I think it’s important to take a step back from time to time and simply observe what’s going on in the music world. Outside of the obvious trends, one that I picked up on was the recent craze of positive, self-love tracks.

Between Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” Katy Perry’s “Firework,” Ke$ha’s “We R Who We R,” and Pink’s “Raise Your Glass” and “Perfect” (to name a few,) there is an abundance of music out there with great messages of being yourself and being proud of it. Where as musical trends are nothing new, lyrical trends usually come at very crucial times. I think it’s a fair assessment to say that between the series of bullying-related suicides as well as the debate of human rights heating to a boil, these songs are a reaction to society.

While any one of the songs could have easily been directed towards one group of people, they all convey the message that it’s ok to be yourself no matter who you are. In fact, they encourage everyone to express themselves without shame. In today’s day and age, I think there’s no better idea than that. Lady Gaga (the least subtle of the group) literally spells it out: it doesn’t matter what your nationality, sexuality, or religion is.

Outside of anything political, there are serious social issues in the world today, and these artists are obviously more than aware of them. Between all of the songs about love, sex, drugs, and random dancing, it is nice that pop songs can actually have some substance with great messages behind it.

Regardless of personal musical taste, I would find it hard to disagree with the fact that encouraging people to be happy with who they are is a step in the right direction.