Chelsea Cristene takes the musician to task for labeling his summer hit a feminist movement.
Dear Robin,
I remember a world before “Blurred Lines,” don’t you? Before the “hey hey heys” and the catchy walking bass line? It wasn’t so long ago. But these days, nearly six months after its initial release, I can’t seem to swing a foam finger without running into your summer anthem. With a simple three-word suggestion, everybody gets up and grinds to the retro beat you may or may not have lifted from Marvin Gaye.
You’ve very publicly come under fire for your creepily coercive and, as a girlfriend of mine described them, “rapey” lyrics like “I know you want it,” and “The way you grab me / Must wanna get nasty.” Your defense was that “lyrics can get misconstrued” and that you were really aiming to parody the degradation of women in music. After all, you’re married and have a child, and we all know that married men and fathers are automatically exempt from being creepy. But what you haven’t acknowledged is that in a world where many listeners readily buy into objectifying messages, the lines between parody and more offensive pulp to add to the stack are, in fact, blurred.
“Misconstrued lyrics” and shameless self-promotion aside, what really got under my skin about your music video was its display of women. No, not the fact that they’re topless. Women’s bodies are beautiful. It was how you chose to display these women – as nothing but bodies for the viewer’s consumption – that bothered me.
Let’s climb into the DeLorean and go back to 1988, when Robert Palmer released the video to “Simply Irresistible.” You were born in 1977, so you should remember this song well. Robert Palmer stands in front of three rows of women whose clothing, hair, makeup, and dance moves are completely uniform. They are linked together in a chain, moving as one being. They wear identical expressions of passive boredom, rolling their eyes or drooping their lids, their lips pursed in flat, indifferent pouts. The camera frequently cuts to specific sexualized body parts – thighs, breasts, buttocks – whenever the women dance or gyrate in a way that simulates sex.
Nudity aside, there isn’t much difference between the women in Palmer’s video and the women in yours. They too look bored, parading around you, T.I., and Pharrell, striking mannequin-like poses, batting their eyelashes, and absentmindedly fluffing their hair. They stick their fingers in their mouths. They run their tongues across their teeth. Yet for all this emphasis on the mouth, these women are silent barring the brunette’s brief “Meow!” after you liken her to a “domesticated animal.”
Words, like clothes, are reserved only for your video’s male stars.
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Words, like clothes, are reserved only for your video’s male stars.
Ever heard of the male gaze, Robin? I’ll give you a little overview. In order for the male gaze to operate most effectively in popular culture, the woman must be disarmed. Her clothes are removed, her individuality is lost, and she is split into fragmented body parts. Though crucial in the transformation from human being to consumable object, none of these processes, contrary to your claim that your song/video “makes people feel good,” are gratifying or empowering to a female audience.
At 3:19 in your unrated video, one of the women dons a mask that covers her entire face. Her mask reminded me of Pauline Réage’s Story of O, a 1954 erotic novel about a young French woman bound in sexual service to various masters. In the novel’s final scene, O is fitted with an owl mask and paraded naked before a crowd of party guests. When a guest asks O’s master who she “belongs to,” the master responds, “you, if you like.”
Robin, the women in your music video belong to us, if we like, because they do not own themselves or their bodies. And despite your labeling “Blurred Lines” a “feminist movement,” lyrics like “I’m gon’ take a good girl” and “You the hottest bitch in this place”, not to mention your willing participation in Miley Cyrus’ VMA train wreck, write a far different story.
Want to satirize the degradation of women in popular media? Shoot a video that shows clothed, autonomous women reacting with disgust to the advances of their pursuers, not one that reinforces the idea of women as morsels for commercial digestion. Melinda Hughes has already done it for you. I’m sorry, but your defense of “Blurred Lines” as parody clearly misses the mark, because no matter how many good intentions this road to hell is paved with, the solution is never found by perpetuating the problem.
