Einstein yori dianna agron was released as one of the added extra “coupling” songs to idol group HKT48’s 2016 single 74億分の1の君へ 74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e (To you, who are one in 7.4 billion).
74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e debuted at number one on the Oricon CD singles chart in April 2016. But the accompanying song, Einstein Yori Dianna Agron, has received widespread criticism for its unabashed sexist portrayal of the song’s female protagonist as a vacuous airhead. Japanese online publishers that have lined up to call out the lyrics have included Litera, Toyokeizai and Keisen University. AKB administration seems not too enamoured with the criticism either, threatening legal action against the Litera blog site for posting an article outlining why they believe the lyrics were sexist.
Who wrote Einstein Yori Dianna Agron?
The words to Einstein Yori Dianna Agron were written by AKB48 founder, lyricist and mastermind Yasushi Akimoto. Akimoto has a history of writing songs with questionable portrayals of women stretching back to at least the 80s with songs like Sailor Fuku Wo Nugasanai de (please don’t take off my sailor uniform).
He has continued penning decidedly un-woke women’s roles for his songs right up until 2021 with songs such as Kimi Ni Shikarareta.
So what’s the big problem with the Einstein Yori Dianna Agron lyrics?
In the post #metoo age, the glaring problems with the Einstein Yori Dianna Agron will be self-apparent to many who cast their eye over them. The song doesn’t waste any time in setting out it’s worldview of girls’ place within society:
難しいことは何も考えない
頭らっぽでいい
Don’t try and think of anything demanding
Being empty-headed is just fine
By line three, the song is holding the women in a barely veiled contempt, giving them a little passive-aggressive praise for managing to “walk on two legs”, presumably comparing them to quadrupeds:
二足歩行が楽だし
There’s enough comfort in just bipedal walking,
The song also does a good job of reinforcing long standing stereotypes about what a girl should look like:
女の子は
可愛くなきゃね
Girls,
They’ve got to be pretty, right?
The song makes clear that the young female student shouldn’t be concentrating on learning:
学生時代は
おバカでいい
When you’re a student,
It’s best to be dumb
The song has also been criticized for its appropriation of the American show Glee, which features a diverse cast that aims to break down the very stereotypes that Einstein Yori Dianna Agron seeks to perpetuate. Dianna Agron’s character in the show, far from spurning all academic pursuits, achieves success by writing an essay that gets her an invitation to study at a prestigious University.
If nothing else, the lyrics to Einstein Yori Dianna Agron show how far Japan has to go towards achieving a true sense of equality between the sexes.
| アインシュタインよりディアナ・アグロン Einstein Yori Dianna Agron (Forgot about Einstein, How about Dianna Agron) lyrics in Japanese | アインシュタインよりディアナ・アグロン Einstein Yori Dianna Agron (Forgot about Einstein, How about Dianna Agron) lyrics in English | アインシュタインよりディアナ・アグロン Einstein Yori Dianna Agron (Forgot about Einstein, How about Dianna Agron) lyrics in Romaji |
| 難しいことは何も考えない頭らっぽでいい二足歩行が楽だしふわり軽く風船みたいに生きたいんだ 女の子は可愛くなきゃね学生時代はおバカでいい今 一番 大切なことは そうキャピキャピと アインシュタインよりディアナ・アグロンテストの点以上瞳(め)の大きさが気になるどんなに勉強できても愛されなきゃ意味がないスカートをひらひらとさせてグリーのように 世の中のジョーシキ 何も知らなくてもメイク上手ならいいニュースなんか興味ないしたいていのこと誰かに助けてもらえばいい 女の子は恋が仕事よママになるまで子供でいいそれよりも重要なことは そうスベスベのお肌を保つことでしょう？ アインシュタインってどんな人だっけ？聞いたことあるけど本当はよく知らない教科書 載っていたようななんか偉い人だった好きなのはディアナ・アグロン もっともっともっと輝きたい人は見た目が肝心だってだって内面は見えない可愛いは正義よチヤホヤされたいアインシュタインよりディアナ・アグロン テストの点以上瞳(め)の大きさが気になるどんなに勉強できても愛されなきゃ意味がないスカートをひらひらとさせてグリーのように | Don’t try and think of anything demanding Being empty-headed is just fine There’s enough comfort in just bipedal walking, Soft and gentle I want to live my life like a balloon Girls, They’ve got to be pretty, right? When you’re a student, It’s best to be dumb The thing that matters most for the time Is to be bubbly Forgot about Einstein How about Dianna Agron I’m more worried about the size of my eyes Than the marks on my exam It doesn’t matter how much you study If nobody loves you Like the fluttering skirts in Glee You don’t need to know anything about common knowledge You just have to be good at doing make-up I couldn’t give a damn about the news Whatever happens, Someone or other will come to your rescue Love, is a woman’s job Until you’re a mum, Just stay a child Instead of all that You should just have to make sure you have nice skin Who was Einstein again? I think I’ve heard of him I don’t really know He was, like, some great dude In some textbook But I like Dianna Agron I want to sparkle More and more The way you look to others is important Because, you know, What is inside can’t be seen Cuteness is righteousness! I want to be pampered Less like EinsteinThan Dianna Agron I’m more worried about the size of my eyes Than the score on my test It doesn’t matter how much you study If nobody loves you Like the fluttering skirts in Glee | muzukashī koto wa nani mo kangaenaiatamara ppode īni soku hokō ga rakudashifuwari karukufūsen mitai ni ikitai nda onnanoko wakawaikunakyanegakusei jidai wao bakade īkon ichiban taisetsuna koto wa sōkyapikyapi to ainshutain yoridiana agurontesuto no ten ijōhitomi me ) no ōki sa ga ki ni narudonnani benkyō dekite moaisarenakya imi ga naisukāto o hirahira to sasetegurī no yō ni yononaka no jō shiki nani mo shiranakute momeiku jōzunara īnyūsu nanka kyōmi naishitaitei no kotodare ka ni tasuketemoraeba ī onnanoko wakoi ga shigotoyomama ni naru madekodomode īsore yori mo jūyōna koto wa sōsubesube noo hada o tamotsu kotodeshō ？ ainshutain ttedonna hitodakke ？kīta koto arukedohontōha yoku shiranaikyōkasho notteita yōnananka erai hitodattasukina no wa diana aguron motto motto mottokagayakitaihito wa mitame ga kanjindatte dattenaimen wa mienaikawaī wa seigiyochiya hoya saretaiainshutain yoridiana aguron tesuto no ten ijōhitomi me ) no ōki sa ga ki ni narudonnani benkyō dekite moaisarenakya imi ga naisukāto o hirahira to sasetegurī no yō ni |
Who Are HKT48?
HKT48 is a Japanese idol girl group from Japan. THe “HKT” comes from Hakata-ku, an area in the city of Fukuoka. The group was founded in 2011 as the sister group of AKB48 and has its team center in Fukuoka, in the southern Kyushu island of Japan.
The members are divided into 3 teams: Team H, KII, and TIV – with each team representing one letter of the group’s name.
The group is a franchise of the “48” groups of girl groups with many members, originally created by Yasushi Akimoto. The group currently consists of 26 members:
Nana Okada, Shizuka Oya, Ayaka Uchida, Yuna Egozi, Hina Kawaei, Sakura Miyawaki, Rino Sashihara, Karen Iwata, Mina Oba, Mai Shiraishi, Maho Tomita, Kanna Hashimoto,Yuri Nakano.