The song released by R&B singer, Robin Thicke alongside of Pharrell Williams and T.I., called “Blurred Lines” was one of the top singles of 2013. While it became very popular and received a lot of praise, it was also criticized for its rough sexual implications throughout the song. The song describes Thicke telling a young woman that while she refuses to admit it, she really wants to have sexual relations with him. This creates the concept of blurred lines because Thicke believes the woman secretly wants to say yes versus her actually saying no. In the main unrated version of the music video, three mostly naked female models dance around fully clothed Thicke, Williams and T.I. while occasionally bringing out random props. The models …show more content…
Another scene in the music video that demonstrates the blurred lines of consent and reinforces rape culture is when one of the models is laying on her stomach and a very small stop sign is displayed on her bottom (3:47). This symbolizes that her ability to say stop to Thicke’s implications and his desires is so small that it’s almost insignificant. This pushes the rape myth that women should accept rape as flattering and allow men to have sex with them (Hamlin, 2005) because she really wants it. These instances allow for the acceptance of rape culture and directly promotes sexism that subordinates women to men.
While the video enforces a rape culture, it simultaneously sexually objectifies women. This sexual objectification that occurs is when the women’s sexual body parts are separated and paid close attention to in relation to the rest of their body (Gervais, Vescio, Förster, Maass & Suitner, 2012). In the video, Thicke continues to sing while the women, fully naked apart from a small nude thong, stand around looking into the camera with a clueless expression. While they dance around Thicke and play around with the meaningless props that do not have anything to do with the video or the music, they essentially become body props for the pleasure of Thicke and the other men in the video. In one scene, Thicke’s has a close up shot of his face while he uses the woman’s feet as a tool of a microphone
You would think that girls would condemn this song, but most of the girls I know have this song on their spotify playlist. This song degrades women and explicitly promotes rape culture. This song does not say anything about Miley’s looks or personality, it reduced Miley to a piece of “ass” that Stitches is welcome to penetrate whenever he pleases. Stitches literally says “Ima put my d*** up in your ass and it ain’t coming out”. So how could so many people like a song that is literally about raping a celebrity? Normalizing this disgusting behavior contributes to violence against women.
The development of visual media has introduced the concept of The Male Gaze Theory. The Male Gaze Theory is defined as how women are depicted in the media from a male perspective, such as presenting women as sexual objects for men’s pleasure (Loreck). The article, inexplicitly, talks about the male gaze: “Up to 81% of music videos contain sexual imagery, the majority of which sexually objectifies women by presenting them in revealing clothing, as decorative sexual objects, dancing sexually, or in ways that emphasize body parts or sexual readiness.” The article talks about how women are sexually presented in the media which is what the male gaze encompasses the “male gaze” is a harmful contribution to the sexualization of girls and is also seen throughout the music video. The beginning of the music video shows 50 Cent walking into a brothel-type mansion where the camera pans to focusing on the writhing, half-naked women in the foyer of the mansion. This scene is viewed from a male’s perspective because the camera focuses on their sensual movements and physical assets instead of their normal facial expressions or more appropriate places on their body. Also, since 50 Cent is the only male in the mansion, the camera is only coming from a male perspective because brothels are only truly for a male’s pleasure. The other women in the video are objectified from their revealing clothing
Date rape becomes evident numerous times throughout this tune, when thicke repeats, “you know you want it” this phrase suggests that all girls want is sex, and that even if a girl says no, it actuals means yes. It is also used by sexual predators, to justify their actions Thicke further sings “ but you’re an animal, baby its in your nature”, this lines suggests that girls cannot be tamed; unable to act as human beings but rather animals that are superior to men. Thicke further sings “ just let me liberate you, you don’t need no papers, that man is not your maker”, this lyric suggests that he wants them to be true to their nature, wants them to be wild, free for sexual favours. In this lyric when thicke states ‘ man is not your maker’in itself
Robin Thicke’s music video to his song “Blurred Lines” avidly contributes to the patriarchy, while portraying sexism, gender standards, and beauty standards. His music video can be analyzed from a feminist theory approach, as it’s evident that his song and video contribute to a patriarchal society and its inherently sexist and sexualized ideologies. The ideology behind the song and music video is purely sexual and about male dominance. The lyrics to the song and actions in the video exhibit extreme over sexualization and objectification of the women. Analyzing this piece of popular culture through a feminist approach opens up a provoking conversation about how popular culture functions in a patriarchal culture. Analyzing pop culture though a feminist theory can allow for a larger variety and more in-depth analysis about the social aspects and political agenda within popular culture.