Want more on Robin Thicke? Check out Robin Thicke and Stacey Dean Rambold Should Scandalize Us: The Absent Discussion of Male Sexuality
Photo Kia Clay/Flickr
I know you want it
I know you want it
I know you want it
But you’re a good girl
The way you grab me
Must wanna get nasty
Go ahead, get at me
Rapey or a pretty good example of enthusiastic consent?
How about: “I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two” ?
IT is NOT a rapey song, it’s not even about rape. “The way you grab me” talks about how her touch indicates sexual interest, which is why he says “I know you want it”. It’s a song about a married woman (she’s “domesticated) and how he wants to cheat with her (she doesn’t need her divorce papers), the blurred lines are between being good (remaining faithful) and being bad (cheating). I am utterly flabbergasted as to how people can not understand this? It’s pretty damn easy to see this if you both to read the lyrics, I am sure most… Read more »
@ Archy
“Your defense was that “lyrics can get misconstrued” .
Either accidentally or with purpose. It may not be a misunderstanding of lyrics as much as seeing some topless women and trying to manufacture controversy. Why do you think some people scornfully call feminism the sexual grievance industry?
” I am utterly flabbergasted as to how people can not understand this? It’s pretty damn easy to see this if you both to read the lyrics, I am sure most feminists can understand these lyrics right? Or is the major backlash just proof that so many are unable to comprehend basic lyrics? ”
Attention seeking maybe?
“I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two” – Robin Thicke’s Blurried Lines “I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two” – Robin Thicke’s Blurried Lines “I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two” – Robin Thicke’s Blurried Lines Is that rapey? Or just sexy? Because women like to have their ass teared in two? Ladies, how many of you want your ass teared in two? Because it’s fun to tear a woman’s ass in two? Or am I just trying to manufacture controversy because I find this… Read more »
@ Erin
That plays on men’s size concern more than is something misogynistic. In society it’s thought that women like large penises and many women have confirmed this in relation to one night stands. It doesn’t seem to be an issue in committed relationships, but men can request regular sex with their wives / girlfriends and it won’t eliminate their insecurities. He’s basically using hyperbole to tell her that this would be the best sex of her life.
How does the best sex of her life equate to her ass being ripped in two? What man here legitmatlly believes that talking about ripping a woman’s ass in two is being pro-positive in healthy sex? Who here believes that having something so big inside your body that it causes physical tears to the point of rendering you in two is good sex or even something that would even feel good? You want to talk about societies tendency to assume that larger body parts are better, fine. You want to say that men get these ideas from women based on… Read more »
Maybe this will help.
“Hyperboles are exaggerations to create emphasis or effect. As a literary device, hyperbole is often used in poetry, and is frequently encountered in casual speech. An example of hyperbole is: “The bag weighed a ton.”[3] Hyperbole makes the point that the bag was very heavy, though it probably does not weigh a ton.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole
There is a *huge* difference between saying “The bag weighed a ton” and that a man wants to “tear” a woman’s ass in “two”. The first is a comment on the weight of a bag, the second is a gleefully described act of committing something violent and not sexually exciting at all against a woman. There is even a big difference between saying “The bag weighted a ton” and “That person looks like they weight a ton”, to comment and degrade them based on their weight by judging them overly harshly for it. Just because certain comments may be hyperbole,… Read more »
“How about if a woman made a comment about squeezing a man’s dick so hard she wanted to squeeze it off?” And what if a woman said I want to squeeze you to death while she hugs a close male friend she hasn’t see in years? What if a woman says if I catch my man with another woman, I’ll kill him or the term I’ll kick his ass, which means she’ll probably harangue him, but you’re suggesting that each of these are threats. Obviously threatening to kill or beat someone is worse than calling some one fat. I think… Read more »
“How about if a woman made a comment about squeezing a man’s dick so hard she wanted to squeeze it off?” There is an old joke that goes like this. I’m going to ask you a bunch of questions and you answer either right on or right off. The questioner then asks some innocuous questions to which the responder replies either right on or right off. After a few questions the questioner picks a man who is not attractive to the responder and asks. Do you want to suck so & so’s dick. The responder says right off. The questioner… Read more »
Really John? An old joke? Do you know how many old jokes are about blondes being dumb (I’m blond by the way!), dumb Polish people (I’m Polish by the way), drink-loving Irish people (I’m Irish by the way), farm girls (I grew up on a farm by the way), people from New Jersey (I’m from NJ by the way) ..should I go on? You’re okay with jokes being made about men? My guess is that you are okay with some and not okay with others. Regardless of that, you have a woman, and other women telling you that these lyrics,… Read more »
Hi Erin
The sad thing is that some men actually believe good sex for women is to have large things pushed inside all your body openings.
