Misogyny in music

18 posts / 0 new

Wed, 2013-07-03 08:51

Kaitlin McNabb Kaitlin McNabb's picture

Misogyny in music

Andrea Warner's awesome article on misogyny and perptuation of rape culture in new pop music

Misogyny makes a comeback: Kanye, Robin Thicke and degrading women

The obvious difference between Ross and Thicke is that while “U.O.E.N.O” outright condones rape, “Blurred Lines” takes its winking, self-satisfied title and runs that euphemism into the ground. Ross apologized, albeit only after he lost a lucrative sponsorship deal, but Thicke took a different approach, telling GQ:

“We tried to do everything that was taboo. Bestiality, drug injections, and everything that is completely derogatory towards women. Because all three of us are happily married with children, we were like, ‘We're the perfect guys to make fun of this.’ People say, ‘Hey, do you think this is degrading to women?’ I'm like, ‘Of course it is. What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I've never gotten to do that before. I've always respected women.’”

All the problems in the world exist in these few lines. The idea that it’s a “pleasure” to degrade women after a lifetime of respecting them is ridiculous. That it’s somehow funny or something he’s allowed to do because he’s happily married with children is the thinking of someone completely deluded, who has lived his entire life in a bubble of entitlement.

Issues Pages:

Feminism

Wed, 2013-07-03 10:10

Unionist

Good article, but probably IMHO a little too generous to these influential artists who are deliberately reducing human culture to its lowest levels.

The title ("Misogyny makes a comeback"), however, makes one wonder when it ever left. I grew up with both brilliant and mediocre popular music that took subordination, brutalization, enslavement, and commodification of women as an inalterable presupposition. [url=http://subjectivebeatles.blogspot.ca/2009/03/top-five-most-violently-mis... Beatles[/url] are an example of the brilliant kind, just to show how pervasive the phenomenon was then. "Run For Your Life", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"... I mean, holy crap.

That the rape in rape culture should be more explicit now in some music is despicable and terrifying. But the "subtler" forms (and not-so-subtler) shouldn't be considered less insidious.

Wed, 2013-07-03 10:22

Kaitlin McNabb Kaitlin McNabb's picture

I believe she references that misogyny in music is definitely nothing new, but I like her point that a lot of this new music icons, especially Kanye and Robin Thicke, grew up with feminists mothers, and their edginess or creating something new is to degrade women, because since they respect women they can do that. It's something new for them.

What a weird thought? Since he has a wife and children he is somehow exempt from being misogynistic and then can therefore dabble in sexism without contributing to the over culture of it?

It's like when people say "well, my best is black therefore I'm not racist."

Jane Espenson, a tv writer, has this awesome pull quote in an advocate article from 2011: “If we can’t write diversity into sci-fi, then what’s the point? You don’t create new worlds to give them all the same limits of the old ones.”

I think that lends to music too -- these men are trying to create new genre, defy limits, etc, but how can they do that by just reiterating the past?

Wed, 2013-07-03 10:54

Maysie

I saw that article about the "nice guys breaking taboos". That's what privilege and ignorance looks like, if anyone needed to know that.

This is from The Onion, but it might not have been.

Eminem Terrified as Daughter Begins Dating Man Raised on His Music

Quote:

“Justin said I was his favorite artist when he was growing up, and now he wants to go out with my little girl,” said Eminem, telling reporters he didn’t even want to imagine what Denham’s views on relationships could possibly entail given his self-professed love of albums that include songs about mutilating women.

While it's interesting to look at a generation of men who were possibly raised by feminists, and certainly raised in an era after feminism made its large public wins, this isn't necessarily a factor in raising boys who become men who are conscious about not being misogynist assholes. I know men from a variety of generations who have achieved this, and are allies.

Perhaps we had a greater expectation for the victories of feminism, but we forgot how resilient mainstream (ie woman-hating) culture is. It's damn depressing, really.

Wed, 2013-07-03 12:12

Kaitlin McNabb Kaitlin McNabb's picture

Great link Maysie!

You're so right -- it is totally what privilege looks like. The ability to make misogynistic statements to create "an edge" or whatever and then walk away from the discussion is the epitome of privilege.

I dislike when people also take the stance of being devil's advocate during a conversation or discuss things in the theoretical atmosphere -- "thanks bro, but this actually affects and plagues my life on a daily basis. But I'm glad you were able to wax philosophical and use that BA degree of yours."

Wed, 2013-07-03 12:26

Kaitlin McNabb Kaitlin McNabb's picture

Ah, I think I'm in a bad mood today...

Wed, 2013-07-03 13:12

Bacchus

Maysie wrote:

I saw that article about the "nice guys breaking taboos". That's what privilege and ignorance looks like, if anyone needed to know that.

This is from The Onion, but it might not have been.

Eminem Terrified as Daughter Begins Dating Man Raised on His Music

Quote:

“Justin said I was his favorite artist when he was growing up, and now he wants to go out with my little girl,” said Eminem, telling reporters he didn’t even want to imagine what Denham’s views on relationships could possibly entail given his self-professed love of albums that include songs about mutilating women.

While it's interesting to look at a generation of men who were possibly raised by feminists, and certainly raised in an era after feminism made its large public wins, this isn't necessarily a factor in raising boys who become men who are conscious about not being misogynist assholes. I know men from a variety of generations who have achieved this, and are allies.

Perhaps we had a greater expectation for the victories of feminism, but we forgot how resilient mainstream (ie woman-hating) culture is. It's damn depressing, really.