Using “All About That Bass” as an entry point, I will analyze how “body positive” media perpetuates a “white feminist” ideology of who is included and targeted in their messages. For this analysis, I will look at three key themes embedded within the song’s lyrics and music video. First, I will discuss the song’s (cis)heteronormative basis for its “body positivity,” as well as how sexuality and fat politics are often paired. Next, I will analyze the function of the racialized body and what it means for Trainor, a white woman, to appropriate racial tropes for
In her article “The Venus Hip Hop and the Pink Ghetto: Negotiating Spaces for Women,” Imani Perry argues that the objectification of women in the music industry is normalized in our society. Her purpose is to persuade us that most feminists who fight against the objectification and exploitation of women are ultimately colonized by the sexual fantasies of men. As a law professor at Rutgers Law School, Perry structures her text in a very effective manner. Using a general-to-specific organization scheme, she begins by outlining the recurring image of sexualized women in music videos, then presenting various cases of prominent feminist figures in the music industry.
He wants his audience to understand that the music video’s messaging is that the most important aspect of a woman is her
Songs like Blurred Lines are a reminder to those who have had the traumatizing experiences that are described in the lyrics, and that are taken for granted within them. Artists are throwing abusive lyrics around without realizing effects of it and gaining popularity while listeners are blindly taking it in, especially in the case of Blurred Lines when it was one of the biggest hits in 2013. If audience had been more aware of what was said in the song, then it might not have been as popular. The next case of negative sexualization in lyrics is in the song What Do You Mean? by Justin Bieber. This song is about Bieber trying to decipher a woman’s emotions towards him, wanting a straight answer.
Women’s sexuality in Blurred Lines is portrayed as being naturally animalistic but suppressed by society’s pressure to be a good girl. The song suggests that women just need a liberator like Thicke to free them of this suppression by being persistent in sexual pursuits and of course “smack that ass and pull your hair” in the process of liberation. Every action by a woman is perceived as being an indicator that they want wild sex as illustrated by the lyrics “the way you grab me, must wanna get nasty” . At one point in the music video a stop sign is placed atop a woman’s behind while the lyrics complain about the hate of blurred lines, because according to Blurred Lines, even stop means go. Men’s sexuality isn’t portrayed as animalistic or predatory in the song or video, instead men are liberators that are helping women by fulfilling the desires that they know women truly want. This is emphasized by Thicke chanting “I know you want it” throughout the entire song. The music video also addresses a key issue of men’s sexuality, penis size. In order to provide the most satisfaction for women, men must have a large penis. Thicke makes sure you know what he is working with by spelling out “Robin Thicke has a big dick” with silver balloons in the background of his music video. This is also addressed in T.I.’s verse where he tells women he will “give you somethin’ big enough to tear yo ass in two” . According to
During the documentary a scene was shot at BET’s Spring Bling and a young male pointed out that women are determined to be b****** or women by the way they dress. Sexism is an issue that to society is not seen as important compared to the large number of black males incarcerated. The issue should be just as important if not more because one in four African American women is raped after the age eighteen. Most women who are called a b**** or another demeaning name think that it wasn’t referred to them, and either way is still unacceptable. Hip Hop is not being represented by men, which is why the decision of their lyrics is said the way that they
The women are shown as satisfied just by dancing next to touchy and feely men. The lyrics send out the message that all women appear to be easy and lured by wealth/a good time, even though this does not represent all women. The lyrics also standardize men and make it okay for them to play around. It makes me consider how society emphasizes the fact that men are not powerful enough unless they are getting girls and making money. In a way, the lyrics open up the discussion on how the media normalizes unhealthy perceptions about gender roles and relationships.
