Geri Halliwell-Horner, aka Ginger Spice, has given the "girl power" motto her group Spice Girls popularized in the 1990s a timely update.
At the launch of her latest children’s book, Rosie Frost: Ice on Fire, Halliwell-Horner announced that it was time to give the popular credo a makeover to include everyone.
“‘Girl power’ was a sweet word for feminism,” she told the audience (via The Daily Mail). “But if you look in the dictionary and see what feminism means, it means the ‘equalisation between the sexes’. Therefore, to me it’s irrelevant what your gender is, I want everyone to feel their power, so let’s evolve that word from Girl Power to Inner Power.’"
You heard her folks, "girl power" is dead. Long live, uh, "inner power."
For decades now "girl power" has been used as a term to demonstrate strength and empowerment for girls and women around the world, however, Halliwell-Horner added that it should be more about just one's gender.
"‘It’s meant to be inclusive and celebratory of who you are and what I feel like is important as well is that none of us are perfect, we’re all idiots at different times, we are,’" she said.
Of course, when Spice Girls first began spreading the word of "girl power" in 1996 the idea was to give feminism a "kick up the arse."
Mel C, aka Sporty Spice, once defined it as "being able to do things just as well as — or even better than — the boys, and be what we want to be." Her bandmate Mel B, aka Scary Spice, added that it was about "spreading a positive vibe, kicking it for the girls… It's not about picking up guys. We don't need men to control our life. We control our lives anyway."
Want to learn more about "girl power" and Spice Girls? Check our episode of Encore: The Stories Behind The Songs You Love where we break down how the girl group took the world by storm. Hear it below.