The Popularity of the Term ‘Diva’
‘Diva’, coming from the Latin for ‘goddess’ (see also ‘divine’), traditionally referred to a woman opera singer or, secondarily, an arrogant or temperamental woman.
Yet, over the past five years, it’s been appropriated by nearly every sector of women’s products, from shoes to dolls to feminine hygiene products. Clearly, the average marketing department thinks the average women associates positively with the idea of (if not actually being) ‘diva’.
Thinking back on it, the tipping point may have been that damn Divas Live musical special from 1998, when they were still using the term to describe singers. The more generalized usage may be older than that, but not in my (quite robust, I should think) pop culture experience.
Why is this? It’s the equivalent of men buying golf clubs by Asshole or a Jerk sedan, isn’t it? Or maybe it’s more like that cologne, Egoiste (which, I think, only appeals to a narrow slice of mankind). Or has the definition permanently changed? Have millions of marketing dollars irrevocably changed it to “strong, sexy if a little high maintenance and bitchy”?
I smell a Rebel Sell. Women are being sold on the rebellious notion of being something outside the norms of acceptability. That the ‘alternative culture’ of diva-hood is desirable and attainable. It’s apparently an effective technique.
Heather 