by: Bobby Crowley 

From the very beginning, before the exclamation point and the blonde in her hair, P!nk has shown us all what it means to be a kick-ass woman. Her first single, There You Go, introduced us all to the woman who doesn’t put up with being mistreated and takes it upon herself to right the situation, with a motorcycle through the window.

Since then, she has become the fearless, passionate P!nk of “Raise Your Glass,” who stands up for her beliefs and for all of the outcasts and underdogs in the world. She has become another soldier in the fight for change, using songs like “Stupid Girls” and “F**kin’ Perfect” to send a message to the world.

P!nk is not just another singer with another song climbing the charts of a fading fad. P!nk is an extraordinary woman unafraid to speak her mind whether on politics, media, or the diminishing self esteem and will to live of the world’s youth. She has proven herself time and time again in acrobatic feats and bravely bared emotions. Because of this, I am proud to say that P!nk is the newest member of the beautiful army of Covergirls.

P!nk is beautiful, this we all know. However, it is not her superficial beauty that makes me so excited for her new position. Since I was only eight years old, P!nk’s lyrics have been helping me through the rough patches and driving me to become a woman I can respect and love with ease.

“Don’t Let Me Get Me” was her first single that truly affected my life. Hearing this woman reveal the darkest shades of her past and personality without blinking was revelatory. Years after its release, when I was recovering from my addiction to hurting myself, this song was the ultimate catharsis. P!nk was the first to truly put into words the danger you could be to yourself if you weren’t careful, if you didn’t fight back.

P!nk is the pop rock icon who addresses real issues real people face like divorce (“Family Portrait”) and destructive relationships (“Just Like a Pill”). She is one of the only artists who blatantly calls out other icons for perpetuating the harmful idealization of vanity and popularity (“Stupid Girls”). P!nk’s often underlying feminist message comes forward in the “Stupid Girls” video, a call to action for the “outcasts and girls with ambition” to replace the “stupid girls” in the media.

Amidst her calls to action, P!nk still has time to bare her soul and the struggles she faces like her momentary separation from the man she loves, which she references in “Funhouse,” “So What,” and “Please Don’t Leave Me.” What’s so extraordinary about these songs is not that she suffers and lets us feel her pain. What is so phenomenal about P!nk is that she always comes out on top.

P!nk is the epitome of kicking asses and taking names. She is someone every young girl, every person even, can look up to with pride. She doesn’t let one relationship define or destroy her, she doesn’t let her suffering get the best of her. She fights like hell to stay on top and thrive with fearless fervor.

I believe P!nk is the best choice for Cover Girl, because she can have an incredibly positive influence on the young girls today who desperately need it. P!nk promotes and encourages body positivity, individuality, intelligence, and perseverance. These are the ideals we need to instill in our youth and these are the ideals we don’t seem to be adequately getting across.

In Raise Your Glass, P!nk celebrates the people who are “wrong in all the right ways.” She raises a glass to the freaks, the geeks, the punks, the queers, the activists, and all of the people in the world who might be “too school for cool” or “treated like a fool.” P!nk goes out of her way to not only let us celebrate our uniqueness, but also join us in the celebration.

If that song were not enough to convince you to celebrate Cover Girl’s most recent addition, look to F**kin’ Perfect. If you haven’t heard it by now, you must. I’m sure this song is the reason a few people are still alive. Mistakes, heartache, and struggle plague the protagonist of the video. However, through it all, she perseveres and becomes the manifestation of what she has always been, but never known: Fucking Perfect.

P!nk speaks directly to the self-harming, the anorexic, the depressed, the dysfunctional, and the rest of the people in this world who are struggling or ready to give up. She tells us no matter how unimportant, useless, or broken we feel, there is someone out there who knows that we are just as beautiful and amazing as we could ever imagine. There is someone who knows we are Fucking Perfect.

P!nk is beautiful. She is a beautiful person through and through. Her beauty manifests itself in so many more ways than superficially and that is why she is perfect for Cover Girl. We will see her there in the advertisements and we will remember that that beautiful woman, whose face is plastered all over the world, told us we were beautiful and amazing and perfect. We will see her there and we will remember that we have the potential to change lives just as she has with her music.

Congratulations to P!nk. I hope her place at Cover Girl is as permanent as her place in our hearts.

Bobby Crowley is a Queer woman with a love for all that is fabulous. She is currently working on her Creative Writing degree at Loyola University where she is also on the board of Advocate and a writer for the alt. magazine LUChameleon. She is in love with Andrea Gibson, her labradaniel puppies, and singing loudly in the shower.