Music, like language, has not stopped evolving. Some terms that have appeared in recent years are here to stay. But not only when writing songs, also to use in our daily lives. And, if language is capable of creating realities, music can change them, turning terms that meant nothing into words full of power.
But the thing Don “t stay there. Another superpower that music has is to take a term that has been used as an insult for years and turn it around. Something that normally takes years to achieve can be accelerated thanks to the musical effect. Because music not only calms beasts, it also helps educate them and become more empathetic.
On the occasion of 8M, at WECB we wanted to compile some of the terms that have appeared in songs and that have become words full of symbolism and feminine power. Terms that, when we say them, we think of women full of strength and loaded with sisterhood.
Motomami
Two years have passed since Rosalía taught the world a new word, a term that, without knowing it, was going to go down in the history of music: Motomami. A term that she herself explained and that means strength (motorcycle) and fragility (mommy). Rosalía herself explained in El País that the word arose in honor of her mother, who always rode a motorcycle. What was not expected is that years later it would become a term to describe a strong, feisty and determined woman, but who, like the rest of us mortals, has her own insecurities.
Now, two years later, Motomami has become a powerful word. A term that is used to refer to all those women who face all types of situations in life. From grandmother to daughter: they are all motomommies.
bug
If one searches bug In the dictionary, you will find the following: “high-ranking drug trafficker.” A meaning that is far from what Karol G gave it in her 2020 hit. The Colombian star took this term and reinvented it so that it could be used by other women besides Griselda.
“For me the word was powerful, I wanted to use Bichota, but with a meaning related to a powerful, great and incredible woman,” said the star in the middle of promoting this single. And, over the years, the word Bichota is not only a term used among the star’s fans, but also among young people to refer to a woman with clear ideas.
Bitch
One of the last words to join this list is Bitch. The word is undergoing a redefinition (at least for a part of the population) thanks to the Nebulossa theme. The duo, who will represent Spain in 2024, were clear about their intention: to make an anthem of empowerment and personal vindication in the face of all those labels and judgments. And the lyrics address the way society judges all women’s behaviors.
“It is a way of re-signifying the word. It is also how I have felt at times, because it is also how I have felt many times due to my personal situation, because I am a person also of an age, and that personal situation has led me many times to feel rejected, discriminated against and humiliated,” said the singer.
Bitch
Like BitchRigoberta Bandini also redefined the term Bitch in her 2021 song. “I was born to be a bitch, please let me be one. But I never want to wear the muzzle,” the artist said in the song. The singer, with her particular way of writing, made an analogy of her life with that of a dog who lives free. A true cry for freedom that ends with “Because no one can forbid me from barking.”
Lolita
One of the latest terms to reach this musical dictionary is that of Lolita. Last January, Belén Aguilera released this hyper pop song in which she redefined the aging of women. The singer broke the silence on behalf of everyone to talk about this fear that exists, talking about the passage of time. “I’m taking steps to the rhythm of time, I’m such a slave to this moment,” she says at one point.
The singer criticizes that fear imposed by society by being only conceived as valid and pretty only when they are young. Especially in an industry like the music industry.
The Babies
TOItana has a term to refer to her group of friends: their unconditional support in good times and bad. Those people who are always there when you call them and who become your safe place in the most complicated moments. She calls them The Babies. She thus nicknamed them at her club Alpha de ella and since then it has become for many the perfect term to refer to her group of friends.
“I want to dance twerking all night with the babies. I want to toast a love that never was,” says Aitana in the song. And the Catalan artist shows that she only needs her group of friends to enjoy and feel good about her.
Merichane
Zahara released one of the best albums of 2021 with Bitch. The artist spoke openly and openly about all of her life experiences: from her time at a Catholic school to the complicated treatment she had in the music industry for being a woman. She exploits this theme in her song. Merichane. A song whose lyrics criticize all those behaviors imposed by society that women have to go through. And why was she called Merichane?
Merichane was the name of one of the prostitutes in the town of Zahara and the nickname that her classmates decided to give her when she was only 12 years old, as she explained on her Instagram account. Years later, after listing some of the horrible experiences she went through in her life, Merichane, the name of that prostitute, has become an anthem. And, like Zahara, many women have gone through similar treatments.
dolls
“Today I go out with the dolls and we return at dawn. The bottle is uncorked, today there is Moët rain,” Tini and La Joaqui sing. The two artists come together to redefine this term, which has been associated with a compliment where only the person’s physique is rewarded. Tini and La Joaqui decide to tell their friends. But the thing Don “t stay there. They make it clear that they have all the purchasing power and that they do not need anyone to pay them for their whims.
mafia
Something similar to dolls This is what Nathy Peluso did with mafia. The Argentine singer took the term and turned it around. “I’m going to be a mafia member, the wonderful one, let the bad men fear me when I get to my car”, said the artist in the 2021 theme. And with these words Nathy vindicated all those women who distance themselves from being delicate for a man. She is the one who decides with a “if you think it’s up to par, then send me an email.”
Wolf
We cannot talk about musical terms full of feminine power without talking about “that wolf in the closet” that came out three decades thanks to Shakira and that continues to make people talk. The wolf has become Shak’s mythological animal. In fact, the Colombian mentioned it again in her Bzrp Music Session. “A wolf like me is not for rookies. A wolf like me is not for guys like you,” he said in 2023.
Shakira’s wolf has become a perfect term to refer to strong, empowered and experienced women. Wolves who go out to hunt, to defend their litter regardless of the consequences.
