Even Louis XIV, the longest-reigning monarch in European history, had something he didn’t know. It was that women, from the very beginning, have always trusted and supported each other. According to the book The Sociology of Friendship for Women, philosophers, religious leaders, and literary critics all dismissed women’s solidarity. They claimed that women lacked morality, couldn’t form bonds through friendship, and were inherently predisposed to dislike each other.
Even in 2024, misunderstandings about female solidarity persist, and one woman read aloud a declaration. She stated that women are not foolish, they will never waver, and they will always stand together. I don’t know how to describe her—a person who renders even the highest praise outdated in an instant. Could she have been sent on a mission to overturn the times? Jennie, an icon of our era, has returned with Mantra.
“Women, don’t doubt… we are one.”
Mantra, which means a chant or motto recited during prayer, holds deeper meaning when you consider its release date. The song dropped on October 11th, which is the International Day of the Girl, established by the UN in 2011 to protect the rights of girls who face discrimination based on their gender and age. The teaser video included the phrase “CALLING ALL MY PRETTY GIRLS.” In other words, Mantra is a song meant to reach out to women all over the world with a message.
The mantra Jennie carefully crafted can be felt in the lyrics. “This is a chant for pretty girls,” she declares, defining women as intelligent beings with inner light as radiant as the sun. She adds that women don’t waste time on unnecessary drama but know when to make exceptions. To women who feel their presence in the world every day, Jennie urges them to show themselves to the world, promising that she will “protect them.”
The lyrics, “No one can extinguish our light” and “No matter what happens, we will never waver,” are interpreted as a message about female solidarity. In contrast to BLACKPINK’s song As If It’s Your Last, where she sings “I’ll be Bonnie, and you’ll be my Clyde,” focusing on love, in Mantra, she sings “Look at them Bonnies on the run,” shifting the focus from love to friendship.
As Jennie’s first solo release after establishing her independent label, Mantra is a tribute to women. The music video was directed by a female director and featured female dancers. Upon release, the song debuted at No. 5 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Global chart, breaking her own solo record.
The response has been overwhelming both domestically and internationally. Comments on the official music video include, “The lyrics about protecting women stuck with me,” “It’s refreshing to see her come back with a different concept after singing about wanting a man’s love,” and “She’s writing a new chapter in history.”
Female “Friendship” and “Loyalty”
Some reactions to Mantra misunderstand its focus on female solidarity. Some argue that the word “pretty” in the lyrics refers only to “pretty” women, excluding others, or that the focus on sisterhood feels strange or uncomfortable. “Feminist” even emerged as a related search term on Google. Perhaps this is the result of a society that has long downplayed female friendship.
Male friendships are often framed as loyalty. Action movies where men risk their lives for each other or crime dramas where they bond over the title “brother” instantly come to mind. In the recently released movie Love in the Big City, male colleagues bond during “smoke breaks,” sharing important work conversations. Male camaraderie is portrayed as a “loyal and socially beneficial” image, deeply ingrained in daily life and society.
But what about female friendships? In dramas or variety shows, women are often depicted as hating each other for no reason, reinforcing the “women are women’s worst enemies” trope. When women fight, it’s reduced to a “catfight” without complexity. While more works portray women’s friendship and solidarity, the narrative often still involves romantic relationships or male partners.
In such a bleak atmosphere, Jennie’s message that “women protect each other” is refreshing. It’s true that sisterhood is increasingly being reflected in various forms of media. In pop culture, there’s Charli XCX’s Girl, so confusing, which explores love-hate dynamics between women, or Taylor Swift’s The Man, which sings about the unfairness women face in a male-dominated society.
Female friendship, solidarity, and sisterhood are not recent concepts. They’ve always existed, but we just hadn’t recognized or named them. Once we hold hands, we can’t let go. If not us, then who will protect women? Perhaps the first and foremost motto for all women is, “Let’s protect each other.”
Source: Daum
