from unleash15 October-November 2011
by Leah Weber from YAPA, whose inner feminist got extremely riled up whilst researching and writing this opinion piece!
I listened to Ke$ha’s song TiK ToK this morning. With over 66.5 million views on YouTube and its use in countless TV promos, there’s no doubt that this song is a worldwide hit.
But have you ever listened closely to the lyrics? "I'm talking about everybody getting crunk crunk, Boys tryin' to touch my junk junk," Ke$ha blurts out to the beat. This song is about young women going out, getting trashed and being felt up, so just why are we singing along?
There is no doubt that music can have an array of positive benefits for us. It can make us feel happy, nostalgic, inspired, excited, or relaxed. It can calm our nerves, soothe a broken heart and can even take us to a place we’d rather be. Hey, I’ll be the first to admit that when I’m in a crappy mood I love nothing more than blasting out some angsty tunes and rocking out in my lounge room! It’s therapeutic!
But what about some of the negatives of mainstream music lyrics and video clips? There is a plethora of songs and video clips out there that are overtly sexual, violent, and sometimes both. Is this affecting the young people that listen to it? Are these words and images shaping how young people are growing up, behaving and seeing themselves?
Now in writing this article I was very wary that I might be channeling my inner nanna (‘you know, back in my day…’), so I turned to the facebook brains trust to garner a few other opinions. And it appears that I’m not alone in my fears. Comments surfaced about the fact that we are becoming increasingly desensitized to what we see and hear. Some suggested that the internet is to blame for this, with easy and instantaneous access to raunchy or violent music video clips with very little censorship. Gone are the days when we had to wait until the weekend to see music videos on ABC TV’s Rage; where we had to stay up past midnight to see anything even remotely controversial.
Don’t get me wrong. I do not think that all young people are wandering the streets like zombies; passively consuming every message from every song they hear. Young people are much smarter than that.
But what I’m questioning is why it seems to be okay for contemporary music lyrics to label women derogatory terms like ‘bitches’, ‘hoes’, and to glorify acts of violence and criminality, excessive drinking and drug use? Is this really okay with us as a society? And what is it doing to the way we act and treat one another?
Recently I was discussing this with a sixteen year old young woman who came up with a very interesting point. With open eyes she said to me, “the real question is: is the music creating the culture, or is the culture creating the music?” It’s almost like the old chicken and the egg argument!
So, if we don’t like it, what can we really do about it? We are never really going to be able to control what the big wigs at Sony Music release, nor are we going to be able to spend the rest of our lives being exposed solely to musical content that makes us feel happy, nostalgic, inspired, excited, or relaxed. It seems an impossible battle to win.
The first step is not to accept, but to challenge the things that you don’t agree with! If a friend of yours is playing a song that has offensive, derogatory or violent content, question them about it, and challenge the reasons why they enjoy it. If you see a music video that contains images or lyrics that offend you, email a complaint to the television station or record label.
I say stand up for what you believe in. If you don’t like something, do something about it, because apathy gets us nowhere. Argue your case for positive change and make your voice be heard.
If I can do it, so can you. Why do you think I wrote this article?