volumes on how women move throughout society, because BITCH…I’m so tired! Exhausted! Because even if I lie to myself saying “I don’t care what they expect of me, I’m gonna do whatever I want”, the constant droning reminders are always there. I always think about what I should look like, how I should act, comparing myself to the other women…and it’s every minute of everyday. It’s not an understatement when you mentioned how much pressure women are under, we’re literally drowning in contradictory expectations, apart from the trials of daily life. You can’t be stressed and look messy, you can’t be beautiful and mean, you can’t look people in the eye but you can’t ignore them…multi-media has played the rhetoric over and over again, a constant cry for help, but in the end…is anyone really listening? Loved your post, it got me spiraling, but in a good way
I absolutely love this song from Olivia Rodrigo’s album, I have listened to it multiple times just today. I think the message about feeling the need to be perfect all the time can be hidden from people on the first listen behind lines in the chorus like “I know my age and I act like it” and “Got what you can’t resist” which sound like typical songs about young adults acting crazy and sleeping around, but that is not what the song is about at all. I think the line “Coca-Cola bottles that I only use to curl my hair” is a perfect example of what the song is really about. Coca Cola is an American staple, but its also very high in sugar and is seen as bad for you – by saying that she “only” uses coca cola bottles to curl her hair, Olivia Rodrigo is implying she doesn’t drink the soda, because she is so focused on trying to maintain a “perfect” body (which she also does by curling her hair in the first place). It’s great lyricism, in my opinion.
I love what Olivia has done with this song. It’s so amazing in the way that is sonically represents the meaning of the lyrics. Women in our society are expected of so much, the guidelines are endless. You can never win. This song really brings light to that. I love screaming this song in the car, and it’s unfortunately comforting to know that others relate, and not just myself.