The Atlantic: a current version of Leslie’s Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me”

60% of voters are women – it is imperative that we make use of our vote and stand up for our rights as women! 

The Best Lady GOTV Video of 2012, Starring Lena Dunham and Lesley Gore

A bunch of gorgeous young women revive an old message: “You Don’t Own Me.”

If you followed the amazing outpouring of citizen-generated political content during the 2008 presidential contest, 2012 has been rather disappointing. Sure, there was the anonymously recorded 47 percent video released by Mother Jones, and there have been some fun videos by the Gregory Brothers. But it feels like there’s been much less artist-created content this cycle — and much more put together by people involved with campaigns for either politicians or web companies, many of which are entering the political marketplace as part of a broader branding play rather than because they have strong belief systems.

So how exciting is this new video from a bunch of gals who look like they just stepped off the set of HBO’s Girls — including that show’s creator, Lena Dunham? 

The ladies lip-sync and vamp to the 1964 hit “You Don’t Own Me” in this get out the vote PSA released Monday by Sarah Sophie Flicker, a New York-based performer with the The Citizen’s Band, and others in the clip. 

“A bunch of us gals, including Maximilla Lukacs, Tavi Gevinson, Alia Penner, Tennessee Thomas, Alexa Chung, Rebecca Fernandez, Leith Clark, Erika Spring,Karen Elson and I had all been horrified by the news, the repeated attacks on women’s rights, and the anti-women sentiment pouring out from the GOP generally,” Flicker told Paper magazine. “We decided we wanted to make a PSA.

“Personally, I’m struck by the fact that we are teetering dangerously close to a situation where my daughter won’t have the same rights I’ve enjoyed my entire life and that scares the heck out of me. Women constituted 60% of last elections voters. We can win this thing. We just have to agitate, motivate, and get out the darn vote!”

Lesley Gore herself joined the video project and ends it with this message: “I recorded ‘You Don’t Own Me’ in 1964. It’s hard for me to believe, but we’re still fighting for the same things we were then. Yes, ladies, we’ve got to come together, get out there and vote and protect our bodies. They’re ours. Please vote.”

The list of ladies in the video, via The Cut and Paper, follows this video of Gore singing her song the year it came out: