The Objectification Objective
I was listening to the radio in the car and a familiar song came on, Ex's and Oh's by Elle King. You know you know it. It's that song where Rob Schneider's daughter sings about how she's so great in bed that all the guys she used to bang are constantly hunting her down for more. Wait! What!? You didn't know that's what it's about? Tic Tac Toe you say? That there is part of the problem. People don't pay attention to lyrics, even when they like the song. The only ones paying attention are the whackos looking for a reason to be offended. But that's not the point. The point is that this is just one more song that shows a blatant double standard of objectifying men in music. Ex's and Oh's is catchy as hell, but if the genders were flipped and a man sang it, it would be crucified as sexist and derogatory and probably result in a boycott. But if it's done by a woman it's feminism and strength.
Looking back, the music world is full of male objectifying songs. Salt n Peppa probably had the most iconic example ever with "What a Man." Great song. It's a classic, no doubt, but all it talks about is how attractive this guy is and how great he is in bed. Even more recently, Christina Aguilera had "Candyman." Super upbeat, very swingy, dirty as all get out. The entire song is devoted to describing the guy all the girls wanna fuck. No romance, just talking about tongue skills, panties dropping, and a real big "moan..."
I'm not saying men don't make these same songs about women. Hell, you'll find at least one on every rap album ever made. That's not the point. The point is that when a man does it, it is called out for what it is. When a woman does it, it is labeled as some form of female empowerment or feminism. So to that I call bullshit. Man or woman, objectification is objectification. Don't tap-dance around it.
Here's the twist. I'm not complaining about objectification. In it's own way, objectification is a personal goal of every person on Earth. You'd be hard pressed to find a person that wouldn't want "somebody" to stare at them thinking, "I want a piece of that." No, not everyone, but at least that special someone. Even in that capacity it is still objectifying someone. Why do women wear sexy clothes, so others will look at them. You may get the excuse of " it makes me feel better about myself." Well you don't feel better if nobody is looking. You don't wear the wonder bra for your personality. On the same token, a man will go to the gym, and primp and groom, and show off just so women will look at him and fantasize about sex. People don't stare at brains. Objectification isn't all bad. There's an entire industry based on it. It's called "modeling." The point is that everyone wants to be seen as a sexual object to somebody at some point. Man or woman, it doesn't matter. Just don't bullshit about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment