Going after Aretha now UPDATED
UPDATE: The Aretha Franklin tweet turns out to have been a hoax. Here is our commentary on that fact.
The latest from the "wokies" involves a song by the late Aretha Franklin. Once upon a time, the Queen of Soul, or Lady Soul as some called her, put a big hit on the charts: "[You Make Me Feel Like] A Natural Woman." Here is a portion of the lyrics:
Oh, baby, what you've done to me (what you've done to me)
You make me feel so good inside (good inside)
And I just want to be (want to be)
Close to you, you make me feel so alive
You make me feel
You make me feel
You make me feel like a natural woman (woman)
Who knew that this song would make anyone angry? She sang it in front of the Obamas, and everybody seemed so happy.
So what happened? Why the calls to cancel this song? Here it goes:
Aretha Franklin's 1968 song "Natural Woman" perpetuates multiple harmful anti-trans stereotypes.
There is no such thing as a "natural" woman.
This song has helped inspire acts of harm against transgender women.
TCMA is requesting it is removed from Spotify & Apple Music.
No such thing as a natural woman? What did I miss?
Some people, according to the article, thought that the whole thing was a joke. No, Señor! The Trans Cultural Mindfulness Alliance (TCMA) is actually a real group concerned with whatever they are concerned about.
In the meantime, Chinese bombers are entering Taiwanese airspace, the cartels are thriving on the border, and Europe is paying a lot of energy. Copy that classic from Aretha Franklin because some people don't want you to have it on your playlist.
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Image: National Archives.