Feminist Christ

"Feminis†"
Single by Romo from the album Romo (II)
Released	September 25, 2020
Format	CD single Vinyl single Digital download
Recorded	2020
Genre	Art rock · Electronic · Progressive rock · Alternative · Trap
Length	8:28 (album version) 3:27 (single version)
Label	The Empire
Writer	Jenna Romo
Producer	Jenna Romo
Chart position	#2 (Urapopstar Top 40 Singles Chart) #1 (Urapopstar Airplay 40)
Certification	Gold
Additional artwork
Vinyl single cover
Romo chronology
"Not Your Pet" (2016) "Feminis†" (2020) "Madame Bullshit" (2020)

"Feminist Christ" (stylized as "Feminis†") is the first song on Romo's second self-titled fifth album, surprise released September 8, 2020 and released physically September 25, 2020. "Feminis†" is the album's lead single, marking Romo's 17th official single release and first from a proper studio album since her first self-titled album almost a decade earlier. The song, a four-part art rock and experimental pop track that borrows elements from electropop, alternative rock, progressive rock and trap, was written about the commercialization of feminism in the 2010s and is written from the perspective of a woman who seeks to reclaim feminism from the corporate world. Parts of the song also address the influence of stan culture on music and the reckoning against sexual assault in the entertainment industry that brought the #MeToo movement to mainstream prominence.

"Feminis†" received widespread critical acclaim upon its release, and managed to peak at #2 on the Urapopstar Top 40 Singles Chart and #1 on the Urapopstar Airplay 40, re-establishing Romo as an A-list music star after a series of botched comebacks in the prior decade derailed her legacy.

On February 14, 2021, "Feminis†" received nominations for Best Promotional Campaign and Best Video at the Urapopstar 1st Critics Choice Awards.

Composition

"Feminis†" has been described as an art rock, experimental, electropop and alternative rock song, also borrowing structural and rhythmic influences from progressive rock and hip hop.

The song is composed of four parts. The first, roughly one minute and 15 seconds in length, is an instrumental intro played on the pipe organ. The second, three minutes and 27 seconds long, has a fast paced electropop and disco style lifting influences from Carly Rae Jepsen, Charli XCX, Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga, but with live drums and bass to give a full band feel. Romo opens with a spoken word monologue that starts, "All rise for mass in the church of fierce," followed by four verses, two bridges and three choruses. The third and fourth parts combine progressive rock, electropop and trap, both sections being musically divergent from the second though continuing the song's narrative flow. Part 3 features Romo rapping a verse, sandwiched between a choir that shouts, "I! Am! Feminist! Christ!" in a style that recalls Carl Orff's "O Fortuna", which Romo also used as a reference point in her 2010 song "My Generation". Part 4 returns Romo to singing, with the intensity of her vocals increasing with the intensity of the beat, inspired in part by rapper Kendrick Lamar's song "XXX".

With a runtime of eight minutes and 28 seconds, the song is 26 seconds longer than the lead single from Romo's previous album, "Music From Mars". (Only the song's second section, with a runtime of three minutes and 27 seconds, was released to radio.)

Lyrics

Romo said she wrote "Feminis†" over a yearslong period and it took root from how Romo saw feminist messages of entertainers like Beyonce being exploited for commercial gain. Asked about the song, Romo said, "I obviously am a feminist. Women are as commanding of respect and authority as men can be, and should be treated as worthy of that respect and authority. And as much as I support feminism, the mass marketing of the cause is ludicrous. Owning a canvas print on your wall that reads 'I woke up like this' does not automatically make you a feminist." The lyrics of the song's second section depict a woman who is seeking to reclaim feminism from the corporate world. In the third and fourth sections, Romo asserts dominance over her competitors and her doubters by reminding them of her legacy and encourages rebellion against abusive men.

