I thought for my first post I'd play with pop culture.
I love country music--it's what I was raised on and I've felt a pull to it for as long as I can remember. Of course, that being the case,
there has been a lack of liberal activism in some areas of my musical experiences. Even so, few songs are quite as in-your-face with the gender role restrictions as this one. (Parenthetical comments are my responses to the lines.)
I'm Still a Guy
Brad Paisley
When you see a deer
You see Bambi
And I see antlers up on the wall
(Because all men hunt, and feel a thrill at killing animals. Not to mention seeing a living thing as an object...and God/Goddess/Gods/whatever you believe forbid there is a vegetarian who is a man! Oh, and all women melt at the sight of anything fuzzy.)
When you see a lake
You think picnics
And I see a large mouth up under that log
You’re probably thinkin' that you’re gonna change me
(Because that's all women want...to find a man they can change...)
In some ways well, maybe you might
Scrub me down, dress me up
Oh, but no matter what
Remember, I’m still a guy
When you see a priceless French painting
I see a drunk naked girl
(Because no men appreciate art. Perish the thought! And all women love art, of course.)
You think that ridin' a wild bull sounds crazy
And I’d like to give it a whirl
(Apparently all men want to try risky stunts, and no women ever do. Which is a sucky observation. I, for one, think it sounds fun.)
Well, love makes a man do some things he ain’t proud of
And in a weak moment I might
Walk your sissy dog
Hold your purse at the mall
(Both of which will, of course, immediately castrate any male and label him as feminine...no matter what.)
But remember, I’m still a guy
And I’ll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around
Knock some jerk to the ground
‘Cause he copped a feel as you walked by
(A. Violence does not impress all women. B. Women are perfectly capable of knocking that jerk to the ground themselves. C. Violence does NOT equal masculinity!)
I can hear you now talkin' to your friends
Sayin' yeah girls he’s come a long way
From draggin' his knuckles and carryin' a club
And buildin' a fire in a cave
("Ooh...look how I've fixed him!" Please...)
But when you say a backrub means only a backrub
Then you swat my hand when I try
Well now what can I say at the end of the day
Honey, I’m still a guy
(Regardless of stereotypes, men do have thoughts other than sex. I promise.)
And I’ll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around
Knock some jerk to the ground
‘Cause he copped a feel as you walked by
(Well, the violent part needed reiteration, of course.)
These days there’s dudes gettin' facials
Manicured, waxed, and botoxed
But with deep spray on tans and creamy lotioney hands
You cain’t grip a tackle box
(Men are subjected to "beauty" standards as well...yes, I think some of these--especially the Botox--are unhealthy and a little creepy. For both men and women. But it's expected that women do these things--we all know we're worthless unless we're "pretty." [So society says...it's complete bull, of course.] When men do these things, not only are they buying into the standards, but they're doing things that are traditionally feminine--the worst thing possible! There is nothing worse in our society than being compared to a woman.)
Yeah, with all of these men linin' up to get neutered
(I can only assume he means vasectomies. He's honestly criticizing men for taking responsibility of their own sexualities...something that, as feminists, we've been arguing for for quite a while.)
It’s hip now to be feminized
(GAH!)
But, I don’t highlight my hair
I’ve still got a pair
Yeah, honey I’m still a guy
(I still have balls! I am man! Roar!) (And by the way, "a pair"=biological sex. "Guy"=gender.)
Oh, my eyebrows ain’t plucked
Theres a gun in my truck
(More violence. It's clear--to be a man you must enjoy shooting things. Or pretend to.)
Oh Thank God, I’m still a guy
Yeah boy
I usually love Brad Paisley. This song, though, is an overt example of the socialization that hits us all everyday. We listen to music such as this, watch television shows/movies/ad with these messages, and don't think anything of it. We're constantly bombarded with the ideas that being labeled "feminine" is the worst possible punishment and anything traditionally or popularly linked with women is automatically less valuable. And when things like this are pointed out we're told we're overreacting and taking it too seriously. Which, of course, not only helps perpetuate these ideas and media but also helps to silence us in later incidents.
Moral of the story--we need to keep thinking about these things and noticing when media like this song are produced. And when we notice them, we need to call them what they are--hateful, fear-mongering propoganda aimed at maintaining the staus quo.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Yay Overt Gender Restrictions....
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/7832
Weekly Feministing Newsletter
Feministing RSS Feed
I hope he enjoys being all alone then!
You know that facials and highlighting makes your testicles shrink. Watch out! No testicles means you cannot be male!
What I really hate is that my entire family (with the exception of me and my nephew) buys into this shit!
I am so glad someone posted about this! Normally, I love country music, but when I first heard this song on my radio, I got so annoyed that I changed the station!
I have been noticing this overt sexism in other popular country songs, eg- Rodney Atkins "Cleaning this Gun." While I am definitely for young women getting "respect", I feel the message of the song is that he is guarding his daughter's 'purity' from a boy who "has one thing on his mind" (and of course since his daughter is completely devoid of hormones/unable to make her own decisions, she needs her father's "protection" from these kind of "bad boys"...ugh).
Anyway, I was wondering, can anyone think of some feminist country songs? I think even though it's older and not overtly about feminism, "Wide Open Spaces" is a good one, but I wanted to know if ya'll could think of any others?
I think the "neutered" part is figurative. Not to say this dude wouldn't also be horrified by the idea of an actual vasectomy, which would strip him of his masculinity by causing him to "shoot blanks." Either way it's problematic, as (in the writer's mind) facials etc. are gendered and equated with losing one's masculinity (which is tied to reproduction).
I am 28 years old and yes from the 'south', I however enjoy and take pride in gender roles. I would never buy my son a doll, or let him play dress up in a dress. You may not agree with me and that is fine because I don't agree with how far feminism has gone. I personally don't want a woman president, or a woman to lead church. I would respect my husband and think of him as wonderful for standing up for me if a guy felt me up. I enjoy watching my husband hunt, drive his truck, not pluck his eyebrows. I love those things about men, the ones who do completely turn me off. I am very capable of knocking someone down that felt me up, however I would prefer my man to do that, because if he didn't as far as I am concerned he is done....
Wow. That's not a song lyric, that's a first consult with the psychiatrist. What scared, sad and lonely creature with such stalled intellectual development could happily bring himself to put stuff like that on paper let alone sing it ? I could be totally wrong, but I feel that any guy overcompensating in any way that vaguely resembles the ill developed moron in this tale of woe is either mentally ill - or will show up 10 years down the line calling himself Susan and wanting to explain about his gender rea-asignment operation.
It's scary to think that neanderthals like the creator of this truly awful excuse for a song are still here and free to procreate...