I have read all your comments Erin.
When a black person ask not to be called a negro it is respected.
When women ask not to be called a bitch , it is just smiled at, and we are told about men’s terrible stuffing in this world.
Is somebody self centered and lacking in empathy here?
It is me me me me me…..
Iben, do you think they think that pushing large things in a woman’s body is “good sex” or do you think it’s more a case of wanting to demostrate male dominance over a woman by pushing something so large in her body, it’s not even pleasurable for her but it establishes his power over her? It might be a little of both! And yes, it is sad. And yes, I agree with you. People will tip-toe around calling people of other races the right name but a woman asks not to be called a bitch and we are given all… Read more »
Why don’t any of these articles mention Diane Martel? She directed the video.
Hi Tom. I get the feeling that you aren’t too interested in talking about Robin Thicke. Do you not think he’s responsible for his own music? Artists are the ones that represent their own music. In any discussion I’ve heard about music around these kind of topics, I’ve always heard of it talked in terms of the artist. Which makes sense to me. I am sure there are many other key players, men and women, that have their had in the production or writing of a song. But the Artist is the one using the music as an artisitc expression… Read more »
An “artist” in today’s pop-culture entertainment complex is product of a team. Plus, the director of the video is a very important part of this team. She undoubtedly made a large portion of the creative choices that much virtual ink has been spilled to debate. We can’t deny her agency and put it all on just Thicke. His wife also consented to the video and encouraged the racier version. Does she lack agency as well?
Well the fact that some women were involved in the production of the video doesn’t make it any less exploitative of women. Just like the fact that over the years Muslim actors have appeared in numerous movies that portray Muslims as all a bunch of mindless terrorists out to blow up the world doesn’t make those movies less exploitative or change the fact that they unfortunately perpetuate harmful stereotypes. This doesn’t make those movies evil, or make it wrong to watch them, if you want a big stupid action movie that’s fun to watch you can’t go wrong with True… Read more »
Articles like this won’t solve any of that. The only solution is to stop giving pop stars attention.
But again, no body here asks the director to account for her artistic choices. No one here is giving me a reason why.
@ John K. Anderson I hope I spelled your name right or I’m going to be embarrassed. 🙂 “Well the fact that some women were involved in the production of the video doesn’t make it any less exploitative of women” I think the point is several people went out of their way to point out Robin Thicke’s involvement in the Miley Cyrus VMA debacle. Why then are people so quick to ignore and based on the responses defend / excuse the actions of women who willingly assisted in producing this video. Shouldn’t misogynistic women be held to account for their… Read more »
Tom, to answer your question, I actually mentioned Diane Martel in my initial draft of this article – a lot of which did not make the final cut for this site. Since Martel also directed the Miley Cyrus video that her controversial performance was based off of, though, she might warrant an entire article herself…
I look forward to that article.
