I Enjoy Being a Girl (song)
Encyclopedia
"I Enjoy Being a Girl" is a show tune
from the Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical Flower Drum Song
. It was originally performed in 1958, as the showpiece for the Linda Low showgirl character. The musical was a comedy love story about growing up Chinese in America, and the clash between the traditional values of the old country, and the modern ways of America.
Though Flower Drum Song was amongst the least successful of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, partly because of ethnic stereotyping issues, the song "I Enjoy Being a Girl" has been widely used in other productions. It has become a familiar tune to many, as the song has been recorded by performers including Doris Day
, Peggy Lee
, Pat Suzuki
, and Phranc
. The song has been parodied
by Sarah Jessica Parker
in a Gap commercial, as well as viral video
works as "I Enjoy Being Al Gore", and works based on Harry Potter
, Xena
and Battlestar Galactica
. Comedian Rosanne Barr also parodied the song in 1990.
The song is of its era, when women were expected to marry and finding the "right guy" was important. The lyrics praise the traditional values of being a woman, who longs to be the object of a man's affection. It has often been suggested that the song notably lacks in political correctness
, especially after the rise of the women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s. It is often considered to be "camp
" or "kitsch
", and has frequently been performed by drag queens.
The main recordings are by the original Broadway cast with Pat Suzuki on LP and CD, the new Henry Hwang version on CD, and the movie soundtrack, in which the song was sung by B. J. Baker
(not of Asian descent).
Show tune
A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" , especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context...
from the Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musical Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song was the eighth stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. The piece opened in 1958 on Broadway and was afterwards presented in the West End and on tour...
. It was originally performed in 1958, as the showpiece for the Linda Low showgirl character. The musical was a comedy love story about growing up Chinese in America, and the clash between the traditional values of the old country, and the modern ways of America.
Though Flower Drum Song was amongst the least successful of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, partly because of ethnic stereotyping issues, the song "I Enjoy Being a Girl" has been widely used in other productions. It has become a familiar tune to many, as the song has been recorded by performers including Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Pat Suzuki
Pat Suzuki
Pat Suzuki is an American popular singer and actress, who is best known for her role in the original Broadway production of the musical Flower Drum Song, and her performance of the song "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in the show.-Career:Suzuki is a Nisei or second-generation Japanese American...
, and Phranc
Phranc
Phranc is an American singer-songwriter whose career has spanned several decades.-Biography:She began her performing career in the late 1970s and early 1980s punk scene in Los Angeles...
. The song has been parodied
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
by Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
in a Gap commercial, as well as viral video
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
works as "I Enjoy Being Al Gore", and works based on Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
, Xena
Xena
Xena is a fictional character from Robert Tapert's Xena: Warrior Princess franchise. She first appeared in the 1995–1999 television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, before going on to appear in Xena: Warrior Princess TV show and subsequent comic book of the same name...
and Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
. Comedian Rosanne Barr also parodied the song in 1990.
The song is of its era, when women were expected to marry and finding the "right guy" was important. The lyrics praise the traditional values of being a woman, who longs to be the object of a man's affection. It has often been suggested that the song notably lacks in political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
, especially after the rise of the women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s. It is often considered to be "camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
" or "kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
", and has frequently been performed by drag queens.
The main recordings are by the original Broadway cast with Pat Suzuki on LP and CD, the new Henry Hwang version on CD, and the movie soundtrack, in which the song was sung by B. J. Baker
B. J. Baker
Betty Jane Baker was a singer who worked with Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, The Righteous Brothers and Sam Cooke, among others....
(not of Asian descent).
External links
- List of recordings at Allmusic (accessed 6 July 2011).