The world says that women's identity is in attracting and marrying a prince. The world tells men that their identity is rooted in sex, power, and wealth.
These messages are found in all media, but I will be looking at the lyrics of two music sensations-
Taylor Swift and Pitbull. I honestly like both of their music. I like blasting TSwift in the car with friends and I love dancing to Pitbull, but really thinking about the meaning of the lyrics makes me doubt my love for them, especially for Pitbull.
I'll start with TSwift. She portrays the gender binary perfectly by suggesting that love is the most important concern for girls. My textbook pointed out that a lot of her videos start at school or in an education setting and then she finds her man, they disappear into a castle, thus, placing love above education. I loved how my textbook phrased this- Taylor makes a very clear message, "Dress like a princess and be beautiful so that you can be the center of attention and attract and marry a prince. The result will be a happily-ever after." Do we want to continue pushing this message to all the girls out there?
Pitbull prescribes that men will only find happiness when they have sex with whoever they want and achieve material success. His lyrics and videos specifically suggest that he is entitled to sleep with whoever he wants, single women, groups of women, women with boyfriends, and women who don't consent. In many of his videos he is wearing a fancy black suit, driving a fancy black car, and then has women dancing all around him who only focus their attention on him. This is telling men that first comes wealth, then comes ladies. In this gender story, women become the objects that represent wealth and a man's identity. The video below truly disgusts me. Really, this is how we want our men to act?
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