One of the plights of masculinity is that traditionally we are the pursuers. Women may not realize this, but there is a lot of emotional capital invested in risking rejection. Many guys mitigate the risk by looking for indications of a woman’s interest. The women are silent, but should they be? Should they tell him yes or no? It seems to me he’s complaining that they don’t. The women are topless. That is a clear indication that they want sex or is it. The singer seems to indicate that he’s still unsure. Aren’t feminists the ones saying that even if… Read more »
John, the ideology (Feministic or not) that a nude female isn’t an invitation to sex, doesn’t mean that she still isn’t being sexualized or objectified by those gazing at her. How many people do you believe watched Blurred Lines and thought “A nude woman is not an invitation to sex” vs those that watched Blurred Lines and had thoughts simply about the women’s bodies being openly displayed? Ironically, women are encouraged to dress provocatively and are also sometimes scarlet-lettered for it by being called a “slut” because she should also be in control of how men respond to her. Which… Read more »
@ Erin “How many people do you believe watched Blurred Lines and thought “A nude woman is not an invitation to sex” vs those that watched Blurred Lines and had thoughts simply about the women’s bodies being openly displayed? ” How many topless men have you seen in mainstream print media? How many have you seen on broadcast TV? How many people wonder what these men are thinking or what their dreams and aspirations are when they see these images or do they just see a body? Are these men being objectified? If the same criterion applied, I believe they… Read more »
You said: “How many topless men have you seen in mainstream print media? How many have you seen on broadcast TV? “ I believe your response is an attempt to deflect and direct the conversation to what you believe is more worth while discussion. In this case, the plight you believe men suffer at the hands of the media. It’s fine to believe that men do suffer a plight in their own way. It is not fine to ignore the question I posed and ignore the issue women face because you believe that men and their experience are somehow invalidated… Read more »
@ Erin “You said: “How many topless men have you seen in mainstream print media? How many have you seen on broadcast TV? “ I believe your response is an attempt to deflect and direct the conversation to what you believe is more worth while discussion. … You have not legitimately addressed my question. No one said that vandalizing a man’s car was okay. But is that what this article is about? How come you are interested in talking about everything BUT the topic and article *you* decided to post in? So I will repeat, can you imagine a song… Read more »
John, I asked a question and you answered it with a question. That is not a “direct response”. I asked you a question specific to the topic in *this* article about women and your response was to ask a question specific to men instead. Again, that’s not a “direct response”. You obviously have very strong feelings about the way you believe men are marginalized in culture. I support that. I do not support ignoring the marginalization women also face by pointing back to men under *this* article that clearly is distinctive to media and the role women hold in media.… Read more »
“John, I asked a question and you answered it with a question. That is not a “direct response”. I asked you a question specific to the topic in *this* article about women and your response was to ask a question specific to men instead” I answered it with a question because I felt the answer would be best derived through self reflection. If you can’t take the same criterion for objectification you use to determine objectification of topless women and apply it to topless men, then your objection isn’t really that they’re being objectified. The objection is the nudity. and… Read more »
John, I was suppose to “self-reflect” on your question but you weren’t suppose to “self-reflect” on mine? Is that it? You wanted my “self reflection” to be turned to the marginalization men face instead of thinking about the marginalization women face in an article ABOUT the marginalization women face. You believe the marginalization men face is of greater importance. *This* is primarily what you want to talk about. I don’t get the impression your very interested in the marginalization women experience or in listening to women about the way they experience marginalization. You justify it because you don’t see it… Read more »
That brings the total of Robin Thicke-centered articles on this website up to three, within the last week or so. (that I know of, anyway)
The Streisand Effect is in full swing here.
Can I just ask how the line ““The way you grab me / Must wanna get nasty.” is rapey, unless it’s the woman being the rapist?
Is it an easy target because it’s a bad song? And the lyrics are unsophisticated, so it’s hard to interpret them as being ironic? And he’s a smug and narcissitic p***k? Do you think these lead us to judge him unfairly? I feel uncomfortable with the song and video too but I was suddenly aware of my own hypocrisy when actually reading the lyrics, and thinking “okay, he’s supposed to be seducing a married woman because he thinks she is denying what she really wants out of loyalty to her husband; I get that that is rapey” but three lyrics… Read more »
I think there is some truth in what you say Joseph. There is a lot of this stuff in music culture that never gets talked about probably because it’s adopted under a more culturally “cool” and “artistic” flare then what Thicke was able to truly produce. It’s scarey how much flies under our radar. Balatent sexism is not as insideous as culturally accepted sexism that’s wrapped up in a prettier presentation.
