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Opinion

It's a good time as any for Girl Power! 

Christian Palmer
Opinion Columnist

Scary Spice is putting a new spin on the old tune "Say You'll Be There." The former Spice Girl Melanie Brown gave birth Tuesday to a healthy baby girl and already, the baby-daddy drama is in full swing. 

The alleged father, Eddie Murphy of all people, adamantly denies paternity but Mel B. says she is sure that he is the baby's father even though the couple has not been together for some time. Apparently, Murphy took off just as she was beginning to show. Surely a blood test is pending. 

Unfortunately, this kind of situation is a fact of life for many girls around the world. Boy meets girl; boy knocks up girl; boy leaves girl. 

As sad as all of this may be, Brown should not necessarily be "upset and distressed" about it. In fact, it is an excellent opportunity to rise above the plebian drama and spice up her life. The motto for the wildly successful Spice Girls was always about Girl Power; there is nothing holding her back from modeling it now. 

In the late '90s, girls around the world were introduced to this terrific force of good. Sure, women had the right to vote or have an abortion by then, but never really before had female pride been so flamboyant and catchy and accessible, if not completely unavoidable. Young girls weren't burning their bras but fighting over which spice girl they were most like. Their song lyrics might not have had a very clear empowerment message, but their demeanor and public image evoked all it needed to.

So many children in this country have been raised by single parents -- sometimes it's the mother, sometimes the father -- that it has kind of lost its novelty. Regardless of whether that sounds strange or cruel, the fact of the matter is, fewer people really feel sympathetic anymore. 

With the divorce rate lingering at about 50 percent and flighty fathers forming a potent combination, there is less moral pressure to stay together. This kind of "dysfunction" is becoming more normal. The nuclear family is quickly becoming a thing of the past. We, especially women, need to evolve with the times, stop making a huge fuss and make this work to our advantage.

It is clear that single parenthood is a challenge, to say the least; even a two-parent home has its moments of chaos and whatnot. But there is no reason it cannot be a challenge to look forward to. In movie The Pursuit of Happyness, based on real events, Will Smith's character was able to make single parenting work in spite of tax seizure and homelessness, and not all situations are anywhere near that desperate. And, not to sound corny, but what doesn't kill you does make you stronger.

So, why is Scary Spice so special that she should get to invoke this archaic notion of paternal responsibility anyway? Ten years later, it will be interesting, if not nice, to see if the principles of Girl Power still hold up or if it was just a fad after all.

Palmer, a communication/sociology junior, 
can be reached at dccampus@mail.uh.edu