Ever since the drop of her queer anthem “Boyfriend,” Dove Cameron has been gaining more and more recognition for her boundary-breaking views and ideals, many of which are demonstrated in her music. Her latest release, “Breakfast,” has garnered quite a bit of attention thanks to its outstanding—and quite brazen—music video, which reverses traditional gender roles in a 1950s setting.
In her music video, Cameron spins the narrative; as opposed to a world dominated by patriarchy, women hold societal power and men are mistreated as a result. In doing so, the video does a fantastic job of demonstrating the truly bizarre, unfair, and even ridiculous behaviours that women have to encounter and deal with in our world. For instance, one of the secretaries at Cameron’s character’s office—a man—is seen at the doctor’s in one scene after getting an abortion. The doctor warns the patient that he should not “drink so much, and make sure [he’s] dressed appropriately so [he’s] not provoking women” before handing him a pamphlet that reads Good Moral Behaviour for Young Men—Stay Pure for Your Future Wife.
Doesn’t that sound too familiar? Unfortunately, this is what women are often told in the real world after being victims of sexual assault. Like the victim in the video, women are always told to watch themselves when they’re out and about—to stop wearing provocative clothing—and are victim-blamed as opposed to the perpetrators receiving the ramifications and punishments they deserve. In other words, society tells women to stop putting themselves into these kinds of situations—whether through their clothing, drinking, or otherwise—instead of telling men to stop assaulting women.
Perhaps this video can be uncomfortable to watch, but that is exactly the point; this music video is supposed to make viewers uncomfortable to highlight the severity of the issues that women face daily in our reality. We find ourselves sympathizing with the male character who is sexually assaulted and is subsequently told that it is his own fault. As we’re thinking about how he doesn’t deserve this, our sympathy should extend to women who equally don’t deserve the mistreatment they face from our patriarchal society.
In another scene, while Cameron’s character and her co-workers are harassing one of the secretaries, another—whom her character sexually assaulted earlier—is seen getting a phone call before rushing out of the room. Cameron’s character shakes her head and laughs, saying, “Oh my God, men are so f**king emotional. Like, get it together, you know?”
I have to admit this made my jaw drop because of how accurate—and yet jarring—it was to hear. Any woman knows that this is a common phrase directed at women as an insult, especially in the workplace, usually when they’re standing up for themselves, which is apparently too much emotion for men to handle. Again, it’s all double standards: men are assertive, women are emotional. Men are being men, women are being out of line. Why can’t a bold, self-assured woman just be a woman?
By having this music video take place during the 1950s, viewers are able to see how the issues women faced then are the very same issues they face today—they’re old issues in a modern-day world. This concept makes the existence and prominence of these issues so much more striking because we realize that this isn’t the past, nor is it just a music video. It’s our reality, the reality women experience every day of their lives (Cameron’s character’s horrified face at the end of the video says it all).
As the video comes to a close, while Cameron’s character watches television on an old box TV, the program slowly flickers to protests in light of the abortion ban in the United States, demonstrating a jarring juxtaposition. This music video takes place during the 50s, before abortion was legalized in the United States in 1973. The point of this? To show us that we’ve gone backwards; that we’re moving in the wrong direction, and have found ourselves in the past where talk of women’s rights was practically laughable. This single decision, if society doesn’t wake up and get its head on straight, can be the first step of the degeneration of the world as we know it—women will continue to lose their rights and autonomy, and other minorities will be put at risk as well.
In spite of the scare and wake-up call Cameron’s video gives us, it ends with the words “Not the End” in capital letters before providing resources to get involved in the fight, such as abortionfunds.org. Despite the bleak reality of our past and present demonstrated throughout the video, we’re left with a positive message: that this isn’t the end, that this fight is far from over. If we continue to protest and speak out—just as Cameron has through her music video and platform—we ensure our voices are heard and maybe, one day, society will wake up.
Like Cameron says in her song: “So you wanna talk about power? Let me show you power.”