The song makes references to stan culture in the intro of Part 2, particularly when Romo sings of a "sermon of slaying" and asks her followers to "kneel before your yas queen." In keeping with the song's religious themes, Romo references the Bible - specifically the book of Genesis - several times in the song; Part 2 ends with the spoken line "She shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man," a direct quotation from Genesis 2:23 referring to the creation of Eve from Adam's rib; the Adam and Eve story had previously been a source of inspiration on Romo's debut album Eve. Part 3 contains the line "There's no going back unless you wish to turn to a pillar of salt," a reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; when Lot's wife looks back upon the destruction, God turns her into a pillar of salt. "And He saw that it was good", the line that opens Part 4 (and is later mocked by Romo as, "Good is settling, I'm going for epic"), is also a direct quotation from Genesis; the phrase is repeated throughout its opening verses to refer to what God perceives upon creation of the heavens and earth. Romo's brag that she is "flawless since the sixth day" is yet another reference to Genesis; in the creation myth, God created humans on the sixth day of the universe.

Both Part 3 and Part 4 contain lines written as encouragement for women to stand up for themselves against sexual harassment in the era of #MeToo, specifically, when Romo sings "Seize the power from the cocks who want to keep us held back" in Part 3 (alluding to women contributing to the downfall of powerful men by sharing their accounts of abuse at their hands) and "When you desecrate our temples / Forcing your hands, tongues and cocks on these holy shrines / And demean us with your blasphemy / About how our place is being in service to you heathens" in Part 4 (describing actual abuse and abusers' attempts to intimidate and silence their victims). Part 3 also references Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen (referred to in the song as Khaleesi) and Stranger Things character Eleven.

Track listings

CD single

1. Feminis† (album version)
2. Feminis† (single version)
3. Romantic

Vinyl single

1. Feminis† (album version)
2. Feminis† (single version)
3. Feminis† (Marshmello remix)

Promotion

Full time promotion for "Feminis†" began with a cryptic announcement on September 5, 2020 that teased that something would happen the following Tuesday, September 8, which happened to be the day Romo (II) was surprised released to digital and streaming outlets. "Feminis†" leaked the day before the surprise drop.

Romo's antics during the promotional campaign included releasing face masks featuring the single's Venus cross iconography - with the masks also featuring in the song's music video - as well as partnering with a brewery and a winery for beer and wine varieties named after her songs, giving Pitchfork its shortest interview ever when it published her two word response to their request, "Fuck off", and offering the shocking reveal that her first music industry gig was as Elementary School Dropouts member Devil Faithless. Romo engaged in a minor feud with 4tune and her son Satsuma Robinson, and vowed to compete against the girl group ROUGE, the source of her most vicious feuds of her career, if they reunited for a Christmas week release.

With live music on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, Romo announced plans to hold a livestreamed concert, Feminist Christ's Revival (In The Name Of The Mother), at the O2 Apollo in Manchester that would showcase her live performance talents despite the need for social distancing.

Performances

Romo debuted "Feminis†" (and six of the seven songs off Romo (II)) live during the livestream Feminist Christ's Revival (In The Name Of The Mother) on September 24, 2020. Romo opened the performance with a recording of Johnny Cash's "Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)", performed a spoken monologue over the pipe organ introduction, and between Parts 2 and 3 incorporated a cover of Ariana Grande's "God Is A Woman" in the suite.

Music video

The music video for "Feminis†" was scheduled to premiere September 14, 2020, but had its release date pushed back due to post-production issues. It premiered on September 18, 2020 on Vevo.

The video is split up into three acts, with Act I featuring the first two parts of the song, Act II featuring the third part and Act III featuring the fourth part. It depicts Romo, as the title character of Feminist Christ, destroying an abandoned church to perform the miracle of rebuilding it as an opulent shrine to herself. The video also depicts her being baptized in a lake.

Synopsis

Act I

The video starts inside an abandoned church. As the song's minute long pipe organ introduction plays, we see Romo scattering ashes on the church floor, then pouring gasoline on the ashes. Romo sets the abandoned church on fire and she starts to walk away from the blaze. Her spoken introduction plays as she mugs for the camera in a defiant stance as the flames continue blazing, her lips not moving to her words.

In the next scene, Romo is seen in what appears to be a common area in her own home, darkened for dramatic effect with candles burning around her. Romo sits still while she sings the song's lyrics, while three backing dancers, wearing black robes and the Venus cross logo face masks, cavort around her. This scene is interspersed with close up shots of Romo and the dancers' faces as the candles flicker below their heads.

At the second verse, Romo is seen returning to the site of the now charred abandoned church, smoke still billowing, as she erects a cross on one of the walls still standing, She then nails down a wooden Venus symbol next to the cross.