Because regardless of how you are raised(and I was raised by my mother after my father comitted suicide when i was 9, which I just found out was suicide after my brother and a best friend committed suicide this year) the world around you conditions you more than your parents. After all your parents are not your TV, music, internet, playground, school, friends, billboards, magaines, news, co-workers, bosses, teachers etc all of whom will influence you as well and influence you even more when you have moved out from under your parents direct influence

Wed, 2013-07-03 16:08

Kaitlin McNabb Kaitlin McNabb's picture

Sorry to hear about that Bacchus.

I agree with you that people aren't always products of how they were raised, but it was a good jumping off point and area of context for the article.

A lot of people try to excuse whatever -ism with "well, they are a product of their generation" which is always a bit of a fallacy. Most progressive views are the process of "unlearning" pretty much everything from mainstream society, like you said.

It is so ridiculous that these artists just think they are presenting into a vacuum (#1) and (#2) even want to create something where they push the boundaries into rape and violence against women. You would think they would realize that being shocking is going against convention not just sticking with the status quo.

Wed, 2013-07-03 16:37

Bacchus

It takes sticking power to swim against the current, even if thats how you were brought up.

The 'hey arent I ironic when Im not from the mainstream but pretend to be?" is so much BS

Thu, 2013-07-04 10:08

#10

Kaitlin McNabb Kaitlin McNabb's picture

I'm just wondering how someone can say the statement ‘What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I've never gotten to do that before. I've always respected women.’ and not have a moment -- an outer body experience if you will -- of "maybe this is a bad idea"

"let's have some throwback sexism because we don't have it anymore" is a terrible thought and one founded on LIES.

I agree Bacchus, they are not brave or edgy, just full of poop. What is terrible is the proliferation this will have on young people. We already have too many white kids dropping n bombs to seem subversive and hip, do we really need another infusion of this?

Thu, 2013-07-04 10:33

#11

Francesca Allan

Kaitlin McNabb wrote:

Ah, I think I'm in a bad mood today...

You may be in a bad mood, Kaitlin, but your post #4 was hilarious.

Thu, 2013-07-04 11:44

#12

Kaitlin McNabb Kaitlin McNabb's picture

Francesca Allan wrote:

Kaitlin McNabb wrote:

Ah, I think I'm in a bad mood today...

You may be in a bad mood, Kaitlin, but your post #4 was hilarious.

haha, well good!

I tend to get ranty and make up quotes for imaginary people that I don't like -- that one was a philosophy major who is probably a MRA ;)

Sat, 2013-07-20 10:04

#13

Kaitlin McNabb Kaitlin McNabb's picture

Parody Of “Blurred Lines” Stands Up For Women’s Rights In Texas via buzzfeed

The members of Full Frontal Freedom describe themselves as “the anti-PAC,” a group of artists and media executives who want to use their skills to “enhance civil discourse.”

Tue, 2013-07-23 07:46

#14

Kaitlin McNabb Kaitlin McNabb's picture

This Gender-Swapped ‘Blurred Lines’ Video via Jezebel:

Seattle boylesque troupe Mod Carousel created their own version of Robin Thicke's controversial (and catchy) single "Blurred Lines"—they changed the lyrics, rerecorded the vocals, and restaged the video with all of the genders swapped. The result is pretty amazing. And I love their explanation of the philosophy behind the project:

It's our opinion that most attempts to show female objectification in the media by swapping the genders serve more to ridicule the male body than to highlight the extent to which women get objectified and does everyone a disservice. We made this video specifically to show a spectrum of sexuality as well as present both women and men in a positive light, one where objectifying men is more than alright and where women can be strong and sexy without negative repercussions.

Tue, 2013-07-23 10:41

#15

Bacchus

One of my favourite authors redid all the 'bodice ripper/fantasy/sci fi ' covers of books with himself as the 'heroine'

They are really well done

Tue, 2013-07-23 10:50

#16

Bacchus

Ah here it is

He did some other ones which were even better

Tue, 2013-07-23 16:24

#17

Kaitlin McNabb Kaitlin McNabb's picture

haha, his facial expressions are priceless...

Reminds me of this article I read yesterday on "gender swapping" talking about the representation of men and women (sorry binary gender talk) in media and how we as a society have become somewhat blind to it.

I think the writer is somewhat wrong that "we never really question it" because there are lots and lots of people, even in media, even in MAINSTREAM media that do question this, but yes, to homogenized a group and to err on the side of caution, then 'we' don't really question it.

Is Gender-Flipping The Most Important Meme Ever?

In the wise words of Community’s Dean Pelton, sometimes we don’t see our own patterns until they’re laid out in front of us. We, as consumers of media and culture, absorb a lot of sexist, racist, heteronormative bullshit every day, and we never really question it because we see it every day. We internalise it. We expect it. It feels normal — until something fishes us out of our warm pot and forces us to see the steam.

Also, the article starts off with an analogy to the "boiled frogs" story, which kind of works, but you can just skip it and view the images, because it is kind of hilarious when the two are swapped.

Fri, 2013-10-11 12:45

#18

Kaitlin McNabb Kaitlin McNabb's picture

Rihanna's new music video has been getting a ton of critique, which is unsurprising.

This article is really interesting

Sound Off: Black Women Writers Respond to Rihanna’s “Pour it Up”

he video for “Pour It Up” bored me.

From the headlines it spawned (my fave being: “Rihanna Twerks Dangerously”), I didn’t expect much from the video. What would’ve been groundbreaking to me would’ve been an actual narrative of the lives of women who dance for money, women engaged in stigmatized work, women who are told that they are shameful and their lives should be kept secret.

Instead, all “Pour It Up” did was showcase women dancing for money as another woman sits idly, twerking upside down, mind you, on a gold throne while draped in gaudy Chanel product placements.

I don’t find strippers to be shocking or even titillating. That’s likely because I see them and all people engaged in sex work and/or trade as whole human beings with agency, stories, traumas, love and sexuality – and like most people with jobs, theirs should not limit or define them.