redbrunja: (community | oh mah god)
redbrunja ([personal profile] redbrunja) wrote2010-08-02 09:20 pm
Entry tags:

Holy Lolita Complex Batman

Does anyone else find the song Stealing Cinderella creepy as fuck

[identity profile] meganbmoore.livejournal.com 2010-08-03 12:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Creepy in the context I think you're implying, no. But it does enforce the concept of female passivity in narratives, and the viewing of the world through a primarily male lense. There's really nothing wrong with the content (a father loving his daughter and having a little trouble letting go when she's grown up) it's the perspective that has the problem.

The funny thing about country music is that the majority of songs by male artists enforce the concept of women being passive and tools used to further male narratives and encouraging the "good old boy" mindset (there's this one particular song that starts off talking about a woman whose husband/boyfriend left her and she has to work two jobs to support her kids, but she's used to introduce how amazing "real" men are for not running off on their families, because it's more impressive to do what you should do [if you're a man] than to persevere [if you're a woman]...I thinbk the title is "That's a Man") whereas the majority of songs from female artists, outside of the straight romantic songs, are very "up yours good old boys/patriarchal douches/abusers/controllers" so listening to even half an hour of country radio canresult in whiplash as far as messages go.
ext_12512: Hinoe from Natsume Yuujinchou, elegant and smirky (Okami naptime)

[identity profile] smillaraaq.livejournal.com 2010-08-03 04:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Case in point, and a really nice counterbalance to this song -- Crystal Shawanda's "You Can Let Go Now" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26A9ThCiTyY). It's from the point of a view of a woman facing various milestones, including marriage, and reassuring her father that she's ready for independence.

[identity profile] meganbmoore.livejournal.com 2010-08-04 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
I am very fond of that song, though this is the first time I've seen the video for it (ditto the song that's the suibject of the post). Another thing I've noticed is that songs by male artists who have daughters, though often having a paternalistic feel, lean more towards stating that the father will always be there for the daughter, no matter what happens in life. A lot still have an underlying paternalistic vibe where it seems that mistakes wouldn't have been made if she'd listened to her father (but that's frequently true regarding both parentsd in fiction, and, well, kids would get in a lot less trouble if they listened to their parents sometimes) but are generally much healthier and are more likely to portray the daughters as people than as objects to be passed from one man to another, or requiring a caretaker.

[identity profile] redbrunja.livejournal.com 2010-08-05 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
That reminds me of the fact that senators - even controlling for party affiliation - vote pro-choice more often when they have daughters.
Edited 2010-08-05 04:45 (UTC)

[identity profile] meganbmoore.livejournal.com 2010-08-05 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
I suspect that has more to do with the perception (largely right) that even women who are opposed to abortion because they believe it's murder will respond more positively to a pro-abortion stance than an anti-abortion stance as the people in office making anti-abortion stances and on TV talking about abortion are rarely coming from where most people are than on pro-abortion beliefs of the politicians themselves.
ext_12512: Hinoe from Natsume Yuujinchou, elegant and smirky (Yue la Lune)

[identity profile] smillaraaq.livejournal.com 2010-08-05 05:32 am (UTC)(link)
For something with more of a kickass attitude, I really love her "My Roots Are Showing":



(And she's Ojibwe, woot!)

[identity profile] redbrunja.livejournal.com 2010-08-12 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
Preach it, sister!

[identity profile] redbrunja.livejournal.com 2010-08-05 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
Oh my god you're right! That is so ...odd. I'd really love to hear someone who knows more about country music than me talk about why the genre developed that way. *ponders*

[identity profile] meganbmoore.livejournal.com 2010-08-05 05:11 am (UTC)(link)
Sadly, while it's what I mostly listen to on the radio, i'm probably not the one to ask. My preferences are oldies/showtunes and the female country/pop blend, but there aren't many oldies stations here, and most male vocalists in the US outside of country music use a kind of harsh and often abrupt delivery/accompaniment that it frequently gives me a headache. So while about 4 out of 5 country songs by men annoy me, I can listen to the station for more than 2-3 songs without developing a headache.

I'd say, though,that it's basically what happens when you have 2 people or groups exposed to the same thing, but one is on the benefitting end, and the other isn't.

[identity profile] redbrunja.livejournal.com 2010-08-10 10:15 am (UTC)(link)
I'd say, though,that it's basically what happens when you have 2 people or groups exposed to the same thing, but one is on the benefitting end, and the other isn't.

That makes sense.