I Am Woman

“Oh yes I am wise

But it's wisdom born of pain

Yes, I've paid the price

But look how much I gained

If I have to, I can do anything

I am strong. I am invincible

I am woman.” - Lyrics of I Am Woman

Helen Reddy was a pop-star in the 1970s with numerous chart-topping songs, including an anthem she wrote for the women’s rights movement. The biopic titled I Am Woman follows Reddy’s journey from her home country of Australia to stardom in America. We see entrenched misogyny within the music industry and experience the volatile relationship between Reddy and her husband/manager Jeff Wald. The development of the Equal Rights Amendment parallels her personal journey, intertwining at several points. I Am Woman is an excellent movie to teach younger generations about gender discrimination and its consequences for all involved. 

I Am Woman highlights the barriers Helen Reddy faced within the music industry as a woman.  Concert promoters did not pay her the same as other musicians because she “did not need to support a family.” She struggled to feed her 3-year-old daughter as a single-mother. Record label executives disparaged her music as irrelevant and angry, a sound they did not think would be popular with men. They failed to recognize her music would resonate with female listeners. Reddy only got a record contract on the basis of her husband’s reputation.

I Am Woman highlights the consequences of this inequality. We see Reddy suffer when her husband’s developing cocaine addiction exhausts their resources. A financial crisis surprises Reddy, and she feels betrayed by someone who promised to take care of her. They are unable to work together on a solution. They continue to fall into unhealthy roles where he is seen as the   perpetrator of the problem and the savior from it. Her agency in the situation is minimized.  

When God created his image-bearers Adam and Eve, he created them to work together in harmony. Both have incredible capacity for good and evil. As Christians, we can look to Jesus to see how God envisions gender relations. We see Jesus pushing against unhealthy cultural norms. He speaks to women, empowers them to act, and holds them accountable for their decisions. I Am Woman is a glimpse into the life of a woman experiencing many unhealthy cultural norms of the 1970s. Yet the viewer walks away with an uncomfortable feeling that the injustice Helen Reddy faced has not been properly addressed to this day. (Netflix)