In particular, when Thicke sings, “The way you grab me. Must wanna get nasty,” suggests that when women wear “sexy” clothing and behave flirtatiously, they must “want it,” which is what rapists say to justify their actions. The title of the song and the term, “Blurred lines,” which is sung by the artist/s, is aimed at dealing with the theme of misogyny and intended to degrade women. The term, ‘blurred lines,’ refers to the line, being a person’s (in this case a female’s) barrier to their sexual life and when it is said to be ‘blurred, it refers to what the rapists believe as mixed messages, in other words, men not being able to comprehend the meaning of “no.” The way the camera is positioned, as the audience, we can see the way the male looks at the female, combined with the use of lyrics, these aspects together, reinforces the theme of misogyny in the video and this sort of behaviour of men is seen as dehumanising women and according to the University of Queensland, it “increases tolerance for unethical behaviour towards women – specifically men’s attitudes towards sexual harassment and rape.” Though, looking further into the purpose of the video, from the point of view of the artist and the director, is simply to create controversy, specifically targeting the passionate feminists, for example the opinionated people are most likely to express their opinion about this song via any social networking site or when talking to their friends, this spreads like wildfire and the more people listen to it, the more views it gets on YouTube, the bigger the song/artist gets, the chance of the song being played on the radio, the more it gets stuck in their head, and as a result of this, people go out and buy the song, which all reinforces the director’s purpose, to make
A rapper couldn’t use a line describing what she did in the movie, let alone film it in a video, without getting heat for it” (Keyes 256). While some may choose to side with this argument, rap truly takes sexual portrayal of women in both music videos and songs to the next level.
Girls and women are taught that cat calls on the street are normal and to just brush it off. Women have to deal with rape culture every day. Women can’t be out and about at three in the morning in fear of being raped. When I went to Sear’s Driving School, the instructor told every single girl in the class to lock the doors as soon as we get in their car in case anyone tries to attack us or rapes us. Women are told to be mindful of what they’re wearing because if they are raped, someone is going to blame their outfit for being raped. Society has taught women that it’s normal to be seen as sex objects and nothing else. In the summer of 2013, “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke was playing in nearly every radio station. I have to admit that it’s a catchy tune and made me want to sing along. It’s when I started singing along that I felt disgusted. The song goes on to say “I know you want it” referring to sex. The song “Blurred Lines” focuses on the so called “blurred lines” that men face when being entitled to having sex with a girl. If rape culture didn’t exist, a song like this wouldn’t be so popular much less have ever been written.
Aguilera’s song is a prime example of third-wave feminism because it focuses on the inequalities of women as well as addresses issues about gender and sexuality. Not only does this song include third-wave feminism, it also includes the radical feminist perspective because it reveals the double standards we have in society today regarding what males and females can and cannot do. In “Can’t hold us down’s” hook, third-wave feminism is seen with Aguilera’s lyrics “This is for my girls all around the world. Who've come across a man who don't respect your worth. Thinkin' all woman should be seen not heard. So, what do we do girls? Shout louder. Lettin' 'em know we're gonna stand our ground,” (Genius, 2003). This hook demonstrates third-wave feminism because it encourages all women who have been disrespected by men in all forms to speak up for themselves. Moreover, Aguilera asserts that when men expect women “should be seen not heard” they must refuse to be silenced in order to make a difference. The radical perspective element of this song addresses double standards in society and encourages reciprocity. This element is portrayed in Lil’ Kim’s verse “Here's something I just can't understand. If a guy have three girls than he's the man. He can even give her some head, then sex her raw. If a girl do the same than she's a whore. But the tables 'bout to turn, I bet my fame on it. Cats take my ideas and put they name on it. It's aiight though, you can't hold me down. I got to keep on