Speaking of less toxic masculinity trends of the 90s, one of the most-played radio songs by Pearl Jam was Better Man, also one of the many feminist tracks of the era.
As a recently-divorced single mom, this song — along with others like Birmingham, Where Have All The Cowboys Gone, Furious Rose, everything by Tori Amos — spoke to my situation: how I was supposed to find a husband, yet there didn't seem to be anyone who wasn't some level of asshole, at least not that would be into me. But it wasn't just women writing feminist music depicting women's problems emphatically.
It's been awhile (ha!) but I'm watching a reaction video that's brought it all back.
More to my thesis that activism took a very different role for GenX. It was a shift in culture rather than politics. I took for granted songs like these and the messages and warnings they shared with young women to help us interpret our lived experiences in new ways. My mother never had a song like this.
#GenX
Mx. Luna Corbden 🪿🐸
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2026-08-17 17:26:38 UTC
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"content": "Speaking of less toxic masculinity trends of the 90s, one of the most-played radio songs by Pearl Jam was Better Man, also one of the many feminist tracks of the era.\n\nAs a recently-divorced single mom, this song — along with others like Birmingham, Where Have All The Cowboys Gone, Furious Rose, everything by Tori Amos — spoke to my situation: how I was supposed to find a husband, yet there didn't seem to be anyone who wasn't some level of asshole, at least not that would be into me. But it wasn't just women writing feminist music depicting women's problems emphatically.\n\nIt's been awhile (ha!) but I'm watching a reaction video that's brought it all back.\n\nMore to my thesis that activism took a very different role for GenX. It was a shift in culture rather than politics. I took for granted songs like these and the messages and warnings they shared with young women to help us interpret our lived experiences in new ways. My mother never had a song like this.\n\n#GenX",
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