tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post7857730267197533681..comments2023-05-14T03:03:09.451-05:00Comments on Female Impersonator: Sometimes, I really hate musicAmeliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884754298018500343noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-12313720134974042482008-09-26T20:15:00.000-05:002008-09-26T20:15:00.000-05:00"I have to say. I came across a radio station that..."I have to say. I came across a radio station that plays alot of music from the 40's and 50's old standards type music."<BR/><BR/>The place I volunteer at has a lot of older volunteers, and we used to have a radio set to their favorite station. A lot of those oldies are no better, they just approach sexism from a different angle. Women in these songs are property at worst, and at best are a different species from men and must be 100% perfect, innocent and sweet to deserve affection. Being misogynist in a different way isn't an improvement, and they only sound wholesome because they thought they were being wholesome. I remember one song in particular that basically praised the white dude's right to street harass. This station would play it OVER AND OVER AND OVER. Literally 3 times an hour every day for several months. Then "someone" messed with the radio so it didn't work anymore. (It actually wasn't me, but I wish I know who it was so I could thank 'em.)<BR/><BR/>At least in the case of new music, you could pretend that the musicians are just doing it for shock value. But the older misogynists definitely believed what they were saying, and everyone else believed them too, and everyone else STILL believes them enough to air their stupid crap on the radio. :(Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-40227957727089882782008-09-13T21:20:00.000-05:002008-09-13T21:20:00.000-05:00I also said I have not heard that song for a long ...I also said <I>I have not heard that song for a long time (I choose not to listen to it for reasons Jenn states in her post), but I definitely got the feeling that it was Reznor talking about a woman. Even if that is not true, the fact that I (and many other people) believe it is, is not good for trying to bring equality to the genders.</I><BR/><BR/>And I think there is a problem when it comes to music like this and its promotion of certain sexist ideas, even unintentionally. Because a lot of the messages that people become programmed with are not ones that they are actively listening to. It's the ones that they are passively hearing over and over and over and over (like messages about animalized/objectified women) that sometimes stick the most. <BR/><BR/>So I think it is a problem. And a feminist problem at that, whether the artist intended for that to be true or not.Ameliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10884754298018500343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-87139981486691937982008-09-13T20:55:00.000-05:002008-09-13T20:55:00.000-05:00You just said it yourself, though: it strips SOMEO...You just said it yourself, though: it strips SOMEONE of their humanity. Not necessarily a woman. Why is stripping an unidentified individual of unspecified gender an anti-FEMINIST act? It might be an anti-HUMANist act, if you want to call it that.<BR/><BR/>Besides, I don't think Reznor is necessarily saying that dehumanizing others is good, or that using sex to make yourself feel not worthless is good. He's writing his song from the perspective of someone who does these things, though, which is a technique very often used by artists of all media.<BR/><BR/>Of course, if you want to get into a debate about whether artists have the responsibility to depict realistic or whether it is their duty to only promote those images which depict some ideal state in hopes that it might convince those who are behaving in ways not conducive to the betterment of society (which is really a whole separate argument in itself), I'm up for it.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08305516222213331351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-18666675633524042412008-09-13T11:45:00.000-05:002008-09-13T11:45:00.000-05:00To throw in my $0.02, I think the term "fucking li...To throw in my $0.02, I think the term "fucking like an animal" makes it an anti-feminist act if merely because it is dehumanizing. It doesn't matter if you know girls and gay people who use the term, Michael, - it is still degrading because it strips the participants of their humanity.<BR/><BR/>I have not heard that song for a long time (I choose not to listen to it for reasons Jenn states in her post), but I definitely got the feeling that it was Reznor talking about a woman. Even if that is not true, the fact that I (and many other people) believe it is, is not good for trying to bring equality to the genders.Ameliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10884754298018500343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-60805748802158596522008-09-13T02:56:00.000-05:002008-09-13T02:56:00.000-05:00Can you say that "fucking like an animal"...Can you say that "fucking like an animal" is necessarily an anti-feminist act? I know I've heard a gay friend of mine use that phrase before, as well as female friends talking about their boyfriends. (TMI? sorry <.<) Like I said in my previous post, even though Reznor is a man, NIN's music is pretty genderless, and if you take the lyrics in question in the context of a piece of music about using sex to quell feelings of personal worthlessness, I can't see them as offensive. Of course, if you're offended by art that's not just "offensive for the sake of being offensive," than I think that our disagreement on this issue is unresolvable.