Rihanna- girly girl or tomboy?

By Bianca Diana Stanca

LECT, II
 Meeting Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( born
February 20, 1988) is a
Barbadian singer and
songwriter best known under
the name of Rihanna. She is a
world-wide celebrity, her music
and style being well known in
all the corners of the earth.
She also has a huge influence
over her public regarding style
and image, setting trends with
each new clip launched.
 Rihanna’s first clip
When Rihanna was brought to light by the producer
Evan Roger, she had the image of a sex symbol. She was
having long hair, was wearing sexy, short dresses and of
course deep necklines. In her first videoclips, Pon de
Replay(2005), SOS(2006), and Unfaithful(2006) we can
see a very seductive woman, with a barbie doll image.
In her SOS song we can even feel a weak woman, who
needs a man next to her to feel secure. But as she said
later, she didn’t felt comfortable in this posture and it
didn’t represent her.
 Bye-bye girly girl!!
• The next year, 2007, brings
us a different image of
Rihanna. In her videoclips
Umbrella and Disturbia we
feel that she is still very
feminine but her attitude is
of a more secure woman,
who can protect a man
“under her umbrella”. Her
shorter hair and her attitude,
especially in Disturbia, show
us a more eccentric and
bossy side of her.
 Lesbian Rihanna?

• Her song and clip Te amo (2009) brings us an even

more different image of Rihanna. The message of these
is a love story or affair between two women. The
behavior is somehow sadomasochist and Rihanna
seems to have the masculine role in the couple. Her
physical appearance is also a tomboysh one and her
even shorter haircut is one of the clues. What next?
Rihanna-”the killer”
• The year 2010 brings back the long
hair of Rihanna, longer than ever
before but not also the sex symbol
image from the beginning. Instead we
see a woman who decides to make
justice by her own, who doesn’t let a
man to hurt her, to abuse her. Probably
inspired from her personal life, the
song Man down presents the story of
many girls and women who are
abused, but who decide to be strong
and not give up just because they
represent the weaker sex.
 Rebel, rebel, rebel

• Maybe one of the most

representative image for
the teenagers in general,
not only the
contemporary ones, is
the rebel image. At this
age, they want to
experiment, to try the
forbidden things, to
challenge themselves, to
push their limits and, of
course, to find love. We
see all these in the
videoclip of the song We
found love.
 Rihanna’s diamonds

• With each clips that she launches, she seems to distance herself of the image
Evan Rogers wanted for her. “Shine bright like a diamond” is her motto in
2012. Rihanna’s haircut is again very suggestive: a half shaved head, like a
soldier, and a half long haired head, like a very feminine person. So, a tomboy
or a girly girl? Probably both, probably anything she wants because she knows
that no matter how the exterior looks, “we’re beautiful like diamonds in the
sky”.
 What about now?
• Rihanna’s most recent hit is This is what you came
for (2016). The image after so many changes? A
relaxed one.. Nobody is trying to take her clothes of,
more than that, she is almost entirely covered by
her jumpsuit. Her hair looks also relaxed: painted in
black and caught in a ponytail but glamorous thanks
to the jewelries. The feeling? She’s just happy being
herself, and, as the title suggests, that is the reason
why somebody should like her.
• Of course, these are just few sequels of her
public image, Rihanna has many more other
video clips, each one bringing something
different is style, image and music. Her private
life is even more complex. So which is the real
one? Is she a girly girl, is she a tomboy, is she
any of those images we saw? I think she is a bit
of each or she can bee one of each if she wants
to. Why does she have so many fans? Because
they can identify with her; she is so complex, so
elastic that many people can find themselves in
one of her songs or appearances.