Dream Wife ‘Somebody’

Olivia here. You’d have to be living under a rock to not have seen the viral video in which a BBC interview was hijacked by two children. Political scientist Professor Robert Kelly was giving his views on South Korean president Park Guen-Hye via video link, when halfway through the live broadcast, his two children burst into the room and started creating havoc, only to be dragged out of the room by their panicking mother. It’s a bit of a must-watch if you haven’t seen it already. However, this lighthearted example of the perils of parenting has stirred up a bit of controversy, after various news outlets assumed the South Korean mother, Jung-a Kim, was the children’s nanny – with a huge emphasis on the word ‘assumed’. Whilst some have defended this misinterpretation as a simple mistake (a lot of South Korean families employ nannies), it’s clear that this assumption is largely due to outdated stereotypes about Asian women, and their characterisation as servile domestic workers. So in other words, racist, and sexist. If you’re one of the people who initially assumed the lady in the video was a nanny, fear not, for there is still hope for you. Simply take this as a lesson, to draw upon whenever you find yourself making hasty judgements based on a person’s race or gender. Stereotyping actually serves an important role in the way our brains process information – and Prejudice is it’s weird cousin who voted for Brexit and makes the odd off colour remark about ethnic minorities at Christmas dinner. Don’t let Prejudice make it weird. We all deserve better than that. So next time you find yourself about to make an assumption based on prejudice, repeat this oft-quoted mantra at least three times first: check yourself before you wreck yourself. With any luck, after a few years of practice, you’ll finally be able to say with confidence ‘I am not a racist’. (And if you follow that sentence with ‘but’, you are in fact, a racist). Anyway, staying on the topic of wives, today’s pick comes from London-based DIY pop band Dream Wife, who’s latest release ‘Somebody‘ is a pop song with bite, tackling the reclamation of the female body. Singing lyrics like ‘I am not my body/I’m somebody‘ in staccato Icelandic drawl (courtesy of lead singer Rakel Mjöll), this track is all about female empowerment (it was released on International Women’s Day for a reason you know). Guitar that is equal parts surf-rock and punk pop is complimented by simple drum fills, making this track entirely danceable, as well as empowering. Enjoy, and fight the power!