Someone Made A "Bye Bye Birdie" For Women In 2016

Like any other year, 2016 saw its ups and downs — but for women and marginalized communities, it was arguably mostly the latter. As we continue to push for progress, we're now enduring more challenges than ever, which are perfectly captured by this "How Lovely To Be A Woman" parody — a song recorded by singer Missy Modell in collaboration with writer Siobhan Thompson, highlighting some of the biggest hurdles we've faced across the last year. It goes without saying that they had plenty of material to work with, what with the continued gender wage gap in the workplace, restrictions placed on our reproductive rights (seriously, get out of my uterus), and the less than favorable habits and views of a certain president-elect, whose name I shall not speak.

Perhaps making this parody even more eye-catching and thought-provoking is its element of humor, which cleverly follows the tropes of the original song while highlighting modern topics of sexual harassment and the stereotypical gender roles enforced upon us. Then, there's also the fact that the parody is a dead ringer for the original song from the hit 1963 musical Bye Bye Birdie. In case you never saw this version, here's the first "How Lovely To Be A Woman," sung by the ultra talented Ann-Margret. What a voice.

Not bad, eh? Now, here's Missy Modell, and her own special version of the song.

Unlike the president-elect, this song doesn't beat around the bush: within the first 30 seconds, the parody already mentions the female reproductive system and pulling out as a form of birth control, and Mike Pence even makes a guest appearance. I think it's the cheerful and uplifting sound of the tune that makes the reality of it seem even more ridiculous — that there are people still trying to take away our rights and justify unfair treatment of women. I don't want to give away the ending, but I will say that there may or may not be a Make America Great Again hat. Check out the video for yourself and find out.

Image: YouTube