The Feminine Musique: “Can’t Pin Me Down”

Marina Diamandis has long been an outspoken critic of pop culture’s views of women. While she expresses her opinions in her other projects through metaphors and symbolism, her track “Can’t Pin Me Down” provides a candid and direct callout of misconceptions surrounding feminism and the actions of women.

The Feminine Musique is a series where writers analyze portrayals of women in music.

Written by Kasey Clarke

Photo courtesy of Irish Tatler

MARINA (formerly Marina and the Diamonds, full name Marina Diamandis) is known for hits like “How to be a Heartbreaker” and “Primadonna,” both songs that celebrate an unapologetic, diva mentality. These tracks represent the female archetypes of homewrecker and beauty queen, respectively. Marina explores these tropes, alongside others like the housewife and teen idol, through her character Electra Heart on her second album of the same name. She continues the album’s commentary on female sexuality and pop culture with her third album, Froot, on which we hear her take on female stereotyping and feminism. On “Can’t Pin Me Down” Marina speaks directly to these themes.

You can paint me any colour

And I can be your clown

But you ain’t got my number

Yeah, you can’t pin me down

This declaratory ballad reflects on Marina’s personal life as well as her life as an artist. Opening the song with the chorus sets up the idea that we don’t yet know her in a public or personal way.

Now I got your back up what do you not like?

Do you think I’m stuck up cause I’m always picking fights?

These lines reference the negative attention that Marina received once in the spotlight.

Electra Heart received mixed reviews, with some likePitchfork criticizing her work for trying to say too much without enough depth. They also compared her to Lana Del Rey, a friend of Marina’s. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle all the way back in 2010, Marina called out the industry for not recognizing female artists as individuals. “Everyone is grouped together, even though you're different musically” she said.

“You might think I’m one thing, but I am another

You can’t call my bluff, time to back off, motherf---er”

Froot was not only a departure from the characters Marina played on Electra Heart; it was also her first album she wrote and produced almost entirely by herself. The writing on this album is Marina’s opportunity to show her talent and growth as an artist, rather than being shrouded in irony and fantasy as she was on her previous project.

“Do you really want me to write a feminist anthem?

I’m happy cooking dinner in the kitchen for my husband”

The pre-chorus presents her take on feminism. In an interview with Broadly in 2016, Marina stated, “I've been really vocal about women's rights since the beginning, when it wasn't really fashionable to be called a feminist. Guys hated it, and you sounded like a kind of shouty b----, whereas now it has changed."

She feels confident that she is a feminist. With these lyrics, she expresses that she does not have to prove to the media or her audience that she is a feminist and that there is also a limited view of feminists the media accepts. Marina believes this perspective isn’t representative of what the label truly means.

“You ain’t got me sussed yet, you’re not even close

Baby it’s the one thing that I hate the most

All these contradictions pouring out of me

Just another girl in the 21st century”

Again, Marina touches on the idea that the labels the media and others want to place on her aren’t sufficient in capturing her entire personality. The last line, however, implies that all women are treated in this way.

“I am never gonna give you anything you expect

You think I’m like the others, boy, you need to get your eyes checked”

In an interview with The Guardian, Marina complained about being pigeonholed into certain expectations: “I don’t like being a pop star because people assume you don’t know anything and you don’t make your own music. I saw that as soon as I dyed my hair blond and created music that had a different production style.”

Playfully, she suggests that she does not fit into the mold others have placed upon her. Her appearance and style also changed drastically from Electra Heart to Froot, signifying that this is not only an artistic, but a physical transformation.

Photo courtesy of Popcrush

“I could be your sister, I could be your mother, I could be your neighbor, I could be your lover

Do you like my body, do you like my mind?

What is it that you are having trouble to define?”

Here she reasserts that this is not just a personal struggle: her experiences are shared by many women. The roles she mentions suggest that some men may not view women the same as other men, unless they occupy a role that is personally relevant to them.

Mentioning her body and mind calls out people’s tendencies to label a woman either sexually expressive or intelligent, but not be able to reconcile the two. Again, she brings up the theme of multifaceted women being stuck with a narrow definition.

“Can’t Pin Me Down” was released in 2015, but Marina has continued to be an assertive voice in the music industry, speaking on the behalf of women. In a recent interview withChannel 4 News, Marina spoke at length about the judgement that women face for their actions and the shame they face when they do not comply with the stereotype that they are viewed in. On her Instagram, Marina shared that she spoke about “a few problems that feel really important to our society right now – important because I feel like we are on the brink of being able to create genuine change.

Photo courtesy of The Independent

Under her new name, MARINA released the first collection of songs off of her fourth album, Love + Fear on April 4, 2019. This new era for Marina comes after a nearly four-year hiatus. While this new project is not as closely tied into themes of feminism or the media, Marina continues to take a persistent, unapologetic stance on the need for free female expression in her interviews and on social media.