The second chorus and bridge before the last chorus go back to the scene in Romo's darkened house.

At the final chorus, Romo studies the Venus cross mounted to the ruins of the church. As Romo turns back on it, a light emerges from the sky and beams down on the wall with the wooden Venus cross. The video abruptly goes dark at the spoken word recitation that ends Part 2.

Act II

Then the video restarts as the beginning of Part 3 comes in. A sepia toned image of an open field is shown, holding for 10 seconds and then transitioning to a closer up view, also in sepia tone, which shows Romo, dressed in a white gown, marching through the field while the robed backing dancers in their Venus cross masks. The light in the sky from the final scene in Part 2 beams in the distance in sync with the "I am Feminist Christ" chorus. The camera focuses on Romo's face as the march continues, as her rap verse in Part 3 plays though she does not lip sync it in the scene. The closeups of Romo's face alternate with a view of her from behind that reveal the robed dancers are leading Romo to a lake.

The camera alternates between closeups of Romo and the masked dancers, and wider shots of the group marching. Near the end of Romo's rap, Romo and the dancers step into the lake. The dancers submerge Romo in the lake at the final "I am Feminist Christ" choruses, the camera showing Romo's face under the water. The video abruptly goes dark again at the sound effect of the roaring wildcat that ends Part 3.

Act III

The video then fades into a scene showing the devastation of what appears to be a storm, showing rows of houses reduced to ashes and rubble. The visual gradually moves its way up to reach the wall of the abandoned church from the start of the video, shown with the Venus cross logo. The camera pans out to reveal the church is now an opulent structure far from the charred remains from the start of the video, and as the camera enters the inside of the church, it ends on the image of Romo, wearing a white gown and a crown of thorns, standing in a defiant, militant pose before the altar, with even bigger versions of the Venus cross behind her and the light from above beaming from above. The video closes with the text "FEMINIS†".

Reception

The music video for "Feminis†" received acclaim from music critics for its stunning and complex imagery. However, it also was criticized by religious groups and conservative politicians for what they saw as blasphemy and self-indulgence, strongly objecting to the church burning scenes and the closing image of Romo at the altar while wearing a crown of thorns.

Reception

Critical

"Feminis†" received widespread critical acclaim from music industry publications upon its release, making it Romo's best reviewed single. The consensus among reviewers was that Romo delivered on the promise of a highly ambitious, musically groundbreaking and lyrically memorable song to mark her return, expanding upon a legacy that came to be defined by her 2010 self-titled album a decade earlier.

Commercial

Despite expectations of a #1 debut, "Feminis†" suffered from a devastating split among the four new releases on the single's week of release, and at the midway portion of the week, none of them were top 5. "Feminis†" ultimately ended the week as the highest new entry on the Urapopstar Top 40 Singles Chart on October 2, 2020 at #3, behind holdovers from Veronica Nightshade and Syd Wolfe, with 81,210 copies sold in its first week. It marked Romo's first top 3 single since "Rinse, Rinse/Frenemies" (with Paulo Araujo) nine years earlier. However, the single's first week sales came in lower than two of her previous album's singles, the #1-peaking lead single "Music From Mars" and third single "Pandora Kills", which despite missing #1 became Romo's first single to sell more than 100,000 copies in a single week.

The following week, "Feminis†" moved to #2 with sales of 106,894 copies, barely losing #1 to Riker Allen's debut single "Down Together". The advancement gave Romo her all time best sales week, beating the 103,000+ opening week for "Pandora Kills" in 2011, and her second 100,000+ sales week on the singles chart of her career. "Feminis†" also became her highest charting single since her most recent #1, 2011's "Piccadilly Circus".

On September 24, 2020, "Feminis†" debuted at #39 on the Urapopstar Airplay 40. It jumped to #10 the following week on the strength of the song's physical single release, marking Romo's first solo top 10 hit on the airplay charts since "Hell Is A Discotheque" reached #9 in early 2010. It peaked at #1 on October 8, 2020 with 12,616 plays, marking Romo's first airplay chart #1 since her 2010 collaboration with Amy Marshall, "Game Over", and first airplay #1 as a solo artist since "The Carpet Didn't Bleed By Itself" in 2009.

"Feminis†" sold a total of 458,432 copies, becoming Romo's second highest selling single of her career behind only "Schizo Pop".