I don't get it
The other day I was in my car listening to the radio in bumper to bumper traffic. A song came on that I'd never heard before and between grumbling about other drivers I caught some of the words. Now, I'll admit, I'm terrible at understanding what a singer is saying. I always miss the majority of the lyrics, but what I could make out from the song sounded pretty nice. It sounded like the singer was advocating accepting our own "flaws" within our appearances and encouraging everyone to realize that these "flaws" are actually not bad, but make us unique and beautiful.
Again, sounds pretty nice, right?
So, yesterday I decided to look up the song lyrics. Within a minute I was frowning. Halfway through I was rolling my eyes and shaking my head. By the time it was over I had decided not to download the song. Apparently I had missed a lot the first time I heard it.
For starters, the singer decided pretty early on to refer to the women in his life as "bitches". Wait... what?
Then in the second verse he brings up race, saying that if he was a white person then he'd be given a fair shot in life. Oh boy, tricky territory for anyone to venture into. But, you know what? I'm going to go there too.
You see, in this one song that preaches acceptance the singer has put his foot in his mouth twice. First, he makes a sexist remark. Second, he makes a racist one.
Lets address both issues in order, shall we?
When the singer carelessly threw out the word "bitches", he was referring to the women in his life who a) mean something to him and b) want to be with him romantically. He wasn't even complaining about them, or saying that they were bad people, but for some reason he thought that "bitches" is an acceptable substitute for "women", "girls", "ladies", "females", etc. What the hell?! The man is crooning in my ear that women should learn to love themselves, but at the same time calling us a derogatory name? Does that make any sense to anyone else? Why is it that because someone happens to have a vagina it's alright to refer to them using a curse word?
Granted, yes I can behave like a bitch sometimes. Every single person I've ever met, male or female, behaves that way occasionally, but that's a matter of mood and behavior, not gender. Sorry, but I take offense to hearing my fellow women called a nasty name simply because they were born female. Buy a thesaurus mr. singer, or go back to school if you honestly can't think of a better way of addressing the opposite sex.
Now for the REALLY tricky part, the issue of race.
Tell me, what is with this amazing idea that people have that if you are born white you're automatically handed the keys to the magic kingdom? I hear this all of the time and I still don't get it. I'm a white woman and yet I've never been on the receiving end of this "special treatment". I was born and raised in poverty. My childhood home was a run down building in gang territory that threatened to fall down at any minute. My family spent years just trying to make rent and keep food, if you could call it that, in our bellies.
Race didn't buy you any advantages in my neighborhood. EVERYONE was poor and struggling. The color of your skin didn't matter when it came to money. You had to earn whatever you had, but sadly, most of the time you never got what you deserved no matter how hard you worked.
I'm not saying that racism doesn't exist. It most certainly does and it's fucked up and unfair, but just because a lot of assholes in power are white doesn't mean ALL white people have it easier and are racists. Hell, I've been on the receiving end of racism many times, even though I personally could care less about a persons skin color, so, yes, I know it's still a pressing issue.
My point is, if you hate racism and want to speak out against it, don't make racist comments to further your message. By saying that being a different race would make things better or easier your only standing by the mentality that race matters, that it makes some human beings less or more than others.
I think that singer really needs to take a better look at his lyrics...
Again, sounds pretty nice, right?
So, yesterday I decided to look up the song lyrics. Within a minute I was frowning. Halfway through I was rolling my eyes and shaking my head. By the time it was over I had decided not to download the song. Apparently I had missed a lot the first time I heard it.
For starters, the singer decided pretty early on to refer to the women in his life as "bitches". Wait... what?
Then in the second verse he brings up race, saying that if he was a white person then he'd be given a fair shot in life. Oh boy, tricky territory for anyone to venture into. But, you know what? I'm going to go there too.
You see, in this one song that preaches acceptance the singer has put his foot in his mouth twice. First, he makes a sexist remark. Second, he makes a racist one.
Lets address both issues in order, shall we?
When the singer carelessly threw out the word "bitches", he was referring to the women in his life who a) mean something to him and b) want to be with him romantically. He wasn't even complaining about them, or saying that they were bad people, but for some reason he thought that "bitches" is an acceptable substitute for "women", "girls", "ladies", "females", etc. What the hell?! The man is crooning in my ear that women should learn to love themselves, but at the same time calling us a derogatory name? Does that make any sense to anyone else? Why is it that because someone happens to have a vagina it's alright to refer to them using a curse word?
Granted, yes I can behave like a bitch sometimes. Every single person I've ever met, male or female, behaves that way occasionally, but that's a matter of mood and behavior, not gender. Sorry, but I take offense to hearing my fellow women called a nasty name simply because they were born female. Buy a thesaurus mr. singer, or go back to school if you honestly can't think of a better way of addressing the opposite sex.
Now for the REALLY tricky part, the issue of race.
Tell me, what is with this amazing idea that people have that if you are born white you're automatically handed the keys to the magic kingdom? I hear this all of the time and I still don't get it. I'm a white woman and yet I've never been on the receiving end of this "special treatment". I was born and raised in poverty. My childhood home was a run down building in gang territory that threatened to fall down at any minute. My family spent years just trying to make rent and keep food, if you could call it that, in our bellies.
Race didn't buy you any advantages in my neighborhood. EVERYONE was poor and struggling. The color of your skin didn't matter when it came to money. You had to earn whatever you had, but sadly, most of the time you never got what you deserved no matter how hard you worked.
I'm not saying that racism doesn't exist. It most certainly does and it's fucked up and unfair, but just because a lot of assholes in power are white doesn't mean ALL white people have it easier and are racists. Hell, I've been on the receiving end of racism many times, even though I personally could care less about a persons skin color, so, yes, I know it's still a pressing issue.
My point is, if you hate racism and want to speak out against it, don't make racist comments to further your message. By saying that being a different race would make things better or easier your only standing by the mentality that race matters, that it makes some human beings less or more than others.
I think that singer really needs to take a better look at his lyrics...
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