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08305516222213331351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-80981548309837277792008-09-13T00:38:00.000-05:002008-09-13T00:38:00.000-05:00Michael - uh, by the words that Trent Reznor uses,...Michael - uh, by the words that Trent Reznor uses, I can infer that "fucking like an animal" isn't exactly a feminist or neutral act. "Violating" someone doesn't sound either.Jennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05333226493312516551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-47269121860785452412008-09-12T03:55:00.000-05:002008-09-12T03:55:00.000-05:00Shit like this is exactly why I have given up the ...Shit like this is exactly why I have given up the radio. I am an mp3 girl because I am sick of racism, sexism and homophobia passing for entertainment. I am so outdated that by the time I hear about a new song it's months old, but sensibilities get offended much less often now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-54124779387216335932008-09-12T01:21:00.000-05:002008-09-12T01:21:00.000-05:00Kate is indeed correct. Nowhere in the song does i...Kate is indeed correct. Nowhere in the song does it mention the gender or name of whoever it is that Trent is addressing. The video does contain some shots of a nude woman, though. At least as I understand it, the song isn't really about sex or abuse, it's about trying to use sex to quell feelings of worthlessness, which (god knows) people of any orientation/gender/whatever can surely relate to.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08305516222213331351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-44551901824940813022008-09-11T22:51:00.000-05:002008-09-11T22:51:00.000-05:00Just to let you know, that NIN song is called "Clo...Just to let you know, that NIN song is called "Closer." And technically, I don't think he ever refers to the gender of the person in the song (although I'm not examining the lyrics right now.) Just sayin'.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01130024717717285652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-37357456960180321462008-09-11T14:28:00.000-05:002008-09-11T14:28:00.000-05:00Or as Prefab Sprout said,Look at us now, quit driv...Or as Prefab Sprout said,<BR/><BR/>Look at us now, quit driving, some things hurt much more than cars and girls.Ben Varkentinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14860341359362967093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-88400694109220545752008-09-11T10:32:00.000-05:002008-09-11T10:32:00.000-05:00Exactly, Amelia. I was crushed when I figured out ...Exactly, Amelia. I was crushed when I figured out that Paramore was just as misogynist and insubstantial as the rest of the music on the radio. Is it totally sick that I'm thrilled when I hear an actual love song without objectification or enfantilization?<BR/><BR/>TGA - Too bad I don't like the oldies. Musically, I just like rock and rock-like genres more than anything else. It's a shame, really, that the lyrics are often so terrible.Jennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05333226493312516551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-10150891536363775492008-09-11T10:16:00.000-05:002008-09-11T10:16:00.000-05:00I often feel exactly the same way when it comes to...I often feel exactly the same way when it comes to music. Like a lot of what is popular doesn't line up with any of my values or even my common sense of right vs. wrong.<BR/><BR/>I was crushed when I heard "Misery Business" for the first time for the reason you mentioned. I love them, and was excited to find them because of their lead singer, but when I heard those lyrics, it killed me a little. There aren't that many women taking the lead in bands like that, so I had once hoped that she'd be more responsible. Oh well...<BR/><BR/>I don't yet understand why our society buys into this kind of crap. Maybe we've grown collectively lazy and don't really listen to lyrics anymore, let alone analyze them for their probably harmful components. And maybe it's in muscicians best interest ($$) to write lyrics that will appeal to people, or maybe it's just become so easy to objectify women, talk about sex in a non-responsible manner, and turn it into music and sell it that most artists don't bother trying to write lyrics that are anything more.<BR/><BR/>Hope that makes sense.<BR/><BR/>That's why most of the music I listen to on a regular basis is political. Those artists have something in particular to complain about, and the are contributing to the listeners awareness. It's good.Ameliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10884754298018500343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-48371902397139501202008-09-11T01:05:00.000-05:002008-09-11T01:05:00.000-05:00At the risk of sounding cheesy I have to say. I ca...At the risk of sounding cheesy I have to say. I came across a radio station that plays alot of music from the 40's and 50's old standards type music. And I've been listening to it for the past few days and I've gotta say, I actually enjoy hearing songs that talk about love as it should be an adoring type of love, love songs that don't reference any kind of sex or anything like that. Our culture is headed quickly down the crapper and it's because of alot the crap pumped through the headphones of today's teens. They get the message that sex is wrong and women are merely expendable objects good for only giving bj's and smacking around and then kicking to the curb. It's too bad that the music of people like Sinatra, who tended to be somewhat of a skirt-chaser, but his songs were about loving everything about women and not simply using them.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05697447084483553573noreply@blogger.com