Clearly “Blurred Lines” is a song, and not a movement; therefore it can hardly be a “feminist movement” and claims by Mr. Thicke to that effect are ridiculous. However, there is a real problem with the author’s suggested definition of satire here. Jonathan Swift did not satirize the plight of the Irish people by writing a humorous essay about how the Irish were repulsed by British policies. Instead, he wrote a humorous essay that “proposed” an even harsher policy for the Irish people in order to remind his readers about how badly they were being treated in the first place.… Read more »
Mike – I’m really glad you brought up Swift and Orwell. I actually mentioned Swift’s essay in the first draft of this piece (a lot of which didn’t make the final cut), and I love Animal Farm. I agree with your points about satire, but I think that in this particular case, we need the women to be clearly repulsed for the audience to “get it” because the fragmentalization and infantalization of women is SO deeply internalized in our culture. The reaction of most twenty-something men was not, “Oh, Robin Thicke is clearly making fun of objectification! This is so… Read more »
Chelsea, I’m glad you wrote back, and you actually bring up something that I think is important here. Specifically, you are claiming that: “The reaction of most twenty-something men was not, “Oh, Robin Thicke is clearly making fun of objectification! This is so obviously parody!” Instead, many male viewers used the song/video to excuse or justify looking at women in this way” I would like to point out, as politely as possible, that based upon your name and photo, you are not actually a “twenty-something” man. I am. When I first saw the video, I found it EXTREMELY hard to… Read more »
Mile L, how is Chelsea suggesting that “ALL” men be required to answer for the street harassers? While you and your friends found the video “EXTREMELY hard to watch”, (and I appreciate that) your experience isn’t necessarily any more indicative of an accurate depiction of an entire demographic then Chelsea’s may be. It’s certainly true for you and your friends. But not all men your age are like you and your friends right? Can you really unequivocally say that more men responded to the video like you and your friends then didn’t? If you can, can you point us to… Read more »
Erin,
You do not get to define what other people are insulted by. Chelsea’s explanation insulted me by generalizing about my demographic. You do not get to tell me otherwise.
Please try to think of men as human beings in the future and grant them the same basic rights you grant to women like yourself.
I never claimed that all men respond this way to his video. I said that many of them have. I’m not a twenty-something man, but I’m around a lot of them on a pretty regular basis. Some of them “got it,” and we had some pretty great conversations about the video. But many men who have mentioned the video to me or around me did not share your reaction of discomfort. You can look at a lot of the comments on the YouTube video and arrive at pretty much the same conclusion. Street harassment (running with this example) is a… Read more »
Chelsea, Your arguments don’t follow. If the metric for what is allowed as parody is “You need an outpouring of ‘It’s clearly a parody!'” then there’s an awful lot of “this is not parody” out there (including a handful of Onion articles taken out of context). Indeed, I would argue that seeing women repulsed by a man pursuing them in a music video would ALSO not have the response of “Oh, this is clearly parody.” That you stated there was only ONE possible way to do a parody seems to suggest that, even if not ALL men are incapable of… Read more »
“I find it hard to believe you would be openly accepting of an article that said “I’m around a lot of women, so I can tell you that a lot of women are not intellectually or emotionally equipped to understand piece of media X!”” Depending on the context, I wouldn’t be bothered, because it’s not all about me. A lot of women also didn’t see anything problematic about this video. This doesn’t mean they (or men) are not “intellectually or emotionally equipped to understand,” it means that some concepts are so deeply and subconsciously embedded in our media that we… Read more »