I Enjoy Being a Girl
| "I Enjoy Being a Girl" | |
|---|---|
| Song from Flower Drum Song | |
| Published | 1958 |
| Writer | Oscar Hammerstein II |
| Composer | Richard Rodgers |
"I Enjoy Being a Girl" is a show tune from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Flower Drum Song. It was originally performed in 1958, as the showpiece for the Linda Low showgirl character. The musical was a comedy love story about growing up Chinese in America, and the clash between the traditional values of the old country, and the modern ways of America.
Though Flower Drum Song was amongst the least successful of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, partly because of ethnic stereotyping issues, the song "I Enjoy Being a Girl" has been widely used in other productions. It has become a familiar tune to many, as the song has been recorded by performers including Doris Day, Peggy Lee, Pat Suzuki, and Phranc. The song has been parodied by Sarah Jessica Parker in a Gap commercial, as well as viral video works as "I Enjoy Being Al Gore", and works based on Harry Potter, Xena and Battlestar Galactica. Comedian Rosanne Barr also parodied the song in 1990.
The song is of its era, when women were expected to marry and finding the "right guy" was important. The lyrics praise the traditional values of being a woman, who longs to be the object of a man's affection. It has often been suggested that the song notably lacks in political correctness, especially after the rise of the women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s. It is often considered to be "camp" or "kitsch", and has frequently been performed by drag queens.
The main recordings are by the original Broadway cast with Pat Suzuki on LP and CD, the new Henry Hwang version on CD, and the movie soundtrack, in which the song was sung by B. J. Baker (not of Asian descent).
[edit] External links
- List of recordings at Allmusic (accessed 6 